The purpose of this assignment is to discuss health care culture and describe how CWV can be used to improve ethical practices. In a 1,000-1,250-word essay, discuss the important factors associated with health care culture. Include the following in your essay:
A definition of health care culture, including culture of excellence and safety.
Two or three examples of principles for building a culture of excellence and safety.
An explanation of the role of various stakeholders in improving health care culture.
An explanation of how Christian worldview (CWV) principles might be used by health care organizations to improve ethical practices, whether the organizations are Christian or not.
Two or three examples of how the integration of faith learning and work at GCU can be implemented by individuals to improve health care culture.
This assignment requires a minimum of three peer-reviewed scholarly sources.
Prepare this assignment according to the guidelines found in the APA Style Guide, located in the Student Success Center.
This assignment uses a rubric.
Healthcare Culture
Institutional Affiliations
Healthcare Culture
Healthcare professionals obtain direction from the mission, vision, goals, and cultures of their organizations. Medical facilities utilize certain assumptions, values, and beliefs to direct how their employees interact within the work environment. This helps to create a culture that encourages uniformity in the manner in which healthcare providers interact with their colleagues and patients (Churruca et al., 2021). A culture of excellence and safety eliminates burnout and supports the delivery of quality health care to patients. Various stakeholders in a healthcare organization have a role to play in improving health care culture in their organizations. The Christian Worldview (CWV) principles can help healthcare organizations to improve ethical practices within their settings (Cuellar De la Cruz & Robinson, 2017). The purpose of this assignment is to explore the concept of healthcare culture in detail by including its definition, describing the principles applied to build a culture of excellence and safety, explaining the role of stakeholders in improving health care culture, describing the importance of using the CWV principles in creating a healthcare culture, and providing examples of how the integration of faith learning and work at GCU can be implemented by individuals to improve health care culture.
Definition of Healthcare Culture
Health care culture is central to the delivery of safe and quality healthcare services in healthcare organizations. Mannion and Davies (2018) define health care culture as the shared views and manners of practice in health care delivery and which is manifested in the care patterns, safety approaches, and risk management strategies in a healthcare organization. According to the authors, health care culture exists in three levels. One of these levels is the distribution of both human and non-human resources to support the delivery of health care. Another level of health care culture is the shared ways of thinking manifested in the manner in which healthcare professionals view patients’ views and autonomy and the manner in which they define quality and safety performance. Additionally, health care culture encompasses shared assumptions regarding the underpinnings of clinical practice such as professional roles and the role of a healthcare system (Mannion & Davies, 2018). A culture of excellence and safety refers to the approaches taken by a healthcare organization to lead employees to engage in actions that cause measurable improvements in healthcare quality while at the same time protecting patients from harm and limiting their exposure to risks (Ulibarrena et al., 2021). Healthcare organizations should ensure that their employees adequately understand the definition of health care culture including its influence on patient safety and healthcare quality.
Examples of Principles for Building a Culture of Excellence and Safety
Healthcare organizations should understand principles that they need to apply to build a culture of excellence and safety. In his article, Toussaint (2018) outlined the behaviors, principles, and systems that healthcare organizations need to display to be able to build a culture of excellence and safety. One of these principles is a demonstration of cultural competence by employees manifested through respecting the views, beliefs, and perceptions of every individual including healthcare providers and patients. The other principle is engaging in continuous quality improvement by focusing on measures that define quality and safety. The Institute for Healthcare Improvement (2022) emphasizes that an organization can engage in quality improvement to enhance patient safety when its leaders are committed to change. Leadership commitment, evidenced by a culture of safety and excellence, will create an environment that prioritizes patient safety and excellence for improved healthcare quality. Another principle required to build a culture of safety and excellence is aligning healthcare practices to health policies and evidence-based clinical practice guidelines. This promotes standardized clinical performance and causes service improvement.
