Describe how improved communication, collaboration, and teamwork can improve conditions in your department.

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Choose two issues or challenges that the leaders of today’s health care organizations face. Select from among the following topics:

Staff Shortage (Physicians, Nurses, Allied Health Providers, Ancillary Services)
Reorganization in Response to Merger or Consolidation of Services
Layoffs as a Result of Declining Revenues
Influx of Registry, Part-Time, and Temporary Contract Staff
Poor Performance Outcomes Leading to a Reduction in Medicare Reimbursement Dollars
Poor Job Satisfaction Rates Resulting in Turnover

You are the manager of an ancillary service department at a large, 500+ bed hospital. Develop a proposal (750-1,200 words) that is directed toward your staff, in which you address the following:

Inform the staff of the two issues (from the topics provided) your organization is facing.
Describe the impact of these issues on your department.
Describe how improved communication, collaboration, and teamwork can improve conditions in your department.
Identify at least two examples from the required or recommended readings of techniques found to foster inclusion and improve communication and collaboration.
A minimum of three academic references from credible sources are required for this assignment.

Prepare this assignment according to the APA guidelines found in the APA Style Guide, located in the Student Success Center. An abstract is not required.
This assignment uses a grading rubric. Instructors will be using the rubric to grade the assignment; therefore, students should review the rubric prior to beginning the assignment to become familiar with the assignment criteria and expectations for successful completion of the assignment.
You are required to submit this assignment to Turnitin. Refer to the directions in the Student Success Center. Only Word documents can be submitted to Turnitin.

Describe an area where improvement is needed and one strategy that could address the situation.

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In the United States, there was a whopping 97% increase in the number of health records breached from 2010 to 2011… The number of patient records accessed in each breach has also increased substantially, from 26,968 (in 2010) to 49,394 (in 2011). Since August 2009, when the US government regulated that any breach affecting more than 500 patients be publicly disclosed, a total of 385 breaches, involving more than 19 million records, have been reported to the Department of Health and Human Services.

A large portion of those breaches, 39%, occurred because of a lost, stolen, or otherwise compromised portable electronic device—a problem that will likely only get worse as iPads, smartphones, and other gadgets become more common in hospitals. (CMAJ, 2012, p. E215). 
Consider your own experiences. Does your organization use portable electronic devices? What safeguards are in place to ensure the security of data and patient information? For this Discussion you consider ethical and security issues surrounding the protection of digital health information.
To prepare

Review the Learning Resources dealing with the security of digital health care information. Reflect on your own organization or one with which you are familiar, and think about how health information stored electronically is protected.
Consider the nurse’s responsibility to ensure the protection of patient information. What strategies can you use?
Reflect on ethical issues that are likely to arise with the increased access to newer, smaller, and more powerful technology tools.
Consider strategies that can be implemented to ensure that the use of HIT contributes to an overall culture of safety. 

Post an analysis of the nurse’s responsibility to protect patient information and the extent that HIT has made it easier or more difficult to protect patient privacy. Comment on any security or ethical issues related to the use of portable devices to store information. Assess the strategies your organization uses to safeguard patient information and how these promote a culture of safety. Describe an area where improvement is needed and one strategy that could address the situation.

What are some strategies you could employ to improve the health literacy of patients?

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In order to effectively manage their own health, individuals need to have competencies in two areas—basic literacy and basic health literacy. What is the difference? Basic literacy refers to the ability to read, even simple language. Health literacy is defined as, “the degree to which individuals have the capacity to obtain, process, and understand basic health information and services needed to make appropriate health decisions” (National Coalition for Literacy, 2009). Unfortunately, according to a Department of Education report on health literacy, only 12% of adults aged 16 and older are considered to have a proficient level of health literacy (U.S. Department of Education, 2006). Acquiring health literacy skills has become more complicated with the explosion of online health information, some credible and some misleading.
In this Discussion, you focus on how to help individuals find credible information on the Internet and develop strategies nurses can use to increase the health literacy of their patients.
To prepare:

Think about the nurse’s role in improving the health literacy of patients.
Consider the many ways patients access health information, including blogs, social media, patient portals, websites, etc.
Reflect on experiences you have had with patients who self-diagnose using online medical sources.
Using the Internet, the Walden Library, or other trustworthy sources, identify a resource that you could introduce to patients to help them evaluate the credibility of health information found online.
What are some strategies you could employ to improve the health literacy of patients?

Post your assessment of the nurse’s role in improving the health literacy of patients. Then, identify the resource you would recommend to patients for evaluating online health information and why it would be beneficial. Describe additional strategies for assisting patients in becoming informed consumers of online health information.

Discuss how an individual can use effective communication techniques to overcome workplace challenges, encourage collaboration across groups, and promote effective problem solving. Incorporate how system needs and the culture of health may influence the outcomes.

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Prepare a 10-minute presentation (10-15 slides, not including title or reference slide) on organizational culture and values.

Describe how alignment between the values of an organization and the values of the nurse impact nurse engagement and patient outcomes.
Discuss how an individual can use effective communication techniques to overcome workplace challenges, encourage collaboration across groups, and promote effective problem solving. Incorporate how system needs and the culture of health may influence the outcomes. How does this relate to health promotion and disease prevention in the larger picture?
Identify a specific instance from your own professional experience in which the values of the organization and the values of the individual nurses did or did not align. Describe the impact this had on nurse engagement and patient outcomes.

While APA style format is not required,solid academic writing is expected and in-text citations and references should be presented using APA documentation guidelines, which can be found in the APA Style Guide.
This assignment uses a rubric. Please review the rubric prior to beginning the assignment.