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The leader-manager provides oversight on a busy medical-surgical unit. There has recently been an incident where two nurses were not honest about neglecting a controversial new protocol and misled the leader. How can the leader-manager best prevent similar episodes?

a) Increase disciplinary actions to set an example
b) Encourage open communication and a culture of honesty
c) Ignore the incident to maintain staff morale
d) Implement stricter enforcement of protocols

1 Answer

3 votes

Final answer:

The leader-manager can best prevent incidents of dishonesty by encouraging a culture of honesty and open communication. This approach facilitates a safer environment for staff to report problems and adhere to protocols. Establishing transparent communication is vital given the complex dynamics of authority and obedience in medical settings.

Step-by-step explanation:

To prevent similar incidents where nurses are not honest about neglecting protocols, a leader-manager should encourage open communication and a culture of honesty. This approach is more likely to foster an environment where staff feel safe to discuss errors and concerns without fear of immediate reprisal. By promoting transparency and integrity, the leader-manager can tackle systemic issues that may lead to non-compliance and can address them constructively.

In medical settings, the relationship between doctors and nurses is collaborative, but doctors typically have more authority. Nurses may feel pressured to follow doctors' orders even if they disagree with them, based on research observing obedience to authority figures in medical environments. Therefore, a culture of open dialogue is crucial to negotiate professional boundaries and ensure best practice adherence.

The problem doctors tackled in the provided context can be seen as both simple, in regards to the apparent straightforwardness of following a protocol, and complex, considering the ethical implications and the pressures of hierarchical obedience within medical settings. Similarly, the solution proposed is simple in theory—adopting a new protocol—but complex in practice, taking into account the multifaceted nature of healthcare work environments and the resistance to change that can occur within bureaucracies.

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