Code of conduct attracts and keeps nurses
Respect, courtesy result in less tension at work
As same-day surgery managers struggle to recruit top quality nurses, retention of current staff is more important than ever. One way to keep nurses in your same-day surgery program is to make sure the work environment is one in which they feel appreciated, respected, and valued.
At Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester, NY, the same-day surgery staff members not only believe that they work in such an environment, but they have it in writing. "Our code of conduct is a multiparagraph statement of the program’s expectation of how staff members will interact with each other," says Linda R. Knox, RN, MS, CNOR, operating room nurse educator for the surgery program.
"The statement not only reiterates the program’s commitment to the hospital’s core values of respecting patients and providing excellent care, but it also says that we expect all patients, employees, and medical staff members to show each other respect and courtesy by being open, fair, and honest in all interactions," she explains.
The code was developed a couple of years ago when the surgical nursing staff began addressing several issues that affected operations, says Knox. "We had complaints about equipment, supplies, lab results, and all of the typical issues that affect a surgical department, but we realized that many of the issues could be traced back to communications between departments and people," she says.
"We set up an interdisciplinary committee of employees and physicians who were respected by their colleagues to develop a mechanism that promoted good communication between different groups to enable all of us to accomplish our goals," Knox explains. The committee members came up with the code of conduct that mandated teamwork, courteous communication, respect, and appropriate methods of conflict resolution, she says.
The code was distributed to all surgery departments as well as departments with which surgery regularly works, such as housekeeping, anesthesia, sterile supply, says Deborah G. Spratt, RN, MPA, CNOR, CNAA, nurse manager of the surgery department. "In addition to discussing the code in orientation, nursing does address it in all personnel evaluations," she says. "We also include the code in all physicians’ credentialing packets."
Continuing education programs on interpersonal behavior, modification of behavior, and conflict resolution are presented three to four times each year to reinforce the importance of the code, says Spratt.
The code has affected behavior and interaction between people, says Knox. "In an interdisciplinary survey taken before implementation of the code, all of the departments pointed to each other as causing problems and behaving inappropriately," she says. "After implementation, we still found frustration about equipment and supply problems, but the complaints focused on the issue, not the personalities or behaviors involved."
Exit interviews with nurses who have left since the code of conduct was put into place have shown that the nurses did not leave because of dissatisfaction with the work environment, says Spratt. Even with continued growth of the surgery program, expansion of the department, and a busier schedule, there is less tension among staff members than there was before the code, she says.
While the code of conduct was initiated by the surgery program, it has since spread throughout the hospital and is now a hospitalwide policy, says Spratt. Having the code of conduct in writing is a great tool for managers, she adds.
"Previously, if you had a bad boy’ or bad girl,’ you just said stop acting that way,’" Spratt says. "Now, we have a written policy to back us up when we tell the employee to behave a certain way."
Resources
For more on a written code of conduct, contact:
• Deborah G. Spratt, RN, MPA, CNOR, CNAA, Nurse Manager, Strong Memorial Hospital, 601 Elmwood Ave., Rochester, NY 14618. Telephone: (585) 275-9618. E-mail: [email protected].
As same-day surgery managers struggle to recruit top quality nurses, retention of current staff is more important than ever. One way to keep nurses in your same-day surgery program is to make sure the work environment is one in which they feel appreciated, respected, and valued.
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