l O M o AR c P SD 14447089

l O M o AR c P SD | 14447089

MULTIPLE CHOICE

• A nurse manager of a 20-bed medical unit finds that 80% of the patients are older adults.

She is asked to assess and adapt the unit to better meet the unique needs of the older adult patient. Using complexity principles, what would be the best approach to take for implementation of this change?

• Leverage the hierarchical management position to get unit staff involved in assessment

and planning.

• Engage involved staff at all levels in the decision-making process.
• Focus the assessment on the unit and omit the hospital and community environment.
• Hire a geriatric specialist to oversee and control the project.

ANS: B

Complexity theory suggests that systems interact and adapt and that decision making occurs throughout the systems, as opposed to being held in a hierarchy. In complexity theory, every voice counts, and therefore, all levels of staff would be involved in decision making.

TOP: AONE competency: Communication and Relationship-Building

• A unit manager of a 25-bed medical/surgical area receives a phone call from a nurse

who has called in sick five times in the past month. He tells the manager that he very much wants to

come to work when scheduled but must often care for his wife, who is undergoing treatment

for breast cancer. According to Maslow’s need hierarchy theory, what would be the best

approach to satisfying the needs of this nurse, other staff, and

patients?

• Line up agency nurses who can be called in to work on short notice.
• Place the nurse on unpaid leave for the remainder of his wife’s treatment.
• Sympathize with the nurse’s dilemma and let the charge nurse know that this

nurse may be calling in frequently in the future.

• Work with the nurse, staffing office, and other nurses to arrange his scheduled

days off around his wife’s treatments.

(Leading and Managing in Nursing 7e, by Patricia S. Yoder) (Test Bank, For Complete File, Download link at the end of this File) 1 / 2

l O M o AR c P SD | 14447089 Leading and Managing in Nursing 7th Edition Yoder-Wise Test Bank

ANS: D

Placing the nurse on unpaid leave may threaten the nurse’s capacity to meet physiologic needs and demotivate the nurse. Unsatisfactory coverage of shifts on short notice could affect patient care and threaten the needs of staff to feel competent. Arranging the schedule around the wife’s needs meets the needs of the staff and of patients while satisfying the nurse’s need for affiliation.

TOP: AONE competency: Communication and Relationship-Building

• A grievance brought by a staff nurse against the unit manager requires mediation. At

the first mediation session, the staff nurse repeatedly calls the unit manager’s actions unfair, and the unit manager continues to reiterate the reasons for the actions. What would be the best course of action at this time?

• Send the two disputants away to reach their own resolution.
• Involve another staff nurse in the discussion for clarity issues.
• Ask each party to examine their own motives and issues in the conflict.
• Continue to listen as the parties repeat their thoughts and feelings about the

conflict.

ANS: C

For resolution of conflict, one should address the interests and involvement of participants in the conflict by examining the real issues of all parties.

TOP: AONE competency: Communication and Relationship-Building

• At a second negotiation session, the unit manager and staff nurse are unable to reach

a resolution. What is the appropriate next step?

• Arrange another meeting in a week’s time so as to allow a cooling-off period.
• Elevate the next negation session to the next manager, one level above.
• Insist that participants continue to talk until a resolution has been reached.
• Back the unit manager’s actions and end the dispute.

ANS: B

Part of leadership is understanding conflict resolution and ability to negotiate and manage for resolution of issues and concerns. This situation has failed a second negotiation session, elevation to a manager with additional training to facilitate conflict resolution is important at this point.

TOP: AONE competency: Communication and Relationship-Building

• The manager of a surgical area has a vision for the future that requires the addition

of RN assistants or unlicensed persons to feed, bathe, and ambulate patients. The RNs on the staff

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