An Explanation of the Role of Various Stakeholders in Improving Health Care Culture
Various stakeholders in healthcare organizations play a crucial role in improving health care culture. For example, leaders of healthcare organizations should ensure that policies that define practice excellence and safety are in place. Additionally, they must ensure that employees receive adequate training on how to implement these policies right from the time they are hired (Ulibarrena et al., 2021). Nurse leaders and nurse managers are charged with the responsibility of ensuring safe staffing in their units in a manner that prevents burnout and maximizes patient safety. Again, the role of the human resource manager is to hire adequately trained and experienced healthcare providers who can offer safe and quality healthcare to patients. It is also the responsibility of the human resource manager to utilize the right motivational strategies to prevent nurse turnover and enhance nurse retention (Mannion & Davies, 2018). Notably, healthcare providers and other employees improve health care culture by adhering to organizational policies, utilizing evidence-based clinical practice guidelines in practice, and reporting error incidences. They also work with their nurse leaders and nurse managers to address threats to patient safety. Most importantly, patients contribute to improving health care culture by allowing their healthcare providers to work with them to address their concerns (Mannion & Davies, 2018). They should present their safety concerns and be ready to develop positive therapeutic relationships with their healthcare providers.
The Application of Christian worldview (CWV) Principles
The application of CWV can help a healthcare organization to improve ethical practices whether the organization believes in Christianity or not. The CWV directs healthcare organizations to behave in accordance with the teachings and morals of Jesus Christ (Cuellar De la Cruz & Robinson, 2017). Employees who are working for these organizations embrace the CWV in their interactions with their colleagues and patients. Their actions always demonstrate respect for human dignity that forms the center of ethical practice. Precisely, the employees remain committed to the human value, respecting every patient’s autonomy and rights to quality and safe care (Cuellar De la Cruz & Robinson, 2017). Generally, healthcare organizations that apply the CWV improve ethical practices in order to generate optimum benefits for employees and patients.
Integration of Faith Learning and Work at GCU
The integration of faith in the academic processes and work at GCU is a good way of training learners to relate religion and spirituality with nursing thereby improving the health care culture. A good example through which integrating faith learning in the institution can help to improve health care culture is working with learners to analyze academic content and concepts from the CWV lens (Liberty University, 2022). In this manner, students get to learn how God’s nature is revealed in nursing practices and the nursing profession as a whole. Another good example is using Biblical verses to demonstrate to students how God supported morality and how they can translate such behaviors in their clinical practices with patients (Liberty University, 2022). Such integrations help to improve health care culture by promoting practice excellence and patient safety.
References
Churruca, K., Ellis, L. A., Pomare, C., Hogden, A., Bierbaum, M., Long, J. C., Olekalns, A., & Braithwaite, J. (2021). Dimensions of safety culture: a systematic review of quantitative, qualitative and mixed methods for assessing safety culture in hospitals. BMJ Open, 11(7), e043982. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2020-043982.
Cuellar De la Cruz, Y., & Robinson, S. (2017). Answering the call to accessible quality health care for all using a new model of local community not-for-profit charity clinics: A return to Christ-centered care of the past. The Linacre Quarterly, 84(1), 44–56. https://doi.org/10.1080/00243639.2016.1274631.
Institute for Healthcare Improvement. (2022). Develop a culture of safety. http://www.ihi.org/resources/Pages/Changes/DevelopaCultureofSafety.aspx
Liberty University. (2022). Faith learning integration. https://www.liberty.edu/center-for-academic-development/faith-learning-integration/
Mannion, R. & Davies, H. (2018). Understanding organizational culture for healthcare quality improvement. British Medical Journal, 363, k4907. doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.k4907
Toussaint, J. (2018). The principles, behaviors, and systems necessary to build a culture of excellence. Healthcare Financial Management Association, https://www.hfma.org/topics/blog/60395.html
Ulibarrena, M. Á., Sainz de Vicuña, L., García-Alonso, I., Lledo, P., Gutiérrez, M., Ulibarrena-García, A., Echenagusia, V., & Herrero de la Parte, B. (2021). Evolution of culture on patient safety in the clinical setting of a Spanish mutual insurance company: Observational study between 2009 and 2017 based on AHRQ Survey. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(18), 9437. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18189437.