Discussion on Critical Thinking Exercise

Issues to Consider

Hello everyone, this week’s discussion is based on the critical thinking exercise from our course reading. First I will explore on the key issues to consider while delegating care to patients. One key issue to consider during delegation is leader behaviors which according to Huber (2013) comprise of being available, being around and assisting the delegate through the decisions and tasks actions. The other issue is coaching issue whereby managers are required to guide and lead nurses to boost their delegation ability. 

Dimensions of Power and Conflict

The case presents a relational aspect of power which according to Wilkinson and Miers (2016) is a social relationship property which in this case, James’ power in relation to the patient (who is non-verbal). Through this model, the actions of James will directly affect thee client as well as the patient. The charger nurse uses her power to delegate to James to prepare the patient for mastectomy. Nonetheless, this results to conflict as James is dealing with a patient who is nonverbal, and worse he has never prepared another patient for mastectomy in the past. 

Issues and Solutions

This case presents varying issues including communication problem between the patient and James (non-verbal). James Fair is not conversant with the procedures as he is newly hired. Another issue about power is in terms of delegation, where the Sherry Trader delegates tasks to un-inexperienced nurse. One way that Sherry would have solved the issue is though motivation approaches where rather than delegating the task, she should have followed inspirational goal setting and open communication. Another strategy is creative problem solving which Eggerston (2012) explain that this strategy only produces gaining feelings and no failure feelings and in this case it will result to collaborative solution between the Sherry and James. James requires applying open communication skills by phrasing information and phrases to the patient to boost interaction. Another strategy would be learning body language to identify any cue from the patient. 

Delegation

Trader requires delegating the tasks to an individual with appropriate knowledge and expertise. Trader can be indispensable and attend to the assignment herself. However, she should do this in presence of James to ensure he understands every step. For example, Trader feels James have the knowledge, ability and job maturity but James is unsure about these skills. Thus for this task, Trader should illustrate to James on what to do or guide him to eliminate any issues in future. 

Reference

Eggerston, L. (2012). Nurse-Physician Communication. CanadianNurse.Com, 108(5).

Huber, D. (2013). Leadership and Nursing Care Management. 5th ed. Iowa City: Saunders.

Wilkinson, G., & Miers, M. (Eds.). (2016). Power and nursing practice. Macmillan International Higher Education.