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Strategic Planning

Victoria Smart

Capella University

NURS-FPX6210 Leadership and Management of Nurse Executives

Linda Sperling

October 10, 2022

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Strategic Planning

The success of a business is measured on its ability to adapt and change as the

environment and industry around it changes. This is no different within healthcare. Healthcare

facilities must be careful to not become stagnant or they will fail the community in which they

strive to serve. By implementing strategic planning, healthcare organizations can remain relevant

and responsive to patients and the community’s needs. This is accomplished by looking into the

future and developing a clear and consistent organizational focus. (Stanford Medicine, 2022).

This paper will develop a strategic goal statement and outcome regarding quality and safety

improvements within an acute rehabilitation center. I will then justify the relevance of proposed

strategic goals and outcomes in relation to the mission, vision and values of the rehab center,

analyzes the extent to which strategic goals and outcomes address the use of technology and the

ethical, cultural, and regulatory environments, explain how relevant leadership and health care

theories will be used to help achieve proposed strategic goals and objectives, and evaluate the

leadership qualities and skills that will be most important to successfully implementing a

strategic plan.

Strategic Goal and Outcomes

Every great idea starts out as a dream, something someone thought up and wished to

happen and then made happen. To ensure that great ideas get implemented and achieved a plan

must be developed with goals that clearly outline what an organization wants to achieve.

Previously I outlined the first two phases of appreciative inquiry, the discovery and dream

phases. In those phases I identified what my rehab facility is good at regarding quality and safety

and then envisioned what the future might hold. These are both important steps in the process of

creating change; however, they are only part of the process. Now that a vision has been created

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the design phase starts. The design phase is where the planning occurs, it is where models and

prototypes of different elements are created. It is the blueprint to the future. (Benedictine

University, 20217).

When implementing change into an established facility it is important to identify the

vision, mission, and goal of the organization and to ensure that employees and stakeholders feel

invested in the change. Our vision is of a rehabilitation center, where individuals reach their

highest potential for health. Our mission is to promote and encourage self-care while improving

quality of life among individuals who have suffered from medically life changing events. Goals

should help to promote success and are the foundation for planning. Goals are things that we as a

facility are attempting to achieve, these goals should be S.M.A.R.T. Meaning that they should be

specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time bound. It is also important to remember that

things change and as you are working towards achieving goals it is important to remain flexible

and adapt to changes as they arise. Keeping track of progress and making the needed changes as

they occur can help to maintain motivation and achieve goals. (Bryant & Stratton College Blog

Staff, 2021). For our purposes I will purpose both a long term and short-term goal. Short term

goals should be able to be accomplished in three months to a few years. Short term goals can be

a steppingstone to achieving long-term goals, it is important to keep track of your progress of

short-term goals and review them to ensure that they are still helpful in obtaining the bigger

picture. Long term goals are the end point, it is where you want to be in five to ten years and

should be broken down to help create short term goals, by knowing the end goal you can develop

steps to get there and devise a plan of action to achieve your goals. (Bryant & Stratton College

Blog Staff, 2021).

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For my acute rehab facility, we are always looking at ways to ensure that patients are

getting the best quality care and allows for a safe discharge. We help patients transition from the

hospital to life after a life altering event whether it is a stroke, heart attack, spine surgery, hip

surgery, etc. We give them the tools to regain as much independence as possible. One way we

can ensure that patients are getting quality and safe care is to ensure that we have qualified staff

who can provide them with the best possible care. The goal moving forward will be to have all

nursing staff with credentials of certified rehabilitation registered nurses (CCRN). So, the long-

term goal will be to have one hundred percent of our nursing staff trained and certified as

