NURS 6053 Discuss Workplace Environment Assessment

Walden University NURS 6053 Discuss Workplace Environment Assessment– Step-By-Step Guide

This guide will demonstrate how to complete the Walden University NURS 6053 Discuss Workplace Environment Assessment assignment based on general principles of academic writing. Here, we will show you the A, B, Cs of completing an academic paper, irrespective of the instructions. After guiding you through what to do, the guide will leave one or two sample essays at the end to highlight the various sections discussed below.

How to Research and Prepare for NURS 6053 Discuss Workplace Environment Assessment

Whether one passes or fails an academic assignment such as the Walden University NURS 6053 Discuss Workplace Environment Assessment depends on the preparation done beforehand. The first thing to do once you receive an assignment is to quickly skim through the requirements. Once that is done, start going through the instructions one by one to clearly understand what the instructor wants. The most important thing here is to understand the required format—whether it is APA, MLA, Chicago, etc.

After understanding the requirements of the paper, the next phase is to gather relevant materials. The first place to start the research process is the weekly resources. Go through the resources provided in the instructions to determine which ones fit the assignment. After reviewing the provided resources, use the university library to search for additional resources. After gathering sufficient and necessary resources, you are now ready to start drafting your paper.

How to Write the Introduction for NURS 6053 Discuss Workplace Environment Assessment

The introduction for the Walden University NURS 6053 Discuss Workplace Environment Assessment is where you tell the instructor what your paper will encompass. In three to four statements, highlight the important points that will form the basis of your paper. Here, you can include statistics to show the importance of the topic you will be discussing. At the end of the introduction, write a clear purpose statement outlining what exactly will be contained in the paper. This statement will start with “The purpose of this paper…” and then proceed to outline the various sections of the instructions.

How to Write the Body for NURS 6053 Discuss Workplace Environment Assessment

After the introduction, move into the main part of the NURS 6053 Discuss Workplace Environment Assessment assignment, which is the body. Given that the paper you will be writing is not experimental, the way you organize the headings and subheadings of your paper is critically important. In some cases, you might have to use more subheadings to properly organize the assignment. The organization will depend on the rubric provided. Carefully examine the rubric, as it will contain all the detailed requirements of the assignment. Sometimes, the rubric will have information that the normal instructions lack.

Another important factor to consider at this point is how to do citations. In-text citations are fundamental as they support the arguments and points you make in the paper. At this point, the resources gathered at the beginning will come in handy. Integrating the ideas of the authors with your own will ensure that you produce a comprehensive paper. Also, follow the given citation format. In most cases, APA 7 is the preferred format for nursing assignments.

How to Write the Conclusion for NURS 6053 Discuss Workplace Environment Assessment

After completing the main sections, write the conclusion of your paper. The conclusion is a summary of the main points you made in your paper. However, you need to rewrite the points and not simply copy and paste them. By restating the points from each subheading, you will provide a nuanced overview of the assignment to the reader.

How to Format the References List for NURS 6053 Discuss Workplace Environment Assessment

The very last part of your paper involves listing the sources used in your paper. These sources should be listed in alphabetical order and double-spaced. Additionally, use a hanging indent for each source that appears in this list. Lastly, only the sources cited within the body of the paper should appear here.

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Sample Answer for NURS 6053 Discuss Workplace Environment Assessment

Incivility refers to a milder form of uncivil behavior conducted with the aim of harming the target. All forms of incivility entail dysfunctional interpersonal relationships attributed to high employee turnover and low quality of care (Kisner et al., 2018). Nurses have a responsibility to establish and promote healthy interpersonal relationships with one another. They need to know how their communication and behavior or failure to act can cause incivility (Abdollahzadeh et al., 2017). This essay will analyze the results from the Work Environment Assessment, review literature on incivility, and explore evidence-based strategies to create high-performance interprofessional teams.

Work Environment Assessment

Results of the Clark Healthy Workplace Inventory

My workplace scored 67/100 on the Clark Healthy Workplace Inventory. The result suggests that the workplace environment is Barely Healthy (Clark, 2015). This was an unexpected score, as I expected to have at least a score in the moderately healthy range. I was surprised that we only scored 5 points in only four items. It is somewhat surprising that our organization could only score the maximum points in only four items, which means that we have a long way to promote a healthier workplace. The four items include: Promotion of Teamwork and collaboration, Treating employees fairly and respectfully, using effective conflict-resolution skills, and Providing competitive salaries, benefits, compensations, and other rewards.

