Strategic Interdisciplinary Approach to Enhancing Patient Outcomes- Implementing Leadership and Collaboration Best Practices for Organizational Improvement

Introduction

This proposal plan attempts to solve the issue of increased incidences of ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) in the general ward unit. Ventilator-associated pneumonia develops within or more than forty-eight hours after patient admission (Martin-Loeches et al., 2018). It occurs in patients receiving mechanical ventilation. The plan will be carried out in the general ward unit of the hospital. Implementation of the plan will reduce the incidence of ventilator-associated pneumonia, shorten hospital stays, and improve patients’ quality of life.

Objective

The objective is to adopt evidence-based practices for patients receiving mechanical ventilation to reduce the incidences of ventilator-associated pneumonia. The evidence-based practices to be embraced include proper patient oral hygiene, continuous aspiration of subglottic secretions (CASS), minimizing proton pump inhibitors, placing patients in a semi-recumbent posture, and minimizing the duration of mechanical ventilation (Álvarez-Lerma et al., 2018). This objective is harmonious with the hospital’s broader goal of upholding quality patient-centered care to achieve better outcomes. Its success will ensure better outcomes by reducing the incidences of VAP.

Questions and Predictions

Will the implementation of evidence-based practices require more staff to be recruited?

The staff will not have to be increased during the initial implementation. However, when fully adopted, staff ratios, especially nurse ratios, will be optimized because of the increased workload created by evidence-based practices.

How will the interdisciplinary team minimize the duration of mechanical ventilation in this context?

All patients will be assessed to determine the necessity of mechanical ventilation. Those who fail to meet the inclusion criteria will not receive mechanical ventilation. Patients who receive mechanical ventilation will be monitored periodically. Once desirable ventilatory perfusion levels, mechanical ventilation will be discontinued.

What is the economic implication of the plan to the hospital and patients?

Initially, the hospital will be required to allocate extra funds to implement the plan. This will cater to activities such as training and purchasing CASS tubes. After the implementation, the hospital will benefit financially. A reduction in VAP will increase monetary reimbursements from the insurer who had slashed them. Patients will avoid extra treatment costs.

Change Theories and Leadership Strategies

Havelock’s change model will be used to create an interdisciplinary solution. This change model has six stages (Udod & Wagner, 2018). The first phase is pre-contemplation and relationship building, where the necessity for change is determined. The second phase is problem diagnosis, which involves determining the relevance and urgency of change (Udod & Wagner, 2018). The next phase is acquiring resources for change, which involves active research to create change. The next step is pathway selection, during which a specific facilitator of change is selected and implemented. The fifth phase is establishing and accepting the change (Udod & Wagner, 2018). The last phase is maintenance and separation, during which follow-up is conducted to ensure change is embraced into organizational culture.

This change theory will promote self-awareness and self-direction among interprofessional team members. It will enable them to recognize the clinical and economic impacts of ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP), plan and research evidence-based preventive strategies, implement them and monitor their effectiveness. This change is beneficial to VAP because it will ensure that the best preventive evidence-based practices are adopted. Furthermore, the change theory will ensure that VAP incidences are significantly lowered due to the follow-up in the maintenance and separation phase.

The leadership strategy that will be used is appreciative inquiry. This strategy entails focusing on and reinforcing the strengths and achievements of team members (Folkman et al., 2019). In the context of this change plan, the abilities of each team member will be identified. Each plays a unique role in ensuring that VAP incidences are reduced. Reinforcing these abilities and knowledge will increase the willingness to collaborate, share knowledge and ensure that the plan is successful.

Team Collaboration Strategy

The interdisciplinary team involves nurses, physicians, pharmacists, and a representative from the hospital administration. Nurses, physicians, and pharmacists will select members among themselves to form a quality