Observed Activities
The interview took place at the Ambulatory Center, an up-to-date and technologically advanced facility. The hospital is available 23 hours and our nurse staff are ready to provide high-quality services effectively. The interview demonstrated that our quality manager was keen on sustaining a high level of daily operations and, therefore, innovative approaches were constantly introduced to increase the quality standards. In fact, the quality manager was sure that organizational needs would be efficiently met through the advancement of technological devices. Data storage was of particular concern because information exchange and security issues directly depended on the effectiveness of computational tools used in hospitals.
Aside from technological advances, our quality manager paid close attention to the overall learning and development of the training staff. Specifically, the administrator strived to consider all perspectives of quality management, including services improvement, technological enhancement, and intensified standards of communication. With regard to these approaches, Niedz (n. d.) reveals the main definitions and origins of quality management and addresses the issue with regard to things that are fit for use. The doctors’ considerations are congruent with the policy established at the Ambulatory Center. In addition, because the concept of quality management evolves, our quality management standards undergo shifts as well.
The Role and Functions with Regard to the Staff
While discussing the aspects of development training and staff activities, particular emphasis was placed on the analysis of planning and distributing daily operations with regard to professional practices. Thus, the administrators strived to encourage nurses to introduce new, more effective practices that would contribute to the reputable image of the hospital. At this point, the introduction of new communication approaches and features was carefully analyzed (Block and Sredl, 2006). More importantly, the manager made a wider focus on other existing approaches dealing with conflict situations and establishing a friendly environment within the organization. The interviewee believed that consideration of alternative and even experimental approaches could take place because constant research and improvement was the basic condition for advancing quality.
In order to provide patients with good quality of care, the manager should take into consideration the significance of communication networks to meet the requirements of cooperation. Because the hospital refers to a specific kind of social network, the communication outcomes largely depend on the characteristics and attitude of the nurse staff to their duties and obligations (Van Beek et al., 2011). In this respect, the administrator had a strong awareness of the role of communication in job satisfaction and quality of care.
Insights of Leadership Style and Behavior
According to the interviewee, regular meetings were crucial for monitoring group behaviors and for transforming those into accepted cultural patterns. In this respect, the introduction of total quality management control principles was also a tangible contribution to improving ethics of care and efficiency of a decision-making process (Roussel and Swansburg, 2006, p. 406). Judging from the interview, the manager fully understood the main scope of quality management in relation to the above-presented issues. The introduced standards identified the main functions of the nurse personnel at all levels of operations. In addition, the administrators gave much importance to hierarchy and its role in promoting high quality health care services.
Regular meetings and accreditations held three times a year were the basic measurements taken to control the sustainability of quality management. These procedures helped the organization maintain the core national standards and correspond to the current legislation. Discipline and greater responsibility for daily procedures were of paramount importance for maintaining effective quality management. In general, the quality manager asserted that most of quality management and planning techniques were directed at improving high organizational and achievement performance. A complex of the above-described techniques allowed our hospital to comply with the established standards and move toward a more advanced mode of cooperation.
Summary
The interview with our quality manager has turned out to be very productive and informative because many techniques, theories, and problems were discussed. The interviewee has demonstrated a high level of professionalism in approaching specific issues and concerns and searching for viable solutions to those problems. The manager has also provided me with new suggestions and theories for promoting innovative approaches to improving health care environment. This is of particular concern to nurse staff development and training, as well as to the achievement performance study. The emphasis placed on communication also greatly contributes to understanding professional practice. Judging from the answers, I have also understood that effective quality management largely depends on technological introductions and scientific development of the hospital as a state-of-the-art facility.
At the final stage of the interview, the manager has accentuated the significance to consider existing legislature and generally accepted quality standards. The question was also connected with great attention to the ongoing changes occurred to those standard, as well as to the necessity to consider even the slightest shifts. In general, the manager has proved that the hospital is well prepared for facing challenges and emergences because nurse professionals understand the importance of theoretical concepts integrated to the practical activities.
References
Block, V., and Sredl, D. (2006). Nursing education and professional practice: A collaborative approach to enhance retention. Journal for Nurses in Staff Development. 22(1), 23-28.
Niedz, B. (n. d.). Quality improvement and outcome measurement.
Roussel, L., and Swansburg, R. C. (2006). Management and leadership for nurse administrators. Sudbury, MA: Jones and Bartlett Learning.
Van Beek, A., Wagner, C., Spreeuwenberg, P., Frijters, D., Ribbe, M., & Groenewegen, P. (2011). Communication, advice exchange and job satisfaction of nursing staff: a social network analyses of 35 long-term care units. BMC Health Services Research, 11, 140-149.