According to Karen Tomajan, an advocate is one that pleads, defends, or supports a cause or interest of another (2012). Nurses are trained to advocate for their patients, but we must advocate for each other and ourselves as leaders. Collaboration, negotiation, and compromise can help a nurse leader promote change on behalf of staff members. Communication has been seen to be a critical factor in good leadership. This also applies to nurse leaders advocating for their employees and communicating with employees/colleges seeking input, following up, being aware, and providing open communication. Creating a reasonable, safe, and tolerable working condition can increase engagement, reduce stress and anxiety, and promote higher employee satisfaction, leading to better employee satisfaction. Research studies have shown this to improve patient outcomes. Using data from the American Nurses Association’s National Database of Nursing Quality Indicators, researchers discovered that a 25 percent increase in nurse job enjoyment over two years was linked with the overall quality of care increase between 5 and 20 percent (Walker, 2018). Case studies have linked on different occasions that there is a correlation between employee satisfaction and patient care.

I was also surprised that my workplace scored 1 point in two items in the Clark Inventory. This was surprising because our organization belongs to a caliber that should not have very low scores on matters associated with healthy workplaces. The two items that had the lowest score were: The workload being reasonable, manageable, and fairly distributed and Organization attracting and retaining the best and the brightest.

Before completing the Clark Inventory, I assumed that unreasonable and unmanageable workload is a primary cause of failing to retain the organization’s best staff. I believed that unbearable nursing workloads and nurses shortages are interconnected, in that each leads to the other. This was confirmed by the assessment, where I established that the high unmanageable nursing workload in our workplace is the primary reason for failing to retain staff.

What the Results Suggest About the Health and Civility of My Workplace

The assessment results indicate a stressful work environment that can be attributed to an unreasonable, unmanageable, and unfairly distributed workload. A Barely Healthy workplace suggests a problem with the organization’s leadership; in that, the leaders are more goal-oriented than people-oriented. This results in the management focusing more on meeting its clients’ needs at the expense of the staff needs (Abdollahzadeh et al., 2017). The results also mean that the staff’s needs may be overlooked, and their voice is not often considered during policy-making. Furthermore, they suggest that the staff may not be adequately engaged in making decisions that affect them, and the leadership does not recognize shared governance.

Despite the average results, the organization scored highly in items that indicate high civility in the workplace. These items include: Promotion of Teamwork and collaboration, Treatment of employees fairly and respectfully, and Use of effective conflict-resolution skills (Clark, 2015). The high scores in these items suggest that a culture of civility has been developed in the workplace. It also means that the employees have strived to create and maintain civil, healthy work environments by communicating clearly and effectively, despite the harsh working environment. Besides, it shows that the staff manages conflict in the workplace respectfully and responsibly.

Reviewing the Literature

The article by Clark (2015) presents the concept of healthy work environments. The article mentions the six standards by AACN that are vital in establishing and sustaining healthy work environments, namely, skilled communication, effective decision-making, true collaboration, appropriate staffing, meaningful recognition, and authentic leadership (Clark, 2015). Clark also presents other standards from her research, crucial in promoting healthy work environments, which include: A common organizational vision, values, and team norms; Emphasis on both formal and informal leadership; Creation and sustenance of a high level of the individual, team, and organizational civility; and Civility conversations at all organizational levels.

Clark argues that when an uncivil encounter occurs, we may require to address it by having a critical conversation with the uncivil person. One needs to be well-prepared for this critical conversation, speak with confidence, and use respectful expressions (Clark, 2015). Critical conversations are often stressful. Thus, while taking a direct approach to resolving a conflict, it requires courage, know-how, and lots of practice. By having this conversation, one can end the silence that surrounds incivility. The article presents the DESC model, which can be used to address incivility in the workplace. The DESC model has four elements: D-Describe the specific situation, E-Express your concerns, S-State other alternatives; and C-Consequences stated (Clark, 2015). The critical conversations can occur more effectively when one is well-equipped with tools like this DESC model.

How the Concept Presented In the Article Relates To the Results of the Work Environment Assessment

The concept on the standards of sustaining a healthy work environment relates to the assessment results, in that ineffective decision-making, lack of appropriate staffing, and lack of authentic leadership in the organization has resulted in a less healthy environment. Lack of authentic leadership is evident in the workplace environment, which suggests that the organization’s leaders have not put much effort into ensuring the staff work in a healthy work environment. The leaders at my organization do not initiate or encourage open discussions and dialogues on promoting a healthy workplace. If they do so, they could have identified key factors that create a harsh working environment, such as inadequate staffing.

