Great Expectations - Blythe County Hospital

Great Expectations

You are the director of nursing at

Blythe

County

Hospital

. You love your job and the responsibilities that go with it, but it is not always easy being in charge. Some things are not under your direct control but are mandated by regulations and the hospital administration. Nevertheless, where you do have decision-making power, you work hard to do the best for your nurses, nursing techs, and others under your supervision.

 

You depend greatly on your charge nurses, Richard, Laura, and Sarah, all three of whom are experienced and level-headed. Richard is a former military nurse and is a great organizer; he makes sure that the nurses, techs, and orderlies follow the regulations. Everyone loves Laura; she is almost like a great aunt or grandmother to new staff coming in, doctors and nurses alike. She is an encourager, and people want to please her. Sarah is younger than the other two, but her health care knowledge, techniques, and professionalism make up for any experience she lacks.

 

There are several other good RNs on the staff and some very diligent LPNs as well. One of these, Jessie, is a single mom who lives at home with her parents. She is hardworking and compassionate with the patients, and she would like to advance in the nursing field. You can see a lot of potential for her, but her education level prohibits her from going further. Lately you have been directing several temporary nurses as well.

 

One of your greatest challenges right now is this

:

You have been experiencing a great deal of turnover on your staff. Many of the reasons for this are beyond your control, but you want to do everything you can to make the situation better for the staff nurses who look to you for leadership. Morale is low because the remaining nurses have to work longer hours, and temporary nurses are being contracted through agencies to supplement the staff nurses (often at higher rates than "employed" or staff nurses, which, the employed nurses, of course, know). You have met with Richard, Laura, and Sarah and have asked them to support you as you try some strategies to resolve the problems, and they have agreed to do all that is possible to assist you.

 

You decide to begin by tackling the problem of morale. You describe the situation to the staff psychologist, and he suggests that you research and apply a motivational model called the expectancy theory to boost the morale of the nursing staff. You return to your office to begin researching and addressing this theory.

 

Describe, in general, how the expectancy theory motivates behavior. Then, apply the expectancy theory specifically to the nursing morale issues at the hospital, i.e., describe the rationale for using the theory at the hospital and the specific techniques you would use to motivate the nurses that are consistent with the expectancy theory. Additionally, describe at least one (1) specific example where you might apply this theory to a staff member at Blythe County Hospital

 

                     

.