Course: Nursing Leadership and Management
Module 3: Organizations Power and Empowerment
Module Course Learning Objectives (CLO)
After completing this module, students will be able to:
• Describe collective bargaining strategies within the workplace.
• Explain the benefits and potential pitfalls of Magnet accreditation.
• Analyze the organizational context in which nurse leaders practice today.
Overview
The unit we will start is about working within an organization. This week, we will focus on how different health care organizations are structured, the importance of organizational culture, what we mean by “power” and how you, as a leader, can empower others. We will also review some issues in organized labor.
Goals Alignment
• University Mission Based Outcomes – 1, 2, 3
• Program Learning Goals – 1, 6
• Course Learning Objectives – 6
Professional Standards
• AACN Baccalaureate Essential I: Liberal education for baccalaureate generalist nursing practice
• AACN Baccalaureate Essential II: Basic organizational and systems leadership for quality care and patient safety
• AACN Baccalaureate Essential VII: Clinical prevention and population health
• AACN Baccalaureate Essential VIII: Professionalism and professional nursing values
• AACN Baccalaureate Essential IX: Baccalaureate generalist nursing practice
Learning Materials
• Weiss, S. A. & Tappen, R. M. (2015). Essentials of nursing leadership and management (6th ed.). F. A. Davis Company. Read chapter 5
Assignment:
The assignment is a discussion question Reply. Please reply to two classmates. Replies to classmates should be a minimum of 200 words in length.
This is designed to enhance the academic discussion around the topic. It is all right to disagree with something posted by another, however your responses should always be thoughtful and respectful and reflect your opinions professionally.
Please use one page to reply to Classmate #1 and one page to Classmate #2.
Thank you!
Topic of Discussion Question:
Describe the organizational characteristics of a facility in which you currently work.
Include the following: the type of organization, its organizational culture, its structure, and its formal and informal goals and processes.
Define three different kinds of power, and describe how power affects the relationships between people of different disciplines (e.g., between staff in nursing, medicine, physical therapy, housekeeping, administration, finance, social work) in a health-care organization.
Your initial posting should be at least 400 words in length and utilize at least one scholarly source other than the textbook.
Organizations Power and Empowerment
The organization I currently work for is Ohio Health’s downtown hospital in Columbus, Ohio called Grant Medical Center.
This is a private not-for-profit organization founded on the basis of a Christian Methodist religious group. The organizational culture within this organization is a warm and friendly type of culture.
The organization is open to new ideas and keeping up with the newest technological advances and evidence-based practices.
Organizational culture has a large effect on its employees and the people the organization serve on a daily basis (Weiss & Tappen, 2015).
Ohio Health and Grant Medical Center specifically has set goals both formal and informal that are thought of as the philosophy for the organization.
Their mission statement is “to improve the health of those we serve.” Their vision is “Where people want to work, where physicians want to practice, and most importantly, where patients want to go when they need healthcare services.”
The Ohio Health values are compassion, excellence, stewardship, integrity, and inclusion. These are the values, vision, and mission statement that Ohio Health looks to align its employees with.
Power in Healthcare
Power is the ability to influence other people despite their resistance and can be used in both positive and negative ways (Weiss & Tappen, 2015).
There are a few different types of power. One being authority which is the power granted to an individual or a group to control resources and decision making by virtue of position within the organizational hierarchy.
Reward is the promise of money, goods, services, recognition, or other benefits. Control of Information is the special knowledge an individual is believed to possess and lastly, Coercion is the threat of pain or of some type of harm which may be physical, economic, or psychological (Weiss & Tappen, 2015).
Power, in a health care setting, can be a dangerous thing. Many people may use their position of power in a malicious way. For example, a physician talking down to a staff nurse and demeaning them because they are a physician and in a higher position than the nurse. In other ways, power can be used in a good way.
For example, if a staff nurse or other associate needs an additional day off and the nurse manager works out that they work an extra weekend or evening shift in exchange for that additional day off. Power can be used in good ways in a health care setting but must be used carefully.