Ineffective decision-making by failing to engage the employees has contributed to a less healthy workplace. This is because the staff’s opinions on enhancing the workplace environment are not incorporated in policy-making. The low assessment results can be related to the employees’ failure to initiate a critical conversation with the management on issues that affect them. Perhaps, if we expressed their concerns to the leaders, we could be heard, and the various issues that negatively impact the workplace could be addressed. The tense relationship between the employees and the management can be attributed to the lack of conversations between the two groups, which is critical in ending the silence surrounding incivility.

How My Organization Could Apply the Concept to Improve Organizational Health

My organization can apply the identified standards to enhance organizational health by having direct and transparent communication at all organizational levels to promote respect among the staff and between the staff and the supervisors. The management can actively engage the staff by consulting or involving them in decision-making and developing organizational policies (Griffin & Clark, 2014). Additionally, the organization’s employees can apply the concept of critical conversation to discuss with the management on issues affecting them, such as inadequate staffing (Clark, 2015). Critical conversations can be started among the employees to help solve conflicts, especially between different professions, to help create strong intra- and interprofessional health teams.

Evidence-Based Strategies to Create High-Performance Interprofessional Teams

Strategies That Can Be Implemented To Address Any Shortcomings

The article by Clark (2019) discusses the use of Cognitive Rehearsal to address incivility that threatens patient safety. Cognitive rehearsal (CR) is a technique employed in behavioral science whereby people work with a skilled facilitator to identify and rehearse effective methods of addressing a problem or social situation (Clark, 2019). It is intended to lessen anxiety, enhance confidence, and increase impulse control by practicing effective methods to solve potentially stressful situations. CR has been established to be an effective strategy to solve incivility in clinical practice and educational settings (Clark, 2019). A planned, rehearsed response presents a chance to convey expectations for appropriate behaviors and future interactions.

The article by Kisner et al. (2018) discusses the Mixed-intervention strategy, which effectively addresses incivility. The strategy entails the following steps: Providing personal support, education, and mediation between the perpetrator and the target. Using corrective action to discipline the perpetrator and educating the target to handle aggression (Kisner et al., 2018). The strategy also involves imposing policies and penalties to deal with aggressive behaviors. The last step is encouraging social interaction and interventions that promote collective responsibility in creating a safe and supportive culture.

Strategies That Can Be Implemented To Bolster Successful Practices

Successful practices in the workplace environment can be enhanced by holding Team-building sessions in organizations. The team-building sessions should build trust, engage staff in decision-making, clarify roles, and role-model positive interactions. Simulation can be employed in these sessions to promote better teamwork and collaboration. For instance, the simulation activity can involve a nurse role-modeling positive interactions with other nurses. The role-modeling can be useful in demonstrating to the staff the power of positivity in employees’ communication.

Organizations can develop and impose a zero-tolerance policy for incivility, which clearly outlines uncivil behaviors. The policy should be clear that incivility will not be tolerated in the organization, and if it happens, consequences will result. For instance, the policy can indicate that a staff who displays uncivil conduct will be given a verbal and written warning for each violation, and after three violations, they will be terminated. A policy is a very effective strategy as it outs employees conducting incivility on notice. Once the policy is developed, the management can conduct staff development programs for staff and managers about the zero- incivility tolerance policy. The programs can include enhancing communication skills, challenging culprits, and using silence to facilitate thinking.

References

Abdollahzadeh, F., Asghari, E., Ebrahimi, H., Rahmani, A., & Vahidi, M. (2017). How to Prevent Workplace Incivility?: Nurses’ Perspective. Iranian journal of nursing and midwifery research, 22(2), 157–163. https://doi.org/10.4103/1735-9066.205966

Clark, C. M. (2019). Combining cognitive rehearsal, simulation, and evidence-based scripting to address incivility. Research in Nursing Education| Nurse Educator, 44(2), 64-68. http://doi.org/10.1097/NNE.0000000000000563

Clark, C. M. (2015). Conversations to inspire and promote a more civil workplace. American Nurse Today, 10(11), 18-23.

Griffin, M., & Clark, C. M. (2014). Revisiting cognitive rehearsal as an intervention against incivility and lateral violence in nursing: 10 years later. The Journal of Continuing Education in Nursing, 45(12), 535-542. http://doi.org/10.3928/00220124-20141122-02

Kisner, T. (2018). Workplace incivility: How do you address it?. Nursing2019, 48(6), 36-40. http://doi.org/10.1097/01.NURSE.0000532746.88129.e9

You may think your current organization operates seamlessly, or you may feel it has many issues. You may experience or even observe things that give you pause. Yet, much as you wouldn’t try to determine the health of a patient through mere observation, you should not attempt to gauge the health of your work environment based on observation and opinion. Often, there are issues you perceive as problems that others do not; similarly, issues may run much deeper than leadership recognizes.