CCRNs within five years. The short-term goal will be to have fifty percent of our current and

new hired staff trained and certified as CCRNs within the next year. The biggest challenges to

this are motivation of staff, staff turnover, cost of testing, and number of testing times throughout

the year (these tests are only offered at certain times). In addition to training for nursing staff,

implementing new equipment and technology into patient care can also help with ensuring

higher quality and safer patient care. The short-term goal would be to update existing equipment

and technology within the next three years. For the short-term goal equipment and technology

upgrades would include smart beds, computers, and traditional equipment used by therapists and

nurses. The long-term goal would be to implement new state of the art equipment and technology

that changes how therapists and nurses perform their duties within the next ten years. This would

include higher end technology and equipment such as exoskeletons, instrumented insoles and

biofeedback and personalized reference charts. By implementing these changes and providing

additional training to nursing staff the outcomes should include higher patient satisfaction,

reduced readmissions into the hospital, reduced complications on discharge, safer patient care,

and higher quality of care provided to patients during stay.

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Justification of Strategic Goals and Outcomes

Providing quality and safe care within a healthcare facility cannot be achieved without

high quality nursing staff. Nurses play a pivotal role in caring for patients. While nurses have

learned to be flexible and go where they are needed, certain areas of specialty require specialized

care. Providing the highest quality of care requires specialized training and knowledge to assist

patients with a disability and/or chronic illness to attain and maintain maximum function. Within

the rehabilitation center it is important that nurses assist patients to adapt to an altered lifestyle,

providing a therapeutic environment for not only the patient but their family as well. Nurses

within the rehabilitation center are teachers, caregivers, collaborators, and client advocates.

These tasks can include performing hands-on nursing care that utilize the nursing process,

coordinating nursing care activities and collaborating with therapy members, or helping to

prepare patients and family members with future self-management of care upon discharge.

(ARN, n.d.). The CRRN is widely recognized and respected and is a credential for nurses who

assist with restoring, maintaining, and promoting optimal health in patients who suffer from

disabilities and chronic illnesses. It helps to validate a nurse's professional standing as being an

experienced rehab nurse (ARN, 2021). Having the CRRN certification shows a level of

knowledge and commitment to patient care and having all nurses with this certification helps to

show a commitment to the team and the patients. (ARN, 2020). That is why it is so important

that we promote having all our nurses being certified as CRRNs to help not only ensure that

patients are getting quality and safe care but to provide patients with confidence and security in

knowing they are receiving the best care by nurses who are specially trained to care for them.

Feeling safe and confident in the care provided helps patients to focus on their goals moving

forward. CRRNs help ensure patients reach their highest potential for health by promoting and

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encouraging self-care while improving quality of life among individuals who have suffered from

medically life changing events.

Another way to ensure that patients are getting the best care is to implement technology

into the patient care setting. Unfortunately, technology is expensive and often you must justify

spending the money before a facility will pay for such expenses. However, medical technology is

critical for continued care, it helps to make patient care easier and more efficient, assists with

patients getting more convenient and accessible options for higher quality and safer healthcare.

(WGU, 2021). Technology that aids with the rehabilitation process for the use of occupational

and physical therapists is essential for helping to improve the care of patients. Implementing

technology such as exoskeletons, instrumented insoles, and biofeedback and personalized

reference charts can help with improving patient outcomes, patient safety, and assisting with

getting patients back to their prior level of function. This means that by implementing new

technology in the rehabilitation facility we can improve health outcomes, patient satisfaction and

reduce healthcare costs while ensuring that care is patient centered. (Bade et al., 2020). Thus, the

goal of improving the current technology and implementing higher state of the art technology

helps to support the overall vision, mission, and goal of providing quality and safe healthcare

that is patient centered and helps to ensure the best possible outcomes for our patients upon

discharge.

Technology, Ethical, Cultural and Regulatory Environments

Technology is at the forefront of our quality improvement plan. By updating old

equipment and implementing state of the art technology we are helping to set up our patients for

success not only during their rehabilitation stay but also upon discharge. Technology such as

Electronic Health Records (EHR) are helpful for retrieving information, having access to patients

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records and charts from different hospitals that patients have been at can allow doctors and

nurses to fill in gaps in patient care and allow us to provide more efficient care to patients.

