The issue of hospital-acquired infections (HAI) is rather important in the context of hospital nursing care as it affects quality of health care delivery and deteriorates patients’ outcomes. In this regard, this paper will propose potential evidence-based practice (EBP) plan to enhance the current situation. Focusing on nursing care, it is essential to apply the WHO-5 campaign that implies change in employee behavior and also incorporation of incentives as well as accountability strategies.
Change Model Overview
The ACE Star model Evidence-Based Practice Process refers to the practical tool that can be used to comprehend relationships between several phases of knowledge transformation. The five areas included in the mentioned tool are presented below (Figure 1).
The key benefit of this model is that nurses may use it to convert research findings into practice, thus transforming acquired knowledge into practical actions (Dearholt & Dang, 2012). The model clearly identifies each of the phases in a step-by-step manner and presents valuable guidance for nurses to initiate the required change.
Scope of the EBP
The nosocomial infections cause serious consequences in patients’ health outcomes. In particular, according to the recent statistics provided by official agency, “in 2011, there were an estimated 722,000 HAIs in U.S. acute care hospitals; additionally, about 75,000 patients with HAIs died during their hospitalizations” (“HAI Data and Statistics”, 2016, para. 6). The detailed description of HAI rates is provided below (Table 1).
Considering the issue on a broader scale, it is possible to note that high rates of HAI affect not only patients’ health but also quality of care and the associated costs. In other words, this problem may impact the whole performance of a hospital. Therefore, it becomes evident that there is a dire need to initiate appropriate preventative measures, beginning with simple means such as increased hygiene awareness among nurses and a series of associated strategies.
Stakeholders
Along with a leader of the project, other stakeholders are to be identified to assign corresponding responsibility areas and determine their roles. First of all, a Director of Nursing Department is to be contacted and notified of the project purposes and the expected results. Second, nurse epidemiologist will be included to observe the course of the project. Third, a charge nurse will also be involved to manage the process of change. Fourth, clinical nurses, including registered nurses and licensed practical nurses are to directly perform change. The identified stakeholders are to compose a team that will communicate and collaborate with each other to provide the best health outcomes possible.
Responsibility of Team Members
As the initiator of the project, a leader is to control all the aspects and areas of change. A Director of Nursing Department will take a role of the co-leader, serving as change plan co-creator. A nurse epidemiologist will provide surveys, train staff, and assess change implementation and results. The clinical nurses will initiate change according to the plan. All of the mentioned team members are essential for the implementation of the project as each of them has certain responsibility and role that cannot be performed by others.
Evidence
The problem is presented by the extensive evidence, including research articles, official statistics, and other credible sources. EBP guidelines are explored by various scholars and serve as a basis for action (Ward, Clabaugh, Evans, & Herwaldt, 2012). Some studies emphasize that not only individuals but also systems are to blame for HAI, thus pointing out that quality improvement data should be employed to enhance the likelihood of expected outcomes (Mehta et al., 2014). The position statements and clinical practice guidelines are also considered to be advantageous to change accomplishment (Poe & White, 2012).
Summarize the Evidence
The article by Luangasanatip et al. (2015) proposes the promotion of hand hygiene among hospital staff as it is one of the main causes of HAI. This intervention focuses on WHO-5 campaign and some additional options, such as reward incentives to motivate team members, accountability culture to engage employees, and goal setting to raise effectiveness of change. Such a comprehensive approach to the issue, as stated by the authors of the systematic review article, is likely to decrease HAI levels (Luangasanatip et al., 2015).
Develop Recommendations for Change Based on Evidence
As affirmed by the founder of the contemporary nursing Florence Nightingale, “it may seem a strange principle to enunciate as the very first requirement in a hospital that it should do the sick no harm” (Knecht, 2017, p. 78). In this regard, it is imperative to create such an environment where patients would not acquire additional diseases. The recommendations to change plan can be identified as follows: utilization of WHO-5 tool, training of staff members, and setting clear and attainable goals. Each of the mentioned recommendations is to be monitored and adjusted, if required.
Translation
Action Plan
The plan for implementation may start with data integration and development of project guidelines for each team member. After that, they should be contacted to understand their role and responsibility in the project realization. Moreover, specific hospital requirements are to be taken into account to provide relevant interventions. The implementation of change will be accompanied by its continuous monitoring. The estimated timeline is six months after which some results are to be revealed. The evaluation of outcomes will focus on levels of morbidity and mortality as well nursing care effectiveness and care costs (Poe & White, 2012).
Process, Outcomes Evaluation and Reporting
As a result of the mentioned recommendations, it is expected to achieve significant decrease in HAI, hospital costs, and increased health care provision quality. They will be measured through the key indicators that were specified in the previous section with the help of statistical data analysis and patients’ perceptions. The results of the interventions will be reported to stakeholders on special meeting by presentation and the subsequent discussion.
Identify Next Steps
The suggested plan is pertinent to the facility as a whole as hand hygiene is relevant to all health care units. On a larger scale, it may be possible to engage more stakeholders and develop more comprehensive plan of action, depending on certain requirements. To ensure permanent implementation, it is necessary to provide constant monitoring, evaluation, and improvement of change plan.