There are many factors and measures that may impact organizational health. Among these is civility. While an organization can institute policies designed to promote such things as civility, how can it be sure these are managed effectively? In this Discussion, you will examine the use of tools in measuring workplace civility.

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To Prepare:

Review the Resources and examine the Clark Healthy Workplace Inventory, found on page 20 of Clark (2015).
Review and complete the Work Environment Assessment Template in the Resources.

By Day 3 of Week 7

Post a brief description of the results of your Work Environment Assessment. Based on the results, how civil is your workplace? Explain why your workplace is or is not civil. Then, describe a situation where you have experienced incivility in the workplace. How was this addressed? Be specific and provide examples.

By Day 6 of Week 7

Respond to at least two of your colleagues on two different days by sharing ideas for how shortcomings discovered in their evaluations and/or their examples of incivility could have been managed more effectively.

Submission and Grading Information

Results of the Clark Health Workplace Inventory concluded that the organization I am employed with is a moderately healthy

workplace (Clark, 2015). I am surprised that the results fell in the category they did, I expected a lower score. The reasoning behind

the score I expected was because of the current pandemic. Employees are leaving for higher paying jobs and many have been

unhappy with the stress caused by the pandemic. However, the employees of the organization share the same vision to improve

the lives of the community and we have leaders that are open to listening to our concerns, maintaining a civil work environment. I

was also surprised by the emphasis by the assessment regarding employee self-care and teamwork. Even during the pandemic, our NURS 6053 Discuss Workplace Environment Assessment

organization as encouraged self-care giving quiet rooms with massage chairs and our manager has been available even on

weekends and late at night to ensure the unit’s needs are being met. During the stress and chaos of the pandemic, I moved to the

intensive care unit. I was met by a unit that was constantly full of high acuity patients than normal even for the ICU. However, I

found that the team worked well together and communicated effectively presenting a work environment that was civil and healthy

and I am proud to be apart of .

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The main idea that I had regarding the results was that the organization runs smoothly because of the shared mission, values

and goals of the organization. Christus Good Shepherd’s mission is to extend the healing ministry of Jesus Christ with core values of

dignity, integrity, excellence, compassion, and stewardship. The vision of Christus Health is to be a leader and advocate in the

creation of innovative health and wellness solutions to improve the lives of the individuals of the community so that all may

experience the healing love of Jesus Christ (Christus Health, 2021). However, as shown by the results of the assessment not falling

in the top category, the current pandemic has put a strain on certain aspects including competitive pay and tension in everyday

work.

One instance where I have felt that I had an uncivil encounter was when I was in the ICU and one of the physicians started yelling

orders at me during a stressful situation and griping in front of the patient that it was late in the day to be inserting lines and such.

Clark (2015) states that the most effective way to stop incivility is to address it when it occurs. However, this takes practice and

requires effective communication and competent dialogue. At the time, I was unable to address the physician outside of the

patient’s room, however I have a wonderful team that did address it with the doctor. The team member gently spoke with the

physician in the appropriate environment and reminded him that we are all exhausted, but that appropriate communication is

essential to decrease work stress between staff and provide safe and effective patient care. Working under conditions of civil

communication, promotes role performance of team members (Liu, et. al., 2020). Even under stressful working conditions, it is

important for each team member to promote a civil working environment to support optimum work performance of each team

member.

References

Christus Health (2021). Christus Health: Our vision, mission, and values. Retrieved from https://www.christushealth.org/about/our-

mission-values-and-vision

Clark, C.M. (2015). Conversations to inspire and promote a more civil workplace. American Nurse Today, 10(11), 18-23. Retrieved

from https://www.myamericannurse.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/ant11-CE-Civility-1023.

