Sarah

Bricker, RN
NURS 495
Journal

Entry #1:

While there are many of Gardners leadership tasks that could be applicable to my
project and my growth I have been directed to focus on three for this journal. The
tasks of leading that I have chosen are motivating, managing, and explaining.
- Explaining goes hand in hand with teaching. It is important that staff
know not only what you expect of them but also why when possible.
Providing teach-back opportunities is critical for ensuring staff
comprehension because it is possible to explain in a way that is
incomprehensible. Professionally I think this is important because it
prevents a lot of misunderstanding and potential conflict.
o Goal: Explain background of this change in the presentation. Have
others preview for ease of understanding and potential questions.
- Managing is seen in this project because it is incorporating a structure
into the bedside reporting process. Specific goals and outcomes are
established to enable staff to provide better care to our patients.
Professionally I honestly do not have a desire to be in an official
management position. While I may incorporate some of these skills into
my practice and may manage more small scale projects I would be happy
to leave it there. But that is just me. We do need people to be excellent
managers in nursing, and I am glad to be employed under one!
o Goal: Provide clear and measurable outcomes in project plan.
- Motivating is huge as I manage this project. As nurses we all desire to
provide good care for our patients this value drives our actions. But
sometimes we either forget our motivation or dont realize what actions
our values should be prompting us to. That is the crux of my project. Its
not that the nurses dont know what they should do, they are simply not
sufficiently motivated to do it. I think this might be one of the hardest
things. Professionally, motivating myself and others is also important. I
am leading my coworkers, students, colleagues, and patients by my
example. I should be rightly motivated and exhort others to follow.
o Goal: Provide at least two points of practical inspiration in bedside
reporting presentation.


The main skills noted in chapter two of the Heldman text did not surprise me. That
being said, I implement some of them better than others! At times I become
overwhelmed with managing information that comes at me and I fail to pick out the
important parts while throwing out the rest. I think that in general I communicate
appropriately. People often tell me that I am a good listener and I try to give clear
instructions when necessary. I am a person who likes lists because they (usually)
decrease my stress and mental clutter, in addition to helping me stay on track. This

organization has been invaluable while in the nursing program and is helpful in my
employment (and this project) as well! In contrast, time management is something
that I struggle with. I am easily distracted from the task at hand, sometimes by
legitimate tasks and sometimes by frivolities. This is definitely something that I
could improve upon.
- Goal: Make detailed list of what needs to be accomplished for the project
and for the semester.
- Goal: Schedule specific times to work on project tasks, writing them on
the calendar a week in advance, to aid in time management.
- Goal: Improve communication with the team by regular status update
emails every 7-10 days throughout project.

Entry #2
Below I have listed the goals from my initial journal as well as progress I have made
toward them as of this point in my project.

Goal: Explain background of this change in the presentation. Have others preview for
ease of understanding and potential questions.

In preparing my educational materials I was able to include background
rationale. I used applicable research and evidence to support the changes I was
advocating. My prior classes at Ferris were helpful for this as they had included
library and research orientations, which enabled me to find the applicable literature.
Materials were submitted to the team ahead of time so that they had opportunity to
make any necessary changes or clarify confusing statements.
Goal: Provide clear and measurable outcomes in project plan.

In my Project Scope and Plan (PSP) I used the SMART acronym for creating
my outcomes. Each was specific, measurable, and tied to a particular completion
date. These were reviewed by the team and the course instructor for clarity and
appropriateness. A challenge for this goal was keeping outcomes concise and
focused but our texts and prior nursing education were a good source of help.
Goal: Provide at least two points of practical inspiration in bedside reporting
presentation.

In my education I was able to not only provide background rationale based
on the evidence but also practical tips. Patients from our floor were surveyed in
relation to their thoughts about bedside report. Nurses were also surveyed about
their thoughts on the matter including reasons why they do or dont do bedside
report. These actual nurse and patient statements were then included in the
presentation, as well as ways to address the common excuses. It is my hope that
hearing the benefits from the point of view of patients and other nurses will help to
motivate staff. A good resource for this would be our nurse educator as she
frequently is in a position of trying to motivate and inspire people.

Project management skill goals:
Goal: Make detailed list of what needs to be accomplished for the project and for the
semester.


This goal has been met. I have made a detailed list of everything that needs
to be accomplished this semester and have been crossing off things as I go. With
only a few weeks left I am almost on to my last page! The list of what needs to be
accomplished for the project was based off of the outcomes outlined in my PSP and
was also detailed. Both of these lists have helped me stay on task and be able to
meet my goals.
Goal: Schedule specific times to work on project tasks, writing them on the calendar a
week in advance, to aid in time management.

This goal has only been partially met. I have been able to schedule specific
times to dedicate to project tasks and have, at times, gone to my workplace or the
library so as to be undistracted. I have often planned time ahead mentally and
havent written it on the calendar. For the most part this has worked fine but having
it concretely written down would make it more likely for me to stick to the plan.
The project is not completed yet, so there is still time to work on this goal.
Goal: Improve communication with the team by regular status update emails every 7-
10 days throughout project.

So far I have been able to send out weekly e-mails. This has helped to clarify
several issues and concerns. I plan to continue this until the project is completed.

Entry #3
The ANA (American Nurses Association) has numerous competencies in the area of
leadership. For this journal I have chosen three, which I will discuss in relationship
to my growth as a project manager.
The first competency is that the RN, Oversees the nursing care given by others
while retaining accountability for the quality of care given to the healthcare
consumer(ANA, 2010, p. 55). As a project manager I took part in observing and
evaluating the nursing care of others. This was critical background information to
have for my project. With this background in place I was able to look at the research
and literature to see how the practices needed to be shaped by the evidence. With
this information I was able to formulate a plan of education and implementation,
which could again be observed as I see whether or not staff is applying the
education.
Another are is that the RN, Demonstrates a commitment to continuous, lifelong
learning and education for self and others(ANA, 2010, p. 55). The very fact that I
am in the BSN program displays that I am involved in lifelong learning! Being able
to put education into practice through the formulation of this project and plan and
then implementing it is significantly more beneficial to learning. As a project
manager I had to first educated myself about the issue at hand and then figure out
how to educate my colleagues about it in a way that would be effective. If I only
educated myself that would be of some value, but in order to bring about real
change others must be educated as well.
Lastly, the ANA (2010) states that the RN, Mentors colleagues for the advancement
of nursing practice, the profession, and quality health care(p.55). The
implementation of this project required me to take a position of leadership among
my colleagues. The purpose of the project was not to take up time or to do
something that sounded fun but rather to help bring about a change that would lead

to greater quality of care for our patients. Doing this required me to interact with
my peers, to discuss barriers to good practice, and to brainstorm ideas of how to
improved and execute certain aspects of care. I was able to encourage my
colleagues in their practice and delivery of care.