Nursing Managment Essay

Article Review of â€Å"A Handoff Report Card for General Nursing Orientation This article examines the strengths and weakness of the orientation process of new grads or new nurses to a unit or hospital. By the use of a 100 point score report card containing a summary of the nurses skills, knowledge, and also use of the Benner which measure clinical performance and critical thinking. The article addresses the use of a report card to better communicate the strengths and weakness of the orientees’. This report card is handed off to the next person in whom the new nurses will orient. The handoff is designed to create continuity and accuracy. An example of the type of data that would be measured by the handoff report includes items such as the nurses’ experiences and documentation of strengths and areas that need to be developed or improved. The report card is based on 3 assessments 1. The orientees own self-assessment 2. The instructor’s assessment 3. Competition of competencies From the first day on the unit, the nurse identifies his/her learning type using Benner’s Theory. This provides the nurse with a baseline of where their own individual level of development has reached, as well as, the preceptor, manager, or instructor. Secondly, the instructor assessment measures the orientees’ knowledge and performance. This report card is divided into 4 areas of measurement. The types of areas of measurement are areas such as: nursing interventions, documentation, critical thinking, nursing behaviors, clinical judgment, and several other areas. The last area of measurement is the nurses’ skill level. Several types of competencies were set up to determine if the nurse was competent to function on the unit. In conclusion, the report card was discussed with the leadership team, so that the orientation is more focused on the needs of the oreintee, based on the unit in which the orientee is being trained to work. As I was reading this article, it re minded me of an article that we had read at work. In the American Journal of Critical Care 2009, there was a research study completed to determine the best way to evaluate the new grads, new nurses, and it also evaluated the current nursing staff. In the study, most of the data that was returned was from the new grads. The suspected reasoning was the enthusiasm of the new grads. But the overall outcome, was positive, but mostly helped the management team to better evaluate the competency of their nurses. Currently, in the unit I work in we are challenged with determining the strengths and weakness of our newly hired nurses. Some of the nurses stated that they came to our unit with experience from different venues; however, their level of care has left us with many voids. I personally, enjoyed both articles and the effort of increasing critical thinking and professional behaviors on the clinical floor. Remember we all one day may be patients. Hargraves, L., Nichols, A., Shanks, S., & Halamak, L. (2010). A Handoff Report Card for General Nursing Orientation. The Journal of Nursing Administration, 40(10), 424-431. Kleinpell, R. (2009). Evidenced Based Review Discussion Points. American Journal of Critical care, 18(3), 261-262.