Disseminate Findings
The internal dissemination strategy may be conducted on the basis of conference so that every organization member would have the opportunity to understand main insights, ask questions, or suggest creative ideas. As for the external dissemination, online conference may be initiated to allow people from all over globe participating in the project discussion. Another potential option is to publish findings in nursing scholarly journals.
Conclusion
The issue of HAI, resulting in decreased patients’ outcomes and care quality may be eliminated by the implementation of ACE Star change model EBP process that focuses on the five areas, including research, evidence summary, translation, practice integration, and evaluation of outcomes. The recommended change plan involves the above phases and proposes continuous monitoring to ensure permanent change adherence.
References
Dearholt, S. L., & Dang, D. (2012). Johns Hopkins nursing evidence-based practice: Model and guidelines (2nd ed.). Indianapolis, IN: Sigma Theta Tau International.
HAI Data and Statistics. (2016). Web.
Knecht, P. (2017). Success in practical/vocational nursing: From student to leader (8th ed.). St. Louis, MO: Elsevier.
Luangasanatip, N., Hongsuwan, M., Limmathurotsakul, D., Lubell, Y., Lee, A. S., Harbarth, S.,… Cooper, B. S. (2015). Comparative efficacy of interventions to promote hand hygiene in hospital: Systematic review and network meta-analysis. BMJ, 351, 1-14.
Mehta, Y., Gupta, A., Todi, S., Myatra, S. N., Samaddar, D. P., Patil, V.,… Ramasubban, S. (2014). Guidelines for prevention of hospital acquired infections. Indian Journal of Critical Care Medicine, 18(3), 149-163.
Poe, S., & White, K. M. (2012). Johns Hopkins nursing evidence-based practice: Implementation and translation. Indianapolis, IN: Sigma Theta Tau International.
Ward, M. M., Clabaugh, G., Evans, T. C., & Herwaldt, L. (2012). A successful, voluntary, multicomponent statewide effort to reduce health care-associated infections. American Journal of Medical Quality, 27(1), 66-73.
Spreading Information With Social Media In Activism And Revolutions
Introduction
The significant developments in technology, especially the use of social media has simplified the way like-minded individuals air their grievances and articulate positions on issues of interest. In this modern society, social media is like a traditional community, where aggravated individuals converge in a common place to plan for protests. It is clear that the social media platform has had a significant effect on societies. The current technology has provided an opportunity for the weak and neglected members of the community to have their voices heard. The power of social media platforms is an effective tool in activism and revolutions. It is best illustrated by using the Arab spring and the rape case that occurred in India. News about the Indian rape case was quickly spread, leading to mass protests all over the world. The Arab spring also influenced the toppling of various regimes within the Arab region, starting with Tunisia and Egypt (Kassim par. 3-4).
The effect of social media in the world
Social media sites are not only meant to enable revolutions. They also provide activist organizations with the opportunity to prepare their operations. Through these forms of communication, the organizers are able to minimize their expenditure on certain functions such as recruitment and training among others. However, the inherent strengths and weaknesses associated with social media platforms are based on how political leaders use it. For instance, the Iranian revolution that took place in 2009 was particularly instigated through the Western media. This was accomplished through YouTube and Twitter. The Moldavian revolution that occurred during the same year was also instigated through Twitter. For the success of any revolution, it needs a considerable level of organization, financial support, and mass appeal. Through social media platforms, these requirements can be achieved. At the same time the costs at manageable levels can be maintained.
Social media in activism and revolutions
Activism refers to the radical protests and demonstrations that are pursued, in order to implement, or attain certain goals. However, the social media platforms form the pivot from which activism revolves. Its effects are primarily evident among the youth. Most NGOs and other activist groups act as a foundation for revolutionists. A good example that confirms this is the protest that broke out in Seattle at a summit conference. Many more cases have been witnessed across the globe, especially during the WTO, IMF, WB, and G8/20 summits. This trend has been on the increase during the last decade. They were widely acknowledged due to their massive inclusion and broad networks that enabled the activists to sustain a sequence of mass demonstrations (Higuchi 467). Whenever activists are planning for mass social demonstrations, they are increasingly focusing on the impact that social networks have on individuals. Researchers have shown that revolutionary movements and activism is strengthened and made accessible to a wide population through their network-based organizational approaches. Such links transcend national boundaries due to the enabling characteristics of the internet (“Global Activist Networks” par.1).
Conclusion
The current challenges such as food security, inflation, and widespread corruption have forced individuals to rally and demonstrate with vigor and zest. The internet has made social media platforms popular. These tools are used to voice grievances and organize mass protests. With their ability to transcend national boundaries, the social media platforms are appropriate in spreading information.
Works Cited
“Global Activist Networks”. n. d. Web.
Higuchi, Takuro. “Global Activist Network involving Asia: global continuation and evolution in Japan.” Inter-Asia Cultural Studies 13.3 (2012): 467-475. Print.
Kassim, Saleem. “Twitter Revolution: How the Arab Spring Was Helped By Social Media” 2012. Web.
