chapter 12 | Promoting a Healthy Workplace 191about it.” When Nurse B did so, the response was
that the unit was too busy to accommodate students.
In addition, Nurse B received a verbal reprimand
from the supervisor for overstepping her authority
by discussing the placement of students. “All requests
for student placement must be directed to the educa-
tion department,” she said. The supervisor directed
Nurse B to write a letter of apology for having made
an unauthorized commitment to the community
college. Nurse B was afraid to make any decisions or
public statements after this incident. Nurse B felt
alienated and powerless.Professional Growth and Innovation
The difference between a climate that encourages
staff growth and creativity and one that does not
can be quite subtle. In fact, many people are only
partly aware, if at all, whether they work in an envi-
ronment that fosters professional growth and
learning. Yet the effect on the quality of the work
done is pervasive, and it is an important factor in
distinguishing the merely good health-care organi-
zation from the excellent health-care organization.
Much of the responsibility for staff development
and promotion of innovation lies with upper-level
management, people who can sponsor seminars,
conduct organization-wide workshops, establish
educational policies, promote career mobility,
develop clinical ladders, initiate innovative projects,
and reward suggestions.
Some of the ways in which first-line managers
can develop and support a climate of professional
growth are to encourage critical thinking, provide
opportunities to take advantage of educational pro-
grams, encourage new ideas and projects, and
reward professional growth.
Encourage Critical Thinking
If you ever find yourself or staff members saying,
“Don’t ask why. Just do it!” then you need to evalu-
ate the type of climate in which you are function-
ing. An inquisitive frame of mind is relatively easy
to suppress in a work environment. Patients and
staff members quickly perceive a nurse’s impatience
or defensiveness when too many questions are
raised. Their response will be to simply give up ask-
ing these questions.
On the other hand, if you support critical
thinkers and act as a role model who adopts a
questioning attitude, you can encourage others to
do the same.
Seek Out Educational Opportunities
In most organizations, first-line managers do not
have discretionary funds that can be allocated for
educational purposes. However, they can usually
support a staff member’s request for educational
leave or for financial support and often have a
small budget that can be used for seminars or
workshops.
Team leaders and nurse managers can make it
either easier or more difficult for staff members to
further their education. They can make things dif-
ficult for the staff member who is trying to balance
work, home, and school responsibilities, or they
can help lighten the load of the staff member who
has to finish a paper or take an examination.
Unsupportive supervisors have even attacked staff
members who pursue further education, criticizing
every minor error and blocking their advancement.
Obviously, such behavior should be dealt with
quickly by upper-level management because it is a
serious inhibitor of staff development.Encourage New Ideas
The increasingly rapid accumulation of knowledge
in health care mandates continuous learning for
safe practice. Intellectual curiosity is a hallmark of
the professional.
Every move up the professional ladder should
bring new challenges that enrich one’s work
(Roedel & Nystrom, 1987). As a professional, you
can be a role model for an environment in which
every staff member is both challenged and rewarded
for meeting these challenges. Participating in
brainstorming sessions, group conferences, and
discussions encourages the generation of new
ideas. Although new nurses may think they have
nothing to offer, it is important for them to partic-
ipate in activities that encourage them to look at
fresh, new ideas.Reward Professional Growth
A primary source of discontent in the workplace is
lack of recognition. Positive feedback and recogni-
tion of contributions are important rewards.
Everyone enjoys praise and recognition. A smile, a
card or note, or a verbal “thank you” goes a long way
with coworkers in recognizing a job well done.
Staff recognition programs have also been identi-
fied as a means of increasing self-esteem, social
gratification, morale, and job satisfaction (Hurst,
Croker, & Bell, 1994).