Patients are complex and are living longer which means they have more comorbidities than

previously which complicates that care but technology can assist with ensuring doctors and

nurses have access to the best resources available to serve their patient’s individual health needs.

Regulatory agencies help to protect healthcare consumers from health risks, ensure safe

work environments for healthcare professionals, and ensure that public health and welfare is

being served by healthcare programs. They also help with setting standards for operations, safety,

quality, offering accreditation, continuing education, and training for healthcare professionals.

(Thomas, 2022). Examples of regulatory agencies include Centers for Medicare and Medicaid

Services (CMS) and The Joint Commission (JTC). My goal of improving nursing training by

having them become CRRN and implementing new technology into patient care aligns with

ensuring patients are receiving the best quality and safety of care and aligns with the Joint

Commission's guidelines for the national patient safety goals, which include identifying patients

correctly, improving staff communication, using medicine safely, using alarms safely, preventing

infection, identifying patient safety risks, and preventing mistakes in surgery (2022). CMS uses

quality measures to ensure that healthcare is meeting goals such as being effective, safe,

efficient, patient-centered, equitable, and timely. Having nurses with high levels of training and

more extensive technology within the care facility can assist with ensuring that these measures

are met and continue to be met. Our goal is to provide the highest quality of care that is safe and

exceeds the standards of care required by regulatory agencies such as CMS and TJC.

When implementing changes, it is important to consider the ethical ramifications that

those changes can have within an organization. Healthcare workers have a code of ethics that

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they follow and nurses also have a code of ethics that help to govern actions for caring for

patients. My proposed strategic goals and outcomes align with the American Nurses

Association’s (ANA) code of ethics that help to govern the care provided to patients. As part of

the ANA code of ethics nurses should show compassion, respect dignity, and worth to each

person, their primary commitment is to the patient, they promote and advocate to protect the

rights, health, and safety of patients, collaborate with others to provide care and strives to

provide the highest quality of care to patients. (2019).

Another important factor to consider is that of cultural competency. The rehab facility is

small and serves a small community. The majority of those within the community we serve are of

Caucasian descent and elderly. However, within the larger community there is a lot of Spanish

speaking clientele that our facility could also be serving but currently does not. Having a facility

that is more welcoming to patients of different cultural backgrounds can help to expand our

growth as a company and allow us to serve those who need help. Having access to devices that

can help us better serve patients who speak other languages ensures that information obtained is

being understood and allows patients to better participate in their care. This alone can help with

providing more inclusive and culturally appropriate care. In addition, being respectful of

different cultures and practices can help us to better understand how to treat patients and allow

care to be patient centered and allows patients to receive higher quality care. The strategic goals

and outcomes help to support implementation of a more culturally competent environment within

the rehabilitation facility.

Leadership and Healthcare Theories

When considering implementation of a new plan it is imperative to have the right person

leading the project. The leadership style needed to ensure that plans are implemented correctly

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and that goals are reached is that of Transformational leadership. These leaders focus on

facilitating organizational collaboration and helping to drive a vision forward. They possess

characteristics such as the ability to inspire, motivate, take risks, and can encourage others to

communicate and participate. (Emeritus, 2022). These skills are important because they help to

engage and encourage team members to feel empowered and develop new ideas while working

towards a common goal to improve the organization. Their “can do'' attitude and hands-on

approach helps to create an ideal work environment that fosters positivity and helps to create

positive change within an organization. They ensure that everyone feels invested in creating the

change needed. The main limitation of this style of leadership is that they are too focused on

change and they put a lot of pressure onto the staff working under them to work hard and put

their whole selves into a project and that can lead to staff getting burnt out or overwhelmed.

In addition to ensuring there is good leadership another important healthcare theory is

that of evidence-based practice. Evidence based management within healthcare aims to use

critical thinking and the best available evidence to make decisions. This form of decision-making

is systematic, it increases objectivity and critical thinking. It reduces the potential for irrational

thinking and bias. Rather than relying on gut feelings, popular trends, or personal experiences

these managers use evidence from multiple sources to increase the chance of the best outcome.

