Workplace Safety Case Study

As per Australian legislations, the employer is under the obligation under Occupational Health and Safety and anti-discrimination laws to keep a safe workplace  (Queensland Government, 2018). This assignment is prepared to analyse a case study of Shannon and Jennifer regarding workplace safety. Shannon Doe is a third year undergraduate nurse on clinical placement at Charles Darwin University Hospital ED and her preceptor is Jennifer. An incident report form and a critical analysis of the case study is provided in the essay. Further, the formal and informal procedures of conflict resolution that can be adopted by Shannon and Jennifer are also stated and discussed. Next, recommendations to build Shannon’s resilience in future placements are also listed.

On Day 1, Jennifer talked about giving introducing Shannon around and starting the orientation. She also passed on the log in details to Shannon of the tea room computer which had self-directed learning modules on WHS, infection control, mandatory reporting and aggression management. Shannon was not approached by Jennifer after that for the rest of the day. Jennifer mentioned that they were short staffed. It can be said that Jennifer could not play the role of Shannon’s preceptor adequately but the reason of incompetency should be dealt at personal and organizational level. As Jennifer’s incompetency is less attitudinal and more situational. Since the ED was short staffed, Jennifer will have to priorities her duties and the clinical duties will be given preference over her mentoring responsibilities. Therefore, it can be said that organisations involved in placement duties must be careful while allocating responsibilities to their nurses as it can hinder their performances as nurses and preceptors. Shannon should not feel neglected or useless as Jennifer provided her the details of the self-directed modules which can make Shannon’s day productive on a short staffed day.

On Day 2, Jennifer enquired about Shannon’s previous day after greeting her and handing over. However, Jennifer called Shannon young Padawan and said that she has much to learn. Shannon perceived this comment as ageist and stereotyping. The professional conduct demands the professionals to be fair and non-discriminatory towards other people. Even though, Jennifer’s comments seemed unintentional but even passing judgmental comments unknowingly will be regarded under discrimination and sexist. Since, Jennifer is senior to Shannon, older in age and has more authority, her Padawan comment felt like an ageist comment to Shannon. While looking after the patient at Bed 1, on being asked a question Shannon answered that question in detail to which Jennifer passed an ambiguous compliment that she is a walking text book and added well done. Shannon found that comment sarcastic which is a possibility depending on the tone and thought process of Jennifer. Jennifer should have understood that its Shannon’s first day at practice so, she wanted to demonstrate her knowledge and make an impression and passing a comment which could be taken in double meaning can be hard-hitting and discouraging. If Jennifer’s intention was to praise Shannon’s academic knowledge, she should have chosen her words more carefully.

Formal and Informal Procedures of Conflict Resolution

For Bed 2 incident, Jennifer’s action were the need of time as the boy’s condition was worsening but her attitude could have been more compassionate so that Shannon did not feel dismissed.

Day 3 incident indicates that one of the patient’s allocated to Shannon was non-responsive and not breathing. She pushed the emergency call bell and initiated the CPR as per the protocols. Senior Doctor, RN and Jennifer reached the cubicle at the same time and Jennifer asked Shannon “What have you done? And did not give the chance to Shannon to explain the situation and asked her to finish the cycle of compressions, step back and said that they’ll handle the situation. Shannon did as asked, stood back and observed the resuscitation. In addition, Jennifer did not invite Shannon to the clinical debrief. It can be concurred that Jennifer’s attitude was condescending as Shannon’s actions are backed up by the protocols and she was not doing anything wrong. However, Jennifer indirectly accused her wronging, did not give a chance to explain herself and disdained her instead of appreciating her presence of mind and taking the required steps in a proper manner. It is only obvious that Shannon would feel bullied, unappreciated and discriminated after the series of incidents.

In Australia, the organizations have a duty of care for the health and wellbeing of the employees whilst at work. Organizations which avoid the incidents of bullying and allow bullying to take place in their premise are not fulfilling the duty and can face legal action.

