NURSING TOOL BOX SERIES

 RESPONSIBILITY AND ACCOUNTABILITY. What do you understand by the two terms? Accountability is not an abstract concept. It is actually extremely simple. Accountability means saying what you mean, meaning what you say, and doing what you say you're going to do. In short, accountability is taking responsibility for your words and actions. Responsibility can be defined as assuming accountability for a task, decision or action. A person is said to be responsible for something when he or she accepts the consequences of something.  Let’s now look at innovation and creativity. How would you define these two terms in your own words? INNOVATION AND CREATIVENESS.   Definitions, Innovation is the process of translating an idea into a good or service that creates value or for which clients will pay. Innovation involves deliberate application of information, imagination and initiative in deriving greater or different values from resources, and includes all processes by which new ideas are gener

  MOTIVATION. What is motivation? Motivation is defined as ‘internal and external factors that stimulate desire and energy in people to be continually interested and committed to a job, role or subject, or to make an effort to attain a goal.’ It is the force that initiates, guides and maintains goal-oriented behaviors. It is what causes us to take action. Motivation results from the interaction of both conscious and unconscious factors such as the  ⦁ Intensity of desire or ⦁ need, I⦁ ncentive or ⦁ reward ⦁ value of the goal, and E⦁ xpectations of the ⦁ individual.  THEORIES OF MOTIVATION. There are a number of theories of motivation by different proponents. Here we will consider five theories of motivation. These are not exhaustive. As you read through other materials you will discover many more.  Instinct Theory of Motivation According to the instinct theory, people are motivated to behave in certain ways because they are evolutionarily programmed to do so. An example of

   DELEGATION. What is delegation?  It is the assignment to another person of formal authority and responsibility for carrying out specific activities.  (Stoner & Wankel 1987) The extent to which a manager delegates authority is influenced by organizational culture and specific situations involved and the relationships, personalities and capabilities of people in that organization.  Delegation has to take place either because of the need for specialist knowledge which the delegator does not possess or because of the amount of work he has to perform and which become physically impossible by virtue of its volume.  If you have to delegate successfully, the following steps would be useful to follow. Steps of successful delegation. ⦁ Define the task: Confirm in your own mind that the task is suitable to be delegated. Does it meet the criteria for delegating? ⦁ Select the individual or team: What are your reasons for delegating to this person or team? What are they going to

   SUPERVISION. What is supervision? It is an act of controlling and guiding staff in their work. It entails being in charge of some work and being done correctly. It leads to staff development and ensures that work is done effectively, efficiently and correctly.  Supervision is a critical aspect of a nursing. Nurses must be supervised to ensure that they practice within their legal, ethical and professional framework. 

 POLICY DEVELOPMENT AND ANALYSIS. Introduction:  Hello learner, you are making good progress. This is now unit 6 where you will learn about policy development and analysis. In unit five you had a chance to discuss the Zambian constitution as well as the Nurses’ and midwives act.  At the end of this unit you should be able to: ⦁ Define policy development and analysis ⦁ Indicate the purpose of policy development and analysis ⦁ Explain the process of policy development ⦁ Explain policy implementation ⦁ Explain policy analysis. Definition of policy development and analysis.  How would you define policy? ⦁ A policy is a general plan of action used to guide the desired outcome. It is a guideline or rule used to make decisions. ⦁ Policy analysis involves the systematic comparison and analysis of a set of policy alternatives to determine which option is most likely to achieve a set of objectives. ⦁ Policy development We have defined policy, now what is the purpose of a policy?

 METHODS OF POLICY ANALYSIS Policy analysis can explore one policy, compare two or more policies with each other, or model the future implications of a variety of different policy changes (Singer & Manton, 1993).  Policy analysis can examine one stage in policy development or can look across all stages of policy, from design to implementation and evaluation.  The following is a review of the most prominent methodologies used in policy analysis to describe, analyze, and compare policies.  ⦁ Needs Assessment.  First, to address problems sensibly a policy analyst identifies the nature, scope, and extent of the problems. He or she accomplishes an assessment of the extent of need in a variety of ways. He or she may document the nature of the problem through analysis of existing information.  The policy analyst can then use such information to describe the current state of need and to forecast likely needs. ⦁ Cost–Benefit Analysis  Cost–benefit analysis is an approach that attempts t

 STAFF AUDIT Staff audit is a form of a consulting service which enables the Employer to obtain a comprehensive insight into personnel affairs  http://meetingpoint.pl/en/employee_audit/index_62.html  Staff audit is conducted in order to  ⦁ Facilitate the selection of appropriate staff members, to verify the employees' skills, efficiency and motivation  ⦁ To ensure that the human resource policies observed in the company are consistent with the law and statutory regulations.  An employee audit is a valuable tool in  ⦁ Company re-organisation  ⦁ Allocation or distribution of new work duties  ⦁ Analysis of personnel affairs  ⦁ Developing job profiles  ⦁ Assessing employee competencies required for the given position  http://businesscasestudies.co.uk/enterprise-rent-a-car/recruitment-and-selection-at-enterprise-rent-a-car/the-role-of-human-resource-management.html#ixzz2b5ArBhbe.    Staff orientation Effectively orienting new employees to the Organization and to their posi