Evidence-based management is driven by science and data, increased accountability, and helps to

reduce errors in judgment. EBM’s process includes selecting the best available evidence, using

systematic decision-making, and re-evaluating and adapting as needed. (Winn, 2020). This does

not mean that it does not have limitations. Factors that may affect EBM include organizational

factors, facilitators, barriers, social factors, decision-making environment, and decision-making

characteristics. EBM takes time and a level of commitment rather than just making decisions by

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the seat of your pants thus it can prove to be more difficult. Without support and resources EBM

cannot be successful.

Leadership Qualities and Skills

Leadership is important when implementing change and ensuring that change is

successful. It is important that leaders possess specific characteristics and skills to get tasks

completed in a way that aligns with an organization's vision and mission. A leader should be able

to provide guidance and inspiration to those around them. They should foster their team

members’ qualities and help create a work environment that feels open, honest, and productive.

They are always focused on the common goal and overall mission. Good leadership skills

include being adaptive, resilient, open minded, active listeners, effective communicator, creative,

innovative, strategic, ethical, honest, transparent, and respectful of cultural differences.

(Eastwood, 2019). Leaders with these qualities can help foster an environment that allows people

to feel safe, motivated, inspired, and valued which in return enables employees to feel invested in

the organization and to work towards the vision and mission of the organization.

Conclusion

Providing quality and safe care to patients is a priority for every healthcare facility and

the only way they can continue to provide the highest quality of care is to evolve and adapt to the

changing world around them. Healthcare facilities must look to the future and plan appropriately

to ensure that they continue to be relevant and serve the patients and members of their

communities that rely on them. Strategic planning can assist with accomplishing goals and

ensuring that they are continuously improving the care provided to patients. This paper

developed a strategic goal statement and outcome regarding quality and safety improvements

within an acute rehabilitation center. I then justified the relevance of proposed strategic goals and

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outcomes in relation to the mission, vision and values of the rehab center, analyzed the extent to

which strategic goals and outcomes address the use of technology and the ethical, cultural, and

regulatory environments, explained how relevant leadership and health care theories will be used

to help achieve proposed strategic goals and objectives, and evaluated the leadership qualities

and skills that will be most important to successfully implementing a strategic plan.

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References

American Nurses Association (ANA). (2019). American nurses association code of ethics for

nurses. https://nursing.rutgers.edu/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/ANA-Code-of-Ethics-

for-Nurses.pdf

Association of Rehabilitation Nurses. (n.d.). What does a rehabilitation staff nurse do?

https://rehabnurse.org/about/roles/rehabilitation-staff-nurse

Association of Rehabilitation Nurses. (2020). Why are you a CRRN?

https://rehabnurse.org/certification/why-are-you-a-crrn

Association of Rehabilitation Nurses. (2021). Become a certified rehabilitation registered nurse

(CRRN). https://rehabnurse.org/crrn-certification/crrn-certification#:~:text =The

%20Importance%20of%20Nursing%20Certification,maintain%2C%20and%20promote

%20optimal%20health.

Bade, M., Graber, J., Johnson, J., Kittelson, A., Nabhan, D., Owens, J., & Rauzi, M. (2020).

How new technology is improving physical therapy. National Library of Medicine.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7174486/

Benedictine University. (2017). What is appreciative inquiry? A short guide to the appreciative

inquiry model & process. Benedictine University College of Business.

https://cvdl.ben.edu/blog/what-is-appreciative-inquiry/

Bryant & Stratton College Blog Staff. (2021). Planning short and long term career goals. Bryant

& Stratton College. https://www.bryantstratton.edu/blog/2021/september/short-and-long-

term-career-goals

Eastwood, B. (2019). The 5 qualities all successful leaders have in common. Northeastern

University. https://www.northeastern.edu/graduate/blog/top-5-leadership-qualities/

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Emeritus. (2022). Here’s an insight into leadership and its different types. Emeritus Institute of

M