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NURS 432 Assignment 2: Scenario Analysis on Nursing Staff Meetings.
Scenario Analysis
Problem solving and decision-making are of special importance for nurse
managers and play an important role in creating a positive environment with
nursing staff. For this reason, nurse managers must have critical thinking and
effective problem-solving skills (Kocoglu et al., 2016). In this paper a scenario is
analyzed using problem solving and decision-making processes and
recommendations are provided to improve the problem in the scenario.
Scenario
You are the manager of a large, urban, pediatric intensive care unit, where
policies and procedures are often changing. You hold regular, monthly staff
meetings on the first Tuesday of each month at 1700h, to ensure staff feel
supported and are updated with current best practices. Your staff consists of 65
RNs (in a mix of regular full-time, part-time, and casual); however, you are only
seeing the same 5–10 of the staff showing up to the monthly meetings.
Chosen Models
The models chosen for this specific scenario fall in the problem solving
and decision-making processes. Waddell and Walton (2020) describe problem
solving and decision making as essential skills for nurses, leaders and managers.
Problem solving is thought of as a comprehensive, sequential, cognitive process
used to
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solve a problem by reducing the difference between current and desired
conditions, while decision making is described as a process that chooses a
preferred option or a course of actions from a set of alternatives (Waddell &
Walton, 2020).
Problem Solving Process
Some problem solving involves steps incorporate decision-making, making
these concepts interconnected. The first step defines the problem. According to
Waddell and Walton (2020), the most common cause of failure to resolve a
problem is the improper identification of the problem; therefore, problem
recognition and identification are considered the most vital steps. In the above
scenario, the problem identified is that there is a large proportion of the RN’s on
the unit not attending the monthly staff meeting, meaning the are not getting the
important updates, and possibly may feel unsupported on the floor. The second
and third step for this problem-solving process is to gather and analyzing the data.
Once the preliminary investigation is completed and the problem is identified, in-
depth data collection can assist in resolving the issue using relevant and evidence-
based resources. The data that is collected should be carefully analyzed to explore
the full extent of the problem, root causes, and contribute factors. (Waddell &
Walton, 2020). By asking questions like “who is affected by this problem?” and
“why did this problem occur?” we can gather relevant information to assist
identifying potential solutions to the problem. Steps four and five develop and
NURS 432 Assignment 2: Scenario Analysis on Nursing Staff Meetings.
Scenario Analysis
Problem solving and decision-making are of special importance for nurse
managers and play an important role in creating a positive environment with
nursing staff. For this reason, nurse managers must have critical thinking and
effective problem-solving skills (Kocoglu et al., 2016). In this paper a scenario is
analyzed using problem solving and decision-making processes and
recommendations are provided to improve the problem in the scenario.
Scenario
You are the manager of a large, urban, pediatric intensive care unit, where
policies and procedures are often changing. You hold regular, monthly staff
meetings on the first Tuesday of each month at 1700h, to ensure staff feel
supported and are updated with current best practices. Your staff consists of 65
RNs (in a mix of regular full-time, part-time, and casual); however, you are only
seeing the same 5–10 of the staff showing up to the monthly meetings.
Chosen Models
The models chosen for this specific scenario fall in the problem solving
and decision-making processes. Waddell and Walton (2020) describe problem
solving and decision making as essential skills for nurses, leaders and managers.
Problem solving is thought of as a comprehensive, sequential, cognitive process
used to
, 2
solve a problem by reducing the difference between current and desired
conditions, while decision making is described as a process that chooses a
preferred option or a course of actions from a set of alternatives (Waddell &
Walton, 2020).
Problem Solving Process
Some problem solving involves steps incorporate decision-making, making
these concepts interconnected. The first step defines the problem. According to
Waddell and Walton (2020), the most common cause of failure to resolve a
problem is the improper identification of the problem; therefore, problem
recognition and identification are considered the most vital steps. In the above
scenario, the problem identified is that there is a large proportion of the RN’s on
the unit not attending the monthly staff meeting, meaning the are not getting the
important updates, and possibly may feel unsupported on the floor. The second
and third step for this problem-solving process is to gather and analyzing the data.
Once the preliminary investigation is completed and the problem is identified, in-
depth data collection can assist in resolving the issue using relevant and evidence-
based resources. The data that is collected should be carefully analyzed to explore
the full extent of the problem, root causes, and contribute factors. (Waddell &
Walton, 2020). By asking questions like “who is affected by this problem?” and
“why did this problem occur?” we can gather relevant information to assist
identifying potential solutions to the problem. Steps four and five develop and
