Mission
A mission statement is a
broad general goal of an organization that describes its purpose in the
community. The mission statement of a small community hospital may indicate
that its purpose is to serve the health care needs of the immediate community
and provide care for commonly occurring illnesses. A large university hospital
may have a mission statement that encompasses research, teaching and care for
complex problems. These two organizations will establish different priorities
for spending, choose different technologies as essential to their missions, and
structure their staff in different ways. These mission statements provide the
overall umbrella under which all functions of the organization take place.
In addition to or even in
place of a mission statement a general statement of philosophy may be used.
When both are present, they should agree. The philosophy is typically longer
and more detailed.
Organizational Philosophy and philosophy of Nursing Service
Administration
Organizational Philosophy
is its explicit and implied view of itself and what it is. Generally it is
expressed in mission statements. The philosophy is directly linked to and
rooted in the organizations cultural beliefs and values. Philosophy depicts the
desired nature of the relationships between health service organizations and
its customers, employees and external constituents. It is a set of beliefs that
determines how organizational purposes are achieved and that s Gerves as the foundation
for agency objectives, policies and procedures.
Nurses have the right to
know the beliefs about nursing care, nursing practice and nursing management
held by the collective group, which they are a part of the nursing department.
A statement of philosophy is a valuable management tool. Nurses should be given
a copy before they join the staff so that they can judge whether their personal
philosophy is sufficiently in agreement with the organizational philosophy to
enable them to become a contributing member of the department. Philosophy
statements are relatively enduring documents because stated beliefs are usually
expressions of firm commitment to the best that can be achieved and are derived
from the broad goals of the agency.
A useful philosophy has a
timeless quality because basic premises change only under unusual conditions.
Nevertheless, philosophy statements need to be reviewed periodically. If a
review by all members of the department reveals that the statement still reflects
the guiding beliefs of the collective group, there is no need to revise the
document. If scrutiny indicates that the statement is not consistent with
current agency goals or philosophy or is not effective in directing the actions
of the department, then the statement should be rewritten to assure that it
meets the criteria of compatibility, attainability, intelligibility,
acceptability, measurability and accountability. When developing or
reevaluating a philosophy, the manager should consider theory, education,
practice, research, and nursing's role in the total organization.
Goals
Goals are the broad
statements of overall intent of an organization or individual. They are usually
stated in general terms. The purpose of writing goals is to identify where you
are going and to enable you to evaluate when you have arrived there. A
meaningful stated goal is one that succeeds in communicating the intent of
those generating the goal. It should be stated in such a way that it will be
understood clearly by others. As a nurse in a health care institution, you need
to be aware of the existence of several levels of goals: the institutional
level, the nursing department level and the nursing unit level. The goal levels
all need to relate to the health needs of the community, because these are the
focus of health care.
Institutional Goals
Based on the community’s
health needs, the institution forms goals and objectives. An institution that
focuses thinking on goals for the future and activities that will move the organization
toward these goals is referred to as a proactive institution. The managers of
such institutions spend a great deal of time, money and energy on identifying
possible future events and on preparing the institution to deal with them.
Institutions that do not have specific or future oriented goals are reactive
institutions. They spend their time reacting to events, that is, “putting out
fires” rather than “preventing them.” A reactive facility would wait until such
emergencies occurred and then would handle them as a crisis rather than as an
anticipated event.
Nursing Department Goals
The goals of the
institution definitely affect those of nursing service, which must support and
complement institutional goals. In an institution with an overall goal of
developing a mental health program, a nursing department goal may include
developing nurses in psychiatry.
The astute manager of a
nursing department must also be proactive about the national issues facing
nursing, community needs for nursing, and the needs within the institution
itself. This manager would formulate goals to help the nursing department meet
the challenges of care in the future, because the ultimate nursing department
goal is quality client care.
Nursing Unit Goals
It is important that each
employee understand the institutional and nursing department goals, because the
group or unit goals develop from them. Each nurse should be able to contribute
to the formation of unit goals in terms of philosophy of care, quality of care,
and development of nursing expertise.
Helping to formulate the
goals for your unit is important, because these goals can also represent your
individual goals. Unit goals develop from the group as a whole and often
include individual goals in the process.
Development and
implementation of goals must be meaningful to the group if they are to be
successful. The member of the group must feel that they are the originators of
the unit goals and objectives.
Organizational Climate
The climate of an
organization refers to the prevailing feelings and values experienced by
individuals. The feeling of thrust, belonging, esteem and loyalty are part of
the climate. Values for competence and accomplishment are also part of the
climate. The climate is bases on the official policies and procedures of the
organization, and the feedback provided within the organization
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