Domain I (provided by Andrea Cook)

Recognize and provide examples of Empathetic Language

Empathy: Having the ability to understand someone else’s feelings or emotions. Someone who understands what it is like to lose someone and who feels sympathy and understanding for a friend who just suffered a death in their family. Having empathy is when someone can share another person’s feelings. Example: “I feel said/hurt when I see an animal being hurt.” Feeling sad, hurt, or upset when watching others who are sad/hurt is the ultimate display of empathy. Three ways Empathy can build relationships in Healthcare: 1. We can say “’I’m sorry”. 2. Ask patients what their biggest concern is about their hospitalization is and address it. 3. Treat them like they are your own family.

Define Health Literacy and Its impact on Patient Experience

Health Literacy is the degree to which individuals have the capacity to obtain, process, and understand basic health information and services needed to make appropriate health decisions. Health literacy is the use of a wide range of skills that improve the ability of people to act on information in order to live healthier lives. These skills include reading, writing, listening, speaking, numeracy, and critical analysis, as well as communication and interaction skills.

Identify and Promote Health Literacy strategies/techniques used to ensure patient/family/resident understanding

Examples: · Develop plain language · Patient-friendly education materials and navigations aids. · Redesigning patient informed consent forms. · Use established communication methods such as the “teach back” techniques when communicating with patients. · Implement system-wide strategies, such as, patient-centered communication, discuss risks and/benefits of treatments, understanding care instructions. Remember…..good communication is linked to improved patient satisfaction, adherence to medical recommendations, and health outcomes.

Apply Effective Change Management Strategies

Though debate over specific solutions may continue, there seems to be widespread consensus for changes in healthcare in the United States to address inconsistencies in quality and efficiency. Some of the primary market forces serving as catalysts for change include the following: Patient Safety and Clinical Quality – The emphasis on quality and patient safety has not abated since the release of the Institute of Medicine’s 1999 report on medical errors. Recent reports shine an even harsher light on a “Swiss cheese” healthcare system that allows nearly 200,000 people to die needlessly each year. The Move Toward Digitization – Both for safety and efficiency improvements, the push to adopt information technology (IT) systems will continue, as patient care settings increasingly seek to go “filmless and paperless.” If this migration is to be successful, it must be accompanied by process adaptation and change management techniques that engender acceptance among staff and clinicians. Demographic Changes – Shifting demographics and an aging population will continue to impact healthcare in the United States, particularly for specialties such as cardiovascular services. The U.S. healthcare workforce also is aging, with only 9.1 percent of all registered nurses (RNs) under the age of 30, and the average age 45.2 years. Workforce Issues – Workforce shortages – especially acute in certain regions and specialties – continue to strain the system. An article in Healthcare Financial Management states, “Shortages of clinical staff, including RNs, radiology technicians and many other professionals, not only severely limit the ability of healthcare providers to respond to increasing levels of demand, they also affect providers’ ability to maintain current levels of service, quality and profitability.” Hospitals will need to ensure they are operationally efficient and are able to create an optimal work environment in order to attract, develop and retain top talent. Financial Challenges – Healthcare providers continue to feel financial pressures as they deal with rising demand and uncertainty in reimbursement and revenue collection. Projects that address revenue and cost management strategies will be crucial to maintaining quality services. The Quest for Excellence – According to the American College of Healthcare Executives, “the concept of competing on value, which includes both cost and quality dimensions of performance, has become a reality.” As this reality sinks in, healthcare providers are showing greater interest in exploring solutions that would enable them to not only survive, but to become centers of excellence or providers and employers of choice. Embarking on a major change initiative in healthcare may feel daunting at first, but there are a number of tools and techniques that can help to get an organization over the rough spots. There are now a growing number of Lean Six Sigma institutions which are successful and will attest to the value of persistence and commitment. Successful improvement initiatives can yield a wide range of benefits that are both qualitative and quantitative, including: · Fewer medical errors · Increased revenue and improved reimbursement · Better use of advanced technologies (and faster return on investment) · Better accessibility and capacity for patient flow · Improved organizational communication · Better nursing and physician satisfaction · Better patient satisfaction · Shorter patient wait times · Investment in staff expertise

Define, describe and promote patient/family/resident centered care core concepts and principles

Patient- and family-centered care is an approach to the planning, delivery, and evaluation of health care that is grounded in mutually beneficial partnerships among health care providers, patients, and families. It redefines the relationships in health care. Patient- and family-centered practitioners recognize the vital role that families play in ensuring the health and well-being of infants, children, adolescents, and family members of all ages. They acknowledge that emotional, social, and developmental support are integral components of health care. They promote the health and well-being of individuals and families and restore dignity and control to them. Patient- and family-centered care is an approach to health care that shapes policies, programs, facility design, and staff day-to-day interactions. It leads to better health outcomes and wiser allocation of resources, and greater patient and family satisfaction. Core Concepts of Patient- and Family-Centered Care: • Dignity and Respect. Health care practitioners listen to and honor patient and family perspectives and choices. Patient and family knowledge, values, beliefs, and cultural backgrounds are incorporated into the planning and delivery of care. • Information Sharing. Health care practitioners communicate and share complete and unbiased information with patients and families in ways that are affirming and useful. Patients and families receive timely, complete, and accurate information in order to effectively participate in care and decision-making. • Participation. Patients and families are encouraged and supported in participating in care and decision-making at the level they choose. • Collaboration. Patients, families, health care practitioners, and leaders collaborate in policy and program development, implementation, and evaluation; in health care facility design; and in professional education, as well as in the delivery of care.

Identify and describe