A strategic approach can be taken for conflict resolution. The goals of the approach should be to intervene as early as possible and find out the source of the conflict between Shannon and Jennifer and all the possible solutions prior to decision-making. The issue between Jennifer and Shannon should be dealt in a manner that will stand the test of time so it does not raise again. The conflict resolution strategy should exhibit mutual respect for both the employees and they should be able to get back to work quickly.

Informal procedures

Early Intervention at the Lowest Level
It is significant that every manager and every employee is empowered and trained to find out if they or others are involved in a conflict. They should be prepared to pause and investigate the occurrences of conflict. In this case, since Shannon is not a full time worker and a placement, the unit manager should do an early assessment to ascertain if there is a chance for dialogue and resolution. Manager should identify if this is a simple conflict which does not need formality and can be resolved with basic problem-solving abilities at the ground levels of the hospital. This informal procedure is based on the notion that immediate and calm discussion can clear the air between Jennifer and Shannon. However, the manager must classify the small conflict carefully as majorly misunderstandings, misinterpretations, and incorrect assumptions come under small conflicts. This procedure only needs fundamental training of all the workers. Early intervention is cost-effective and quick method to help resolve the conflict between Shannon and Jennifer.

Building Resilience in Nursing Students

Informal Complaint and Negotiation

if the dialogue and resolution technique is not appropriate for Shannon and Jennifer’s case, an informal negotiation is another informal procedure which can be considered. In this procedure, Shannon and Jennifer take the time to discuss the matter in private. This informal procedure is based on the notion that this approach will help the people involved in conflict to be calm and view the problem more objectively. Shannon and Jennifer will ask certain questions during negotiation which are, What do we know? How do we feel about it? What would it mean if we tried it a certain way? What do we need to do to get this resolved? By exchanging all the information, misunderstandings can be cleared up frequently. Post this meeting, a good and long-lasting decision can be made and agreed to by Shannon and Jennifer. This process is more time consuming but an agreed-upon decision will save time and cost in the long-run.

Informal Mediation

If Shannon and Jennifer are unable to resolve by dialogue and informal negotiation, then a mediation is required. A well-trained HR professional or an external person can be the mediator. The idea of this procedure is to utilise the resources of a third party to come to an agreement that will be suitable for both Shannon and Jennifer. Informal mediation can be guided by the hospital policies to apply a solution that will allow Jennifer and Shannon to walk away understanding that the issue is resolved.

Formal Complaint and Mediation
If the formal procedure is adopted then a complaint is registered and documented with HR and that induces a process to examine the complaint and ascertain a suitable resolution. Formal procedure may involve an an external investigator and/or mediator. After Shannon registered a complain and it is investigated, it is still up to the employer to decide further actions that are required to ensure a positive work environment, which may include a formal mediation, an authority making a decision, additional training, repositioning, revisions to tasks, and even termination.

After the resolution of this incident, it is essential that Shannon builds resilience so that she can handle such incidents in a more suitable way. Evidence support the existence of relationship between psychological empowerment, resilience, spiritual well-being and academic success which can contribute towards continuation through the challenges of nursing training (Beauvais, Stewart, DeNisco, & Beauvais, J. E., 2014). Resilience is a fundamental characteristic that is required for success in any field in an individual’s life. Fostering resilience in nursing students will not only help the students in course completion but also in nursing practice (Boardman, 2016). Evidence further indicates that resilience is a constant and situational process that can be learnt and built, instead of a static personality trait (Reyes, Andrusyszyn, Iwasiw, Forchuk, & Babenko?Mould, 2015). Certain evidence-based strategies are recommended to foster resilience in Shannon.

Conclusion

The practice of reflection will help Shannon to understand the dynamics of her emotional reactions and her doubts, assumptions and beliefs, together with the manner in which they can influence her wellbeing and practice (Clements, Kinman & Guppy, 2014). Narrative writing should be adopted by Shannon to enhance the competency of reflection (Foster & McKenzie, 2012).

