SANCHEZ, Julienne Rowelie A.

HEAD NURSING (September 1-3, 2013) Medical 1 Unit (AMCM) Adventist Medical Center of Manila SITUATIONAL ANALYSIS

September 5, 2013

This was my second week to be a student head nurse in Adventist Medical Center of Manila. Leadership, as defined by Yukl, is a process of influence in which the leader influences others toward goal achievement (Kelly, 2012). Management, on the other hand was defined as the process of coordinating actions and allocating resources to achieve organizational goals (Kelly, 2012).What these two definitions basically have in common was both of them being a process. To be an effective leader and manager, one should undergo a continuous process which could lead to achievement of goals. Being a student head nurse, I experienced being involved in some of the stages in this process. Being on my second week as a student head nurse, I experienced a lot more responsibilities compared to my first week. I was able to perform my duties with ease and lesser anxiety. Filling up of forms and carrying out doctors orders particularly are the 2 most exciting procedures i have done and I can say that I quite mastered some of it. My 3 days of duty in AMCM had passed on with ease and our team has never experienced any particular difficult situations thus, allowing me to cite a problem situation from one of Mrs. Polancos handouts for Leadership and Management. SITUATION: A sudden storm struck at about 9:30 on a Tuesday night. There were multiple motor vehicle crashes and the community hospital emergency department was overwhelmed with injured patients. At the same time, two people having massive heart attacks arrived by the ambulance for care. The pm staff was scheduled to go home at 11:30 pm. There are only 2 staffs who arrived for the Noc shift. How can you manage it. ANALYSIS:

As the Leader and Manager, I will utilize the 5 Steps in the Decision-Making process presented in the Nursing Leadership and Management handouts by Maam Polancos. These are the following: Step 1: Identify the need for a decision What decision will you make considering the hospital policies, professional practice standards, and staffing procedures? The particular problem is how to handle such toxic situation with an understaffed team. Step 2: Determine the outcome. What is the goal? To provide quality care and assistance despite the situation and to provide appropriate staffing assistance. Step 3: Identify all alternative actions and the benefits and consequences of each. Think of the actions that could be done to prevent understaffing. One of which is to convince the evening shift to go for straight duty provided that they have scheduled breaks for rest periods. Other solution is to call for assistance from other departments if available. Step 4: Arrive at the decision Consider the alternatives and the benefits and consequences of each decision. Make the decision then implement it. Step 5: Evaluate the decision This final step answers the question, was the goal achieved? Does the staff rendered quality care to the patients despite the situation? Was the team able to provide appropriate number of staffs? Works Cited Kelly, P. (2012). Nursing Leadership and Management (3rd ed.). New York: Cengage Learning. Maam J. Polancos Handouts on Nursing Leadership and Management Pages 83-84