Alan Wilson’s Career Choice To Change The World
Abstract
The case study analysis is focused on selecting the best career option for Alan Wilson. The purpose is to choose the option that is most beneficial to make a difference. Although accepting the offer to work for Grepter in Zurich Alan acts rationally, this choice is most efficient to develop his potential for performing as a global leader in the future.
Introduction
The desire to make a difference is characteristic of good leaders who are oriented to applying their value systems and visions in the workplace to promote the organizational development (Wibbeke, 2013). Alan Wilson is described as a passionate leader committed to making a difference, but he is rather conservative and accurate in evaluating outcomes and making decisions (Stevenson, 2008). In spite of the fact that Alan aims to make an influential difference and affect the community through his activities, as it was also claimed by his mother, the man should choose a traditional but challenging path of moving to Zurich to work for Grepter in the new environment.
The Career to Choose to Make the Difference
The reason for staying with Grepter is based on the close analysis of proposed alternatives in terms of their perspectives for Alan to realize his potential as a leader having the active social position and vision. On the one hand, Shiori’s proposition to work together to help the populations of the Third World countries is directly linked to Alan’s desire to realize his social potential and make something meaningful while following his mother’s words about the difference (Stevenson, 2008). In this case, the expected social outcomes are the biggest ones. Alan’s cultural background can also be applied to choosing this option as providing more benefits to affect the situation in the world (By, Burnes, & Oswick, 2012, p. 2). On the other hand, the working process in such company includes problematic tasks of creating the network, finding partners, attracting investors, and conducting business negotiations. Leaders are expected to be motivated only by their vision and goals to achieve concrete results. The work with Karl in the hedge fund is also a bad choice because the actual goal of this fund is to make profits even while proclaiming significant values.
From this point, the work for Grepter in Zurich provides Alan with opportunities to realize his leadership potential and address different cultures and people. Learning how to work in two different countries and taking higher positions in Grepter, Alan will receive more impact on the community while promoting social responsibility programs in Zurich and the US company’s departments (Caligiuri & Tarique, 2009). Thus, Alan can use his cultural background and experience to promote the difference globally while taking slow, reasoned steps. In this case, he will not compromise his friends’ visions, and his impact on the followers will be high.
References to Experts’ Arguments
The experts’ opinions on the career choice support the idea that staying with Grepter can provide Alan with many opportunities to realize his potential and address both monetary and social goals. Laura Scher states that the choice of the right option depends on the evaluation of all alternatives in terms of their correlation with Alan’s vision and social goals. In Zurich, Alan can demonstrate his power in relation to promoting social visions (Stevenson, 2008). Daniel Vasella actively supports accepting the offer to continue working in Grepter. The author’s arguments regarding future possibilities for creating partnerships with Grepter to produce drugs for the poor are important to demonstrate the variety of social options in this position. Christina Jones also openly supports the choice of Grepter, and her argument regarding accumulating efforts while working for the company to create a social enterprise is one more perspective from which the option advantages can be discussed (Stevenson, 2008). Barbara Franklin is the only expert who supports Shiori’s proposition, but the expert also views it as an opportunity to realize Alan’s social ambitions in the future.
The arguments formulated by Vasella are most in line with the discussed choice for Alan because Vasella explains how Grepter’s offer can be beneficial for Alan to address his professional goals and social visions in simple and logical terms. According to Vasella, Alan should not reject his ideas regarding the social mission and making a difference. In other words, Alan should adapt the opportunities provided by his position in Zurich to his needs and aspirations (Groves & LaRocca, 2011). Alan can work with diverse people, initiate social projects, and develop the social responsibility strategy in the company to produce high-quality goods. In global leadership, the idea of making a difference is important because global leaders are those persons who can apply the advantages of various strategies to the diverse context and achieve high results (Caligiuri & Tarique, 2012, p. 613). It is expected that global leaders are high-class administrators and motivators who can stimulate the diverse people to implement and accept the change.
Conclusion
In order to respond to the personal desire to make a difference and realize the social potential, Alan should start from the new position in the organization because he knows its principles of work and can adapt them to his goals. In Grepter, Alan has more opportunities to become an influential leader. Therefore, Alan can start his social path while developing the experience of working in the new and diverse environment of Zurich.
References
By, R. T., Burnes, B., & Oswick, C. (2012). Change management: Leadership, values and ethics. Journal of Change Management, 12(1), 1-5.
Caligiuri, P., & Tarique, I. (2009). Predicting effectiveness in global leadership activities. Journal of World Business, 44(3), 336-346.
Caligiuri, P., & Tarique, I. (2012). Dynamic cross-cultural competencies and global leadership effectiveness. Journal of World Business, 47(4), 612-622.
Groves, K. S., & LaRocca, M. A. (2011). An empirical study of leader ethical values, transformational and transactional leadership, and follower attitudes toward corporate social responsibility. Journal of Business Ethics, 103(4), 511-528.
Stevenson, H. (2008). How to change the world. Harvard Business Review, 86(1), 29–39.
Wibbeke, E. (2013). Global business leadership. Oxford, UK: Elsevier.