Systems Theory in nursing sample essay assignment: Application: Systems Theory
As noted in the Learning Resources, systems theory provides a meaningful and beneficial means of examining challenges in health care organizations. To do this effectively, however, it is essential to assess all system components, as some may be relatively healthy while others are problematic.
For this Assignment, you apply systems theory to the examination of a problem in a department or a unit within a health care organization. (Note: You may use the same problem you identified for the Discussion as long as it meets the criteria for this assignment.)
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To prepare:
Review the Meyer article, “Nursing Services Delivery Theory: An Open System Approach,” in this week’s Learning Resources. Focus especially on the information presented in Table 1 (p. 2831) and Figure 2 (p. 2833).
Reflect on your organization or one with which you are familiar. Within a particular department or unit in this organization, identify a problem the staff is encountering Systems Theory in nursing sample essay assignment.
Using Table 1 in the Meyer article as a guide, analyze the department or unit, identifying inputs, throughput, output, cycles of events, and negative feedback. Consider whether the problem you have selected relates to input, throughput, output, cycles of events, and/or negative feedback.
Think about how you could address the problem: Consider what a desired outcome would be, then formulate related goals and objectives, and translate those goals into policies and procedures.
Research professional standards that are pertinent to your identified problem.
Reflect on the organization’s mission statement and values. In addition, consider how addressing this problem would uphold the mission and values, while improving the organizational culture and climate. (Depending on the organization you have selected, you may have explored these in the Week 1 Discussion.) Systems Theory in nursing sample essay assignment.
To complete:
By Day 7
Write a 3- to 5-page paper (page count does not include title and reference page) that addresses the following:
Describe a department or unit within a health care organization using systems theory terminology. Include a description of inputs, throughput, output, cycles of events, and negative feedback.
Describe the problem you identified within the department or unit using an open- systems approach, and state where the problem exists using the systems theory model (input, throughput, output, cycles of events, or negative feedback) Systems Theory in nursing sample essay assignment.
Based on this information, explain how you would address the problem as follows:
Formulate a desired outcome.
Identify goals and objectives that would facilitate that outcome.
Translate those goals and objectives into policies and procedures for the department or unit.
Describe relevant professional standards.
Explain how your proposed resolution to the problem would uphold the organization’s mission and values and improve the culture and climate.
Reminder: The School requires that all papers submitted include a title page, introduction, summary, and references. The Sample Paper provided at the Walden Writing Center provides an example of those required elements. All papers submitted must use this formatting. Systems Theory in nursing sample essay assignment.
Applying Systems Theory
Introduction
Systems theory describes a structured approach for evaluating an organization with the intention of identifying problems and presenting a viable solution. In fact, it simplifies the organization into mathematical equations and models that show clear causal and reaction relationships (Hayes, 2014). The present discussion makes use of the systems theory in understanding a medical facility as an organization, presenting an existing nursing problem within the facility, and proposing a viable solution Systems Theory in nursing sample essay assignment.
Question 1. Describing the department using systems theory terminology to include a description of inputs, throughput, output, cycles of events, and negative feedback.
As a medical practitioner, I am employed at the New York Firefighters Burn Center where I offer nursing services. The facility has the primary function of properly evaluating, diagnosing, and providing the appropriate medical care for burns victims. Systems Theory in nursing sample essay assignment. To carry out this function, the department has employed personnel in different medical professions. These professional include pharmacists, laboratory technicians, nurses, surgeons, physicians and so on. This multidisciplinary team works in concert to ensure that every patient admitted to the facility gets the best possible care that relieves their conditions, while facilitating their speed recovery. This implies that the facility devotes much resources towards retaining sufficient personnel, who are supported by equipment and medication to facilitate the care provided to the patients. For that matter, the combination of resources, staff, equipment and medication can be considered as the facility’s input towards the provision of medical care. Additionally, the services offered in managing the patients’ burns is the throughput. That is because the input has been ordered and systemized to give medical services as the objective. Understandably, the number of patients who receive the medical services at the facility is the output. That is because the patient volume is a measure of the facility’s effectiveness in offering medical services for burn patients. Since the facility has to be financially sustainable, the profits and earnings that it receives act as the cycle of events. The facility’s performance indicators to include feedback offered by patients and their family members act as the negative feedback for the facility. Effectiveness in pain management would form the core of the feedback (Hayes, 2014; Cherry & Jacob, 2013) Systems Theory in nursing sample essay assignment.
