Interdisciplinary Plan Proposal

Robert Wood Johnson Barnabas Health (RWJBarnabas Health) in New Jersey has been faced with the issue of staff shortage in the cardiovascular ICU (CVICU), which has led to poor communication and coordination among staff in the department. In healthcare environments, staff shortage is a significant issue as healthcare professionals work long hours to deal with high-stress levels in their departments, which can result in burnout. When such professionals are overstressed and overworked, they can miss important details or make medical errors, which can endanger patient safety and reduce the quality of care. Therefore, this problem requires interdisciplinary collaboration to improve coordination and communication in the healthcare organization to improve patient outcomes.

Objective

The proposal plan aims to test how the PDSA cycle could inform an interdisciplinary solution to address the staff shortage problem that has led to ineffective communication and coordination in the organization. The primary goal is to ensure interdisciplinary collaboration among teams in the department to boost communication and coordination, thus promoting patient safety and improving the quality of care. This objective aligns with the organization’s goal of fostering team-based care, and if the plan is successful, it should improve patient outcomes by enhancing communication and team collaboration whereas reducing the likelihood of medical errors.

Questions and Predictions

1. How will the PDSA cycle help to address staff shortages in the CVICU department?

The PDSA model will likely address this problem by determining the specific issues that contribute to the problem, like the lack of qualified candidates, brainstorming possible solutions, and developing an action plan to implement selected solutions.

1. How will the PDSA model inform an interdisciplinary solution to improve communication and coordination within the department?

The PDSA model can provide a structured approach to identify, test, and refine a potential solution to the problem causing poor communication and coordination. The model will possibly identify the issues contributing to poor communication and coordination, like inadequate team collaboration or staff shortage, identify a solution, and create an action plan that includes timelines, roles, and responsibilities, as well as outcome measures.

1. Which resources are required for a successful implementation of the plan?

In order to successfully implement the plan, various resources such as time, human, and financial resources will likely be required. Adequate staffing is necessary to achieve the desired staff level, while financial resources may be required for implementing some solutions. Further, adequate time is necessary for planning, implementing, and evaluating solutions.

1. What are the perceived benefits of a successful implementation of the plan?

If the plan is successfully implemented, it will probably result in various benefits like improved patient outcomes. If there is an improvement in communication and coordination, healthcare professionals can better work together, resulting in increased efficiency and enhanced collaboration.

Change Theories and Leadership Strategies

In order to address the staff shortage issue and communication and coordination problems, various things need to change. Leadership is vital in change implementation and creating buy-in from interdisciplinary teams. This issue requires the use of the PDSA change model, which is a quality improvement framework that guides the implementation process. The model provides an iterative and structured approach to managing change through four stages, plan, do, study, and act (Prybutok, 2018). In the context of RWJBarnabas Health, the planning stage involves the interdisciplinary team working together to determine the issue, establish goals, and develop a plan for change implementation. This stage is an opportunity for the team to share ideas and collaborate towards a shared vision and also develop a sense of ownership and buy-in for the change plan. In the “do” stage, which involves the actual implementation of change, the interdisciplinary team works collaboratively to carry out the plan and is also an opportunity to coordinate their efforts and address arising challenges that can inhibit change in CVICU department. During the study stage, the team evaluates the effectiveness of the plan by comparing results (during the staff shortage and after implementing an action plan) and determining areas of improvement. Furthermore, the act stage involves the interd