Shannon can develop reflective learning through supervision as it offers a safe environment in which she can reflect on her practice and disclose and discuss her emotional reactions. Reflective supervision will assist her in forming a flexible range of problem-solving and coping techniques and create a goal-oriented perspective, which are essential pillars of resilience. Shannon must be made to understand the purpose of the supervision and must be made aware about the need to be adequately prepared and dedicated to pursue personal and professional development which is supported by third NMBA standard which encourages nurses to use a lifelong learning approach for continuing professional development of self and others (NMBA, 2016). It is suggested that a productive educational environment for supporting resilience should reinforce efficient social connection with peers and must include positive mentoring and coaching strategies.

Mindfulness indicates paying attention in a specific way: on purpose, in the present moment, and non-judgmentally. Mindfulness skills can improve various competencies that foster resilience, which are reflective ability, emotional intelligence and accurate empathy (Grant & Kinman, 2014).

Experiential learning is also a method which can increase the competencies related to emotional resilience. For example, case studies, role plays and simulated practice can be utilized to enhance the regulation of emotions, ability to reflect, emotional intelligence and empathy (Hurley & Linsley, 2018). It is evidenced that work-based learning opportunities can offer opportunities which will help Shannon to build the competencies that reinforce resilience. Workplace learning specifically case studies to enable dialogue and reflection has huge potential to increase emotion management ability and the correct use of emotions to assist problem-solving and decision-making (Beddoe, Davys & Adamson, 2013). Effective emotion management skills are basic components of emotional resilience.

Conclusion:

By analyzing Shannon and Jennifer’s case study, it can be concluded that inappropriate gestures from an individual can harass other individual’s psychological health. Like, due to Jennifer’s unsuitable comments, Shannon felt bullied at her workplace. Further, depending upon the severity of the conflict and severity of its outcome and agreement between the disputing parties, formal and informal conflict resolution procedures can be adopted to resolve a dispute. Further, it is essential for nurses to build resilience in them to achieve a healthy and efficient practice which can be done through reflection, mindfulness, experiential learning and supervision.

References:

Beddoe, L., Davys, A., & Adamson, C. (2013). Educating resilient practitioners. Social Work Education, 32(1), 100-117.

Beauvais, A. M., Stewart, J. G., DeNisco, S., & Beauvais, J. E. (2014). Factors related to academic success among nursing students: A descriptive correlational research study. Nurse Education Today, 34(6), 918-923.

Boardman, L. (2016). Building resilience in nursing students: Implementing techniques to foster success. International Journal of Emergency Mental Health and Human Resilience, 18(1).

Clements, A. J., Kinman, G., & Guppy, A. (2014). ‘You Could Damage Somebody’s Life’: Student and Lecturer Perspectives on Commitment. Social Work Education, 33(1), 91-104.

Foster, K. and McKenzie, H. (2012) .Educational approaches to enhance emotional intelligence. In Emotional Intelligence in Health and Social Care: A Guide For Improving Human Relationships (eds. J. Hurley and P.Linsley). London: Radcliffe Publishing.

Grant, L., & Kinman, G. (2014). Emotional resilience in the helping professions and how it can be enhanced. Health and Social Care Education, 3(1), 23-34.

Hurley, J., & Linsley, P. (2018). Emotional intelligence in health and social care: a guide for improving human relationships. Routledge.

Queensland Government. (2018, July 2). Workplace health and safety laws. Retrieved from https://www.worksafe.qld.gov.au/laws-and-compliance/workplace-health-and-safety-laws

Reyes, A. T., Andrusyszyn, M. A., Iwasiw, C., Forchuk, C., & Babenko?Mould, Y. (2015). Nursing students’ understanding and enactment of resilience: a grounded theory study. Journal of advanced nursing, 71(11), 2622-2633.