Question 2. Describing the problem using an open- systems approach, and stating where the problem exists using the systems theory model (input, throughput, output, cycles of events, or negative feedback)
Although the facility is dedicated to offering high quality care that includes burns and pain management, there has been general negative feedback that shows the facility’s ineffectiveness in managing some of the patients’ pain. In fact, the patients (in their negative feedback) report that the nurses either incorrectly evaluate their pain, or manage their pain. The result is that these patients are left unsatisfied with the nursing services offered in the facility. This leads to the facility assessment that its pain evaluation and management approaches are inadequate and requires revision. To be more succinct, the shortfalls in perception concerning pain evaluation and management effectiveness has caused the facility’s performance indicators to suffer (Leonard et al., 2013). Maddy (2015) expounds on the problem of ineffective pain evaluation and management by indicating that it is not unique to any one facility. Instead, it is a common problem that medical facilities face Systems Theory in nursing sample essay assignment. This is because the training that medical personnel receives only primes them to register approximately 20% of the information they would need to carry out the correct evaluation. This means that the nursing personnel at New York Firefighters Burn Center miss as much as 80% of the information they require. This means that they must develop strategies to acquire the previously lost information to allow them make the correct pain evaluation and management. At least, this applies to nursing personnel who are required to apply assertive strategies when collecting and dissemination information on pain evaluation, particularly when they join the multidisciplinary team in critically reviewing the collected information. As such, the nursing personnel would take on a leadership position that allows them to develop an acceptable solution by collecting all the required information and not just 20% of the information. By taking on a leadership position in implementing a solution, nurses would ensure that the facility develops an acceptable solution that is viable enough to be implement while leaving room for feedback to be offered to improve pain evaluation and management (Pope & Deer, 2017) Systems Theory in nursing sample essay assignment.
Question 3. Explaining how the problem will be addressed.
Desired outcome
The problem has been identified as inadequate pain evaluation and management as reflected in the negative feedback from the patients. As a result, the desired outcome is to have adequate pain evaluation and management. Systems Theory in nursing sample essay assignment.
Goal and objective that will facilitate the desired outcome
The goal is to increase the number of patients who visit the facility since this would improve revenues and profits. The patient numbers will increase if the facility receives positive reviews from patients who would influence others to consider the facility as the beast place to have their pain evaluated and managed.
Translating the goal and objective into policies and procedures for the department
This will take the form of collecting correct pain information by actively engaging the patients to understand what they feel. Systems Theory in nursing sample essay assignment. In addition, it would require developing a solution in order of priority that could be drug interactions, adverse reactions, addictive effects, and costs. Besides that, the situation should be reviewed regularly to update the department’s procedures and standards.
Describing the relevant professional standards
All through the process of initiating the changes to achieve the desired outcome, the nurses (and other medical personnel) will ensure that focus does not shift away from effective pain management. Any task that is beyond the nurses’ capacity will be assigned to the relevant persons with the necessary capability. Also, the nurses will receive training that allows them to evaluate approximately 100% of the patients’ pain. That is because it was already acknowledged that nurses miss as much as 80% of the information required to correctly evaluate the patients’ pain (Maddy, 2015). As a result, the facility nurses will establish an evaluation baseline, scrutinize the current evaluation approaches, prepare a suitable response for the identified shortcoming, and implement the response to focus in correctly evaluating the patients’ pain to include the unaddressed pain (Pope & Deer, 2017).
Explaining how the proposed resolution to the problem would uphold the organization’s mission and values and improve the culture and climate
The proposed solution is to improve the nurses’ capacity to evaluate the patients’ pain. Correctly evaluating the pain means that nurses will understand what the patients are experiencing, communicate the same to the multidisciplinary team, and apply an appropriate response the relieves the patients’ pain. This will guarantee the patients offer positive feedback and no longer complain about ineffective pain management or unaddressed pain. This ensures that the facility offers high quality medical care, and positive reviews that results in high patient numbers that translate into high profits and earnings Systems Theory in nursing sample essay assignment.
Conclusion
One must accept that systems theory is a useful tool for understanding New York Firefighters Burn Center as an organization. That is because it simplifies the facility into mathematical equations showing causal relationships that shift from input through transitory and augmenting stage to the output. Using the theory, the facility is shown to have a problem with pain management based on reports from patients. The proposal is made that the problem should be addressed by improving the nurses’ capacity to evaluate the patients’ pain. As a result, the discussion makes use of the systems theory in understanding a medical facility as an organization, presenting an existing nursing problem within the facility, and proposing a viable solution Systems Theory in nursing sample essay assignment.
References
Cherry, B. & Jacob, S. (2013).
Contemporary Nursing, Issues, Trends, & Management
(6
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ed.). Amsterdam: Elsevier Health Sciences.
Hayes, J. (2014).
The Theory and Practice of Change Management
(4
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ed.). New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan.
Huber, D. (2013).
Leadership and Nursing Care Management
(5
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ed.). St, Louis, MO: Elsevier/Saunders.
Leonard, S., Lewis, R., Freedman, A. & Passmore, J. (2013).
The Wiley-Blackwell Handbook of the Psychology of Leadership, Change, and Organizational Development
. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.
Maddy, G. (2015).
Nurse-Pain Management (PMCN) Specialty Review and Study Guide
. Treasure Island, FL: StatPearls Publishing, LLC.
Pope, J. & Deer, T. (2017).
Treatment of Chronic Pain Conditions: A comprehensive handbook
. New York, NY: Springer. Systems Theory in nursing sample essay assignment.