Liu, Y., Vashdi, D. R., Cross, T., Bamberger, P., & Erez, A. (2020). Exploring the puzzle of civility: Whether and when team civil

communication influences team members’ role performance. Human Relations, 73(2), 215–241. https://doi-

org.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/10.1177/0018726719830164

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Sample Answer 2 for NURS 6053 Discuss Workplace Environment Assessment

Based off the Clark Healthy Workplace Inventory, my place of employment is rated as mildly healthy. It scored an average of 69 (Clark, 2019). Overall, this assessment made me think about what my organization has to offer and how I am valued as an employee but there are a few things that need to improve. Civility is about more than just politeness, although politeness is a necessary first step (Spath & Dahnke, 2021). It is about disagreeing without disrespect, seeking common ground as a starting point for dialogue about differences, listening past one’s preconceptions, and teaching others to do the same. Civility is the hard work of staying present even with those with whom we have deep-rooted and fierce disagreements (Spath & Dahnke, 2021). It is political in the sense that it is a prerequisite for civic action. But it is political, too, in the sense that it is about negotiating interpersonal power such that everyone’s voice is heard, and nobody is ignored (Spath & Dahnke, 2021).

After completing the Clark Healthy Workplace Inventory and scoring a 69 for my place of employment, this lets me know that my workplace is mildly healthy and a civil place of employment (Clark, 2019). A mildly healthy workplace is one in which workers and managers collaborate to use a continual improvement process to protect and promote the health, safety and well-being of all workers and the sustainability of the workplace by considering the following, based on identified needs (Stoewen, 2016):

Health and safety concerns in the physical work environment;
Health, safety and well-being concerns in the psychosocial work environment, including organization of work and workplace culture;
Personal health resources in the workplace; and
Ways of participating in the community to improve the health of workers, their families and other members of the community.

There was a time when I faced incivility at my workplace. After Covid-19 started the healthcare system took a tumble. Nursing shortage grew even bigger, and more nurses left their primary place of employment and went traveling. One morning working on a covid unit with 16 patients who were all Covid and there were only two nurses. It was me who have been a nurse for over 10 years and a new nurse with less than 1 year of experience. We both had 8 patients and they kept us busy. I became so tired and exhausted and just started crying. It seems like the floor manager did not care because she was supposed to help us and was no where to be found. Then nursing supervisor was contacted and it was like they could not send us any help and therefore we had to toughen it out. At that moment I felt my place of employment was incivility and we were not valued as employees although we were putting our nursing license on the line as well as not providing the proper care to our patients.

References

Clark, C. (2019, November 11). Conversations to inspire and promote a more civil workplace. Let’s end the silence that surrounds incivility. Retrieved from American Nurse Today website: http://www.AmericanNurseToday.com

Spath, T., & Dahnke, C. (2021). What is Civility? – The Institute for Civility in Goverment. Retrieved from The Institute for Civility in Goverment website: https://www.instituteforcivility.org/who-we-are/what-is-civility/

Stoewen, D. L. (2016). Wellness at work: Building healthy workplaces. The Canadian Veterinary Journal = La Revue Veterinaire Canadienne, 57(11), 1188–1190. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5081153/

Sample Answer 3 for NURS 6053 Discuss Workplace Environment Assessment

I agreed with your post Sunday, Incivility among healthcare workers can thus lead to unsafe working conditions and the safety of a patient. Care providers and organizational leaders must communicate in a way that fosters civility and empowers nurses to speak up. They must strive to create and sustain a healthy work environment where courtesy is evident. Overall, Companies should come up with a no tolerance policy for incivility in the workplace. The procedure could have a penalty resulting in every infringement, verbal caution for the initial offense, written caution for the second mistake, non-payment leave for the third one, and termination. The department of human resources should be included in the policymaking process. If incivility at the workplace is tolerated, destructive behaviors become commonplace and continue in the working environment. Each team member in a company should be educated on the right professional characters with the job code of conduct. Both staff and nurse managers must have the ability to identify it, taking it seriously, and cease the action in its ways.

References

Broome, M. E., & Marshall, E. S. (2021). Transformational leadership in nursing: From expert clinician to influential leader (3rd ed.). Springer Publishing Company.

Cimarolli, V. R., Bryant, N. S., Falzarano, F., & Stone, R. (2022). Factors associated with nursing home direct care professionals’ turnover intent during the covid-19 pandemic. Geriatric Nursing, 48, 32–36. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gerinurse.2022.08.012Links to an external site.

Clark, C. M. (2019). Combining cognitive rehearsal, simulation, and evidence-based scripting to address incivility. Nurse Educator, 44(2), 64–68. https://doi.org/10.1097/nne.0000000000000563Links to an external site.

Sample Answer 4 for NURS 6053 Discuss Workplace Environment Assessment

An environmental assessment is a chance to navigate and watch the workplace, learn more about the environment in which employees work and the physical factors that support or hinder employee health, and assess the organizational and physical workplace for health dangers and threats (CDC, 2021). The work environment should promote quality healthcare, patients’ safety, and clinical well-being. Bullying, incivility, and workplace violence are obstacles to creating secure workplaces for workers (Broome & Marshall, 2020, p. 255). Understanding my workplace’s civility score is crucial for identifying its strengths and weaknesses and the elements that contribute to its improvement.

