Nursing care for a patient includes multiple aspects, and in case one of them is missed, it may result in negative consequences for the health state of a client. In the context of present-day developments, it has become a common sight when a patient is delivered all the required care for his or her health problems, though less attention is paid to his or her mental state. In addition, the cultural, social, and psychological specialties of a client should be regarded by health care providers. Therefore, the necessity to apply the concept of holistic care is evident. It is apparent that it requires numerous aspects, such as proper education and experience. However, other conditions should be discussed as well, and their significance should not be underestimated. For instance, healthy and strong workplace culture has a positive influence on the entire working environment and is helpful in providing holistic care.
First of all, it is essential to give an explanation of healthy workplace culture in the context of nursing practice. American Association of Critical-care nurses offers necessary standards intended to present guidelines, which are helpful in providing medical services of high quality (Healthy Work Environments, n. d.). They involve developing communication skills on a high level, which can be compared with their clinical skills. The second element is a true collaboration between health care providers (Healthy Work Environments, n. d.). In addition, effective decision-making is vital in delivering medical services (Healthy Work Environments, n. d.). It implies partnership in establishing appropriate policy, analyzing the process and the outcomes of the treatment, and addressing organizational issues.
The fourth requirement includes decent staffing, which guarantees the match between the skills of health care providers and the needs of clients (Healthy Work Environments, n. d.). Moreover, the importance of meaningful recognition in the context of clinical care cannot be underestimated (Healthy Work Environments, n. d.). It implies the mutual appreciation of staff members’ labor and efforts. The last element, which is expected to create a healthy environment, is authentic leadership Healthy Work Environments, n. d.). It contributes to the proper organization of staff members and clinical care and stimulates the employees to achieve the best results.
The first argument, which may support the thesis explained above, implies the fact that workplace culture established at a decent level significantly benefits the health care providers. For instance, it contributes to the professional development of employees (Beardsmore & McSherry, 2017). They perceive the fact that their attempts, knowledge, and unique skills are highly appreciated, which stimulated them to do their best in the workplace. According to Beardsmore & McSherry (2017), appropriate working conditions lead to minimizing the likelihood of serious stresses linked with professional activity and burnout.
The research conducted by Copanitsanou et al. (2017) proves this conclusion. They state: “nurses who perceived their work environment to be good experienced higher job satisfaction and lower rates of burnout syndrome” (Copanitsanou et al., 2017, para. 3). Therefore, the researchers come to the following finding: “a good work environment constitutes a determinant factor for high care quality and, at the same time, relates to improved outcomes for the nurses” (Copanitsanou et al., 2017, para. 4). A healthy working atmosphere contributes to learning the ways to provide holistic care and improving the quality of clinical care in general in the long run.
Support and determination to work in a collaboration definitely benefit the entire medical practice. Staff members are not frustrated by the need to make serious decisions alone and feel free to discuss the problem they encounter. They share pieces of advice with colleagues and help to elaborate on the most appropriate solution. Employees are not limited by unnecessary strict rules and are willing to offer an incentive in order to improve the quality of clinic care. They are also not distracted by possible quarrels in the collective and may perform their duties without restrictions, constraints, and judgment.
In addition, in the context of healthy workplace culture, health care providers are capable of uniting in order to provide proper help for patients with multiple problems (Beardsmore & McSherry, 2017). In the context of present-day development, it has become a common sight that a client encounters problems in several parts of his or her organism (Beardsmore & McSherry, 2017). Thus, in the case of specialists attempting to solve these issues separately, there is a likelihood that treatment will appear not to be beneficial (Beardsmore & McSherry, 2017). Some situations require collaboration between medical professionals in order to take into consideration all the peculiarities.
Therefore, it is evident strong workplace culture has a positive impact on the patients’ outcomes. Whether professionals are offered all the conditions to deliver medical services of high quality, the outcomes are highly likely to become more sufficient as well. This way, the organization of a healthy working environment responds to the major aim of all medical settings, which is to supply holistic care for each patient.
