Examine the Clark Healthy Workplace Inventory
Clearly, diagnosis is a critical aspect of healthcare. However, the ultimate purpose of a diagnosis is the development and application of a series of treatments or protocols. Isolated recognition of a health issue does little to resolve it.
In this module’s Discussion, you applied the Clark Healthy Workplace Inventory to diagnose potential problems with the civility of your organization. In this Portfolio Assignment, you will continue to analyze the results and apply published research to the development of a proposed treatment for any issues uncovered by the assessment.
To Prepare:
- Review the Resources and examine the Clark Healthy Workplace Inventory, found on page 20 of Clark (2015).
- Review the Work Environment Assessment Template.
- Reflect on the output of your Discussion post regarding your evaluation of workplace civility and the feedback received from colleagues.
- Select and review one or more of the following articles found in the Resources:
- Clark, Olender, Cardoni, and Kenski (2011)
- Clark (2018)
- Clark (2015)
- Griffin and Clark (2014)
The Assignment (3-6 pages total):
Part 1: Work Environment Assessment (1-2 pages)
- Review the Work Environment Assessment Template you completed for this Module’s Discussion.
- Describe the results of the Work Environment Assessment you completed on your workplace.
- Identify two things that surprised you about the results and one idea you believed prior to conducting the Assessment that was confirmed.
- Explain what the results of the Assessment suggest about the health and civility of your workplace.
Part 2: Reviewing the Literature (1-2 pages)
- Briefly describe the theory or concept presented in the article(s) you selected.
- Explain how the theory or concept presented in the article(s) relates to the results of your Work Environment Assessment.
- Explain how your organization could apply the theory highlighted in your selected article(s) to improve organizational health and/or create stronger work teams. Be specific and provide examples.
Part 3: Evidence-Based Strategies to Create High-Performance Interprofessional Teams (1–2 pages)
- Recommend at least two strategies, supported in the literature, that can be implemented to address any shortcomings revealed in your Work Environment Assessment.
- Recommend at least two strategies that can be implemented to bolster successful practices revealed in your Work Environment Assessment.
Work Environment Assessment- this is my discussion
Using the Clark Healthy Workplace Inventory (Clark, 2015) my workplace ranks 90, or very healthy. Why it ranks as healthy or civil is that between units of the hospital there is great communication between units, to the extent that is a need on one unit as far as staffing, another unit will offer to help, this is the norm, and not the exception for our hospital. We also feel supported by management during times of crisis, I work in two distinct areas where things can escalate very quickly, both in inpatient psych, and Children pavilion for adolescent psych patients. We know we will always get backup from other building staff and security if things get escalated where there is danger to patients or staff.
Success in an organization comes from hardworking people who have a strong mission and vision with great strategies in place. This depends greatly on the leadership, management, and the team. To put things in perspective, the introduction of the workplace health status would give a broader picture. To be discussed below is a brief description of the results of the Work Environment Assessment at Chicago Lakeshore Hospital and based on the results, the explanation of how civil is this place with the reasons behind the claim. Also, this discussion includes a description of a situation where incivility in the workplace has happened and how was it addressed.
Workplace health is the status of the workplace concerning the workers, how civil is the place, and the overall environment safety for the employees. Lack of civility at the workplace contributes to poor employees’ job satisfaction, lack of courtesy and respect among peers, and it leads to poor patient outcomes (Tips to Improve Civility in the Workplace, 2017). Incivility at workplaces has the potential to emotional and physical distress to the workers and that can cause poor quality care and patient outcomes (Armstrong, 2017). To assess the civility of the workplaces, researchers have discovered tools to help assess the workplaces and the Work Environment Assessment is one of the tools.
Using the Work Environment Assessment tool to assess Chicago Lakeshore Hospital revealed 90 which is a moderately healthy place. This means, in this organization, people live by the shared mission and vision, there is trust and respect among the workers, and communication at all levels is clear (Clark Healthy Workplace Inventory – americannursetoday.com. [n.d.]). The result assures the presence of teamwork and high levels of employees’ satisfaction. The workload is distributed equal and the organization offers competitive salaries. Based on my hospital workplace assessment results, the majority of the employees would recommend the place as a good place to work and overall there are high levels of employee satisfaction, therefore better outcomes (Clark Healthy Workplace Inventory – americannursetoday.com. [n.d.]).
Incivility incident at the workplace
Courtesy and respect are not only meant for people of a certain rank within the organizations. These basic values and others are for everyone. Clark (2017), emphasizes all nurses have the obligation to foster healthy workplaces with an atmosphere of dignity, professionalism, and respect. Unfortunately, studies reveal incivility at workplaces, bullying, and lack of mutual respect (Armstrong, 2017). Incivility at the workplace has been linked to poor performance which impacts patient safety and the quality of patient outcomes (Armstrong, 2017). Marshall and Broome (2017) state that “workplace violence, incivility, and bullying are barriers to developing safe environments for providers and can occur in any setting” (p.261). The American Nurses Association (ANA; n.d.) defines incivility as “one or more rude, discourteous, or disrespectful actions that may or may not have a negative intent behind them” (para.2). This brings back the memory of my former workplace. Doctors were very much valued and respected, but the nurses did not receive the same respect from the doctors. At times, nurses were hesitant to call the doctors for notification of patient condition change simply because of the fear of the expected response. There was no mutual respect. I am not sure how did this problem resolve after leaving the place but a few years down, the hospital was sold out to another company.
Conclusion
Civility at the workplace is not only important for the workers’ feelings it also influences overall performance, productivity, and patient outcomes. The consequences of incivility at workplaces “can result in life-threatening mistakes, preventable complications, and harm or even death of a patient” (Clark, 2017). It is with that intensity that the workplace health assessment should be one of our priorities. Despite the individual differences, we must find a way to improve civility at our workplaces. The first step towards improvement is to assess the current status and the Work Environment Assessment is a great tool.