My workplace received an 80 out of 100 for overall civility score on the Clark Healthy Workplace Inventory. According to the assessment, this score signifies that the workplace is moderately healthy. At 80 percent, my organization has essential assets, including alignment with a shared vision and mission and intense employee appreciation. This score did not surprise me because my workplace is magnet recognized. Broome and Marshall (2020), noted that Magnet recognition signifies quality and a hallmark of excellence (Broome & Marshall, 2020, p. 130). Magnet hospitals measure high nurse satisfaction, workload, and support for nursing practice because of effective communication.

A healthy work environment necessitates effective communication, efficient teamwork, decision-making, and genuine leadership. Employee interactions can impact how well they perform their duties, how loyal they are to the company, and most importantly, how well patients are cared for (Clark, 2015, p.19). In order to promote a healthy workplace, leaders must encourage free conversation and dialogue. My organization employs a diverse workforce and values each employee’s contributions to the team.

Personal experience

My workplace also has shortcomings; It scores 80% as being civility, and the remaining 20% signifies incivility. Human wants, and demands are insatiable; satisfying a whole workforce without some form of grievances is challenging. For example, ICU Nurses in my organization complained of not receiving higher compensation than the floor employees. They stated they are more exposed to deadly diseases and double as Rapid Respond team and Code Blue Responders to the other units, in addition to their primary assessment. This complaint led to a compensatory incentive of pay increment during the COVID-19 Pandemic to the ICU and Emergency staff. However, staff in the other units did not accept the condition because they complained of higher workloads, leading to overworking the staff and staff shortage. With these grievances, they wrote petitions that removed the incentive within six weeks of inception.

Addressing Incivility

Workplace incivility harms staff members’ physical and mental health and their job fulfillment, productivity, and commitment to the workplace. It also places a significant financial burden on healthcare organizations. Employee retention, recruiting, and job satisfaction are all negatively impacted by incivility, bullying, and workplace mobbing, which exacts a heavy toll on individuals, teams, and organizations (Griffin & Clark, 2014, p. 536). My organization, in the quest to avoid creating more financial burden on itself and to prevent further staff grievances. That is, problems that could result in staff shortage or employee dissatisfaction carried out an environmental assessment which led to removing the extra incentives designated to some specific units during the COVID-19 Pandemic, thereby creating a level ground for all employees.

Sample Answer 5 for NURS 6053 Discuss Workplace Environment Assessment

A critical part of nursing leadership is promoting a healthy work environment. An assessment of the workplace based on tools like the Clark Healthy Workplace Inventory allows healthcare leaders to implement measures to enhance employee performance and productivity. Nurse managers and organizational leaders should provide an environment where nurses and other healthcare workers feel comfortable and motivated to air their opinions and address concerns arising from their work activities (Peng, 2023). A healthy work environment does not imply the absence of real or perceived threats to health but should foster the physical, mental, and social wellness of the staff (Ota et al., 2022). The purpose of this paper is to discuss the results of the work environment assessment, review the literature on these areas or concepts, and suggest strategies to enhance highly efficient inter-professional teams.