Although the personal traits of character of health care providers are vital for delivering medical services of high quality, the importance of strong workplace culture may cause numerous doubts. There is an assumption that the question of supplying holistic care depends on the knowledge, skills, and experience of nurses, and the impact of working conditions is not significant. For instance, scientists Hu et al. (2019) conduct research, which implied the participants of 92 nurses in a cancer treatment setting. The professionals were divided into two groups: the study group with 45 participants and the control group with 47 people. The first one was expected to complete the training once in six months, and their habitual nursing education was the base for the source. The second group received monthly nursing education training, which was considered to endure 12 months (Hu et al., 2019). Hu et al. (2019) revealed:
“After 12 months of intervention, the nurses in the study group had significantly higher overall spiritual health and spiritual care competency scores as well as significantly higher scores on all individual dimensions compared with those in the control group (P < 0.01)” (para. 4).
Thus, the research mentioned above proves the effectiveness of spiritual care training for nursing practice. It is considered to be helpful for the development of essential skills to provide holistic care and contribute to the health care providers’ well-being. In this regard, it is highly likely to be more beneficial than establishing strong workplace culture (The importance of holistic nursing care, 2020). Moreover, it should be taken into consideration that the incentive of creating the system, as mentioned earlier, implies reducing administrative responsibilities. In case it is claimed that the personal qualities of nurses are prior to delivering holistic care, the administration does not play a significant role (The importance of holistic nursing care, 2020). This way, this methodology includes putting more pressure on nurses, which is inappropriate in the contest of present-day developments.
In addition, after reviewing the nursing practice, it may be concluded that it requires practice and experience. Apart from delivering medical care, they have to fulfill formal standards, such as filling in appropriate documentation, delivering medications, and other duties, which depend on particular cases. The described activities are an integral part of holistic care. Therefore, in order to complete all the requirements, nurses have to plan their schedules strictly (The importance of holistic nursing care, 2020). In this case, their personal qualities are not influential to a large extent. For this reason, the priority in organizing the conditions for delivering holistic care should be given to the improvements of nursing knowledge and skills (The importance of holistic nursing care, 2020). This approach appears to be more effective than creating a strong workplace culture in the long run.
However, it should be highlighted that the approach described above has several weaknesses, which prevent it from being as effective as it is considered. In the context of present-day developments, nurses have to fulfill multiple duties, from providing patients with an appropriate treatment plan to emotional support. Despite being vital for each citizen and rewarding in general, this profession is also exhausting and includes coping with a great amount of stress on a regular basis.
Consequently, in case health care providers are required to match one more serious criterion, which is a regular pass of training, they will be incurred more pressure. It is totally inappropriate, as burnout has become a common sight among nurses. This fact results in a common determination to change the sphere of occupation, as nurses are not capable of coping with such stresses for a long period. Moreover, even positive treatment outcomes may not appear to be a source of motivation to adhere to the job, as it cannot compensate for the mental and physical state of nurses to a full extent. Therefore, there is a high likelihood that the implementation of additional training on delivering holistic care will aggravate the situation considerably.
As it is evident, the establishment of strong workplace culture appears to be a more sufficient solution than the requirement to complete special courses. Decent working conditions, which implies an appreciation of the labor of every employee, and working in collaboration may significantly contribute to delivering medical services of high quality. In addition, it positively impacts the mental state of health care providers and leads to the minimization of stresses associated with professional activity. Thus, it may be effective in addressing burnout and preventing the desire to change the profession in the long run.
In conclusion, it should be stated that holistic care required the improvement of multiple issues regarding clinical practice. However, the significance of the establishment of a sting and healthy workplace culture should not be underestimated. It considerably contributes to supplying decent working conditions and motivated them to improve their performance. In addition, it may address the problem of burnout among nurses to some extent. Therefore, it is highly likely to present a sufficient option for delivering medical services of high quality in the long term.
References
Beardsmore, E., & McSherry, R. (2017). Healthcare workers’ perceptions of organisational culture and the impact on the delivery of compassionate quality care. Journal of Research in Nursing, 22(1-2), 42-56. Web.
Copanitsanou, P., Fotos, N., & Brokalaki, H. (2017). Effects of work environment on patient and nurse outcomes. British Journal of Nursing, 26(3), 172-176. Web.
Healthy Work Environments. (n. d.). Web.
The importance of holistic nursing care: How to completely care for your patients. (2020). Practical Nursing. Web.
Thew, J. (2019). 3 ways nurse leaders can change workplace culture. Health Leaders. Web.
Hu, Y., Jiao, M., & Li, F. (2019). Effectiveness of spiritual care training to enhance spiritual health and spiritual care competency among oncology nurses. BMC Palliative Care, 18(104), 1-8. Web.