Summary of Results – Clark Healthy Workplace Inventory	The healthy workplace inventory offers a means to understand the status of the work environment and what ails it by focusing on a host of aspects or issues. The inventory lists certain criteria like having a shared vision, sufficient communication, trust among staff and administration, engagement of employees, and addressing emerging concerns. The scores range from 20% to 100%. A score greater than 90% implies the work environment is very healthy while a less than 50% score suggests it is a very unhealthy or toxic work culture. The scores show moderately, mildly, or barely healthy work environments. The score based on the inventory for our organization was 60%, meaning it is a mildly healthy work environment, with just a point above barely healthy. The result emanates from the current situation where nurses and other employees do not feel the organization endures its vision. Their concerns are not addressed as they feel that the planned expansion to a new state-of-the-art facility did not happen. Many are contemplating seeking new employment places and opportunities due to a decline in the team culture. The environment fails to obtain better scores based on the Clark Healthy Workplace Inventory due to toxic leadership that does not understand medical aesthetics as a specialty.
Identify two things that surprised you about the results. Also, identify one idea that you believed before conducting the Assessment that was confirmed.	Two things that surprised me were the score of 60% implying mildly healthy, and the decline in the vision that nurses and other staff had for the organization. I was surprised that it was even mildly healthy. I was surprised because six months before the assessment, the result would have been a very healthy workplace. One change in the leadership by an individual could lead to this significant shift in the organization’s culture. I reckoned that if the assessment happened again after a week, the workplace environment would get a score of barely healthy. A healthy workplace environment is essential and allows employees to focus on organizational goals and the attainment of its vision. An idea that I believed before conducting the assessment which was confirmed is that the workplace environment was already toxic due to the leadership change and actions that the leader was taking without consulting and engaging employees. The unbiased review based on the inventory was categorical that the workplace environment was not conducive for nurses and other healthcare providers in the facility.
What do the results of the Assessment suggest about the health and civility of your workplace?	The results of the assessment are categorical that leadership change has had a significant negative effect on the work culture. The assessment shows that the health and civility of the workplace are missing and require immediate interventions to bring change and inspire nurses. Civility is the foundation for patient safety, a healthy work environment, healthy staff, and increased productivity and performance. Nurse leaders and nurses should demonstrate civilized conduct, courtesy, politeness, and a polite act or expression of views and other aspects that impact the workplace environment. Civility impacts morale and job satisfaction among employees, including nurses. These results show that a healthy workplace can enhance collaboration, and effective communication, and lead to better patient outcomes when embedded in the organizational culture. In their article, Hossny et al. (2020) show that civility influences effective collaboration between nurses and physicians to attain better patient outcomes. Ota et al. (2021) emphasize the role of nurse leadership in fostering and supporting civility in the workplace. The study suggests ways and strategies for nurses to pragmatically promote and maintain civility in healthcare settings. The implication is that the results of the assessment indicate the nurse leader has failed to promote civility in the facility because of single-handedly making decisions without engaging nurses and understanding the nature of the work environment.
Briefly describe the theory or concept presented in the article(s) you selected. Explain how the theory or concept presented in the article(s) relates to the results of your Work Environment Assessment.	The selected article by Clark (2019) explores the concepts of civility and respect in nursing. Clark asserts that disrespect and uncivil workplace environment breeds harm, especially for patient safety. The article is categorical that disrespectful and uncivil behaviors in healthcare settings can lead to detrimental effects on nurses, teams, organizations, and patient safety, especially in life-threatening mistakes and even preventable complications. The article shows that incivility has significant effects on the patient care environment. The concept of incivility is essential as it implies that organizational leaders and nurses should develop evidence-based strategies to enhance and foster a culture of civility and respect. Clark (2019) observes that incivility and disrespect are associated with poor patient outcomes, dissatisfaction among employees, and increased turnover rates, as currently happening in our facility. The concept presented in this article relates to the outcomes of the Work Environment Assessment as it demonstrates that having a healthy work environment reduces harm and fosters civility and respect among employees and management. The article shows that when a work environment is toxic, civility cannot thrive as employees and the management do not collaborate or work cooperatively to fix a problem or resolve emerging conflicts. The current work environment is uncivil and disrespects nurses and other providers (Clark et al., 2022). Therefore, the article emphasizes that nurse leadership should foster respect and engage nurses to attain increased job satisfaction, develop a positive work environment, and enhance collaboration among all stakeholders.
Explain how your organization could apply the theory highlighted in your selected article(s) to improve organizational health and/or create stronger work teams. Be specific and provide examples.	The organization can use the concepts of civility and respect for nurses to improve the current toxic environment where nurses perceive that the leadership is not responsive to their concerns. The organization should implement the evidence-based strategies as proposed by the article to improve civility and respect for nurses. The article recommends an eight-step process that allows the organization to improve civility and satisfaction among nurses. For instance, the article suggests that the first step is to raise awareness and build leadership support. The leadership should raise awareness of the positive effects of civility and educate key stakeholders about the negative impacts of incivility. The next step is assembling and empowering civility teams and ensuring they have broad-based support or recognition within the workplace. These strategies among others are essential to the organization as it can leverage them to improve employees’ welfare and patient safety. For example, the new nurse leader should engage nurses and seek their views on the proposed facility and its effects on productivity and performance. Civility and respect are essential, and the nurse leader should ensure nurses give their views and vision as depicted a few months ago before her arrival (Clark et al., 2022). She needs to understand aesthetic care as a specialty that is broad-based and not narrow since it allows individuals to have access to life-changing treatment based on their desired interventions.
General Notes/Comments	Work environment assessment is a critical aspect of understanding the positive aspects of an organizational culture. The assessment of our facility shows a mildly healthy environment that requires significant improvement to enhance employee motivation and attainment of organizational goals. As posited by research evidence through the articles, civility is essential and enhances organizational performance and employee satisfaction. Therefore, the facility should implement the suggested evidence-based strategies to attain civility and foster respect leading to better patient outcomes and employee satisfaction.

References

Clark, C. M. (2019). Fostering a culture of civility and respect in nursing. Journal of Nursing Regulation, 10(1): 44-52.

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/S2155-8256(19)30082-1

Clark, C. M., Gorton, K. L., & Bentley, A. L. (2022). Civility: A concept analysis revisited. Nursing Outlook, 70(2): 259-270.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.outlook.2021.11.001

Hossny, E. K., & Sabra, H. E. (2021). Effect of Nurses’ perception of workplace civility climate on nurse-physician

collaboration. Nursing Open, 8(2): 620-627. DOI: 10.1002/nop2.666

Ota, M., Lam, L., Gilbert, J., & Hills, D. (2022). Nurse leadership in promoting and supporting civility in healthcare settings:

A scoping review. Journal of Nursing Management, 30(8): 4221-4233. DOI: 10.1111/jonm.13883

Peng, X. (2023). Advancing Workplace Civility: A Systematic Review and meta-analysis of Definitions, measurements, and

associated Factors. Frontiers in psychology, 14, 1277188. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1277188

Sample Answer 6 for NURS 6053 Discuss Workplace Environment Assessment

I agree that effective communication is important to reduce incivility in a workplace.

According to Meires (2018), areas where bullying occurs most frequently are emergency departments, behavioral health centers, and intensive care centers; bullying also occurs in long-term care centers, especially during the evening and night shifts. One key to decreasing bullying and incivility in the workplace is for nurses and other team members to tap into emotional Intelligence (Meires 2018). Emotional intelligence is a form of social acumen that involves the ability of an individual to monitor his or her own feelings and the feelings of others to use good judgement (Meires 2018). One approach to bullying is to reflect on the situation before acting. A moment of calm reasoning can go a long way to diffuse a potentially stressful or angry situation. It might be reasonable to avoid labeling individuals as bullies, patient and staff safety should be the overarching theme (Meires 2018). Many times, individuals who are not easily intimidated do not make the situation about themselves. Rather, they see it as a way to prevent an adverse outcome. keeping a sense of humor and knowing your limits of tolerance are useful (Meires 2018). Nurses who use EI often provide situational awareness and stability when emotions flare. Nurses using EI can also role model professional behaviors necessary for a healthy and harmonious work environment.

According to Green (2019), leadership styles can affect incivility in a workplace. The democratic leader uses constructive criticism to institute change among the group and encourages the group to make decisions together (Green 2019). With this leadership style, staff members experiencing uncivil conduct are more likely to feel comfortable discussing their concerns and can anticipate some degree of change to occur within the workplace environment. The transformational leaders motivate staff members to accomplish a goal or an initiative (Green 2019). They exhibit organizational citizenship behaviors, use listening skills, and pay attention to their staff members’ needs and identified goals, which can positively impact staff engagement, team member collaboration and relationships, and patient care. The quantum leader manages complex dynamics at the unit and organizational level, responding with interventions to address issues, team collaboration is imperative to establishing interconnectedness and, ultimately, resolving identified problems (Green 2019). Laissez-faire leaders avoid criticism of others’ behaviors and have difficulty with providing direction (Green 2019). Under this style of leadership, the staff member experiencing uncivil conduct is left to cope with the problem alone. The autocratic leader is punitive in his or her criticism of others’ behaviors and right or wrong decisions are made with minimal to no group input (Green 2019). This can be problematic when the leader is a participant within the culture of incivility. When addressing workplace incivility, the democratic leadership style can be effective (Green 2019). This style allows for objectivity when discussing environmental dysfunction within the workplace, with multiple views being shared within the group (Green 2019). Sharing viewpoints may potentially decrease staff members’ fear and anxiety, facilitating honest discussion (green 2019).

References

Green, C., A. (2019). Workplace incivility: Nurse leaders as change agents. Nursing Management (Springhouse), 50(1), 51–53. https://doi-org.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/10.1097/01.NUMA.0000550455.99449.6b

Meires, J. (2018). Workplace Incivility. The Essentials: Using Emotional Intelligence to Curtail Bullying in the Workplace. Urologic Nursing, 38(3), 150–153. https://doi-org.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/10.7257/1053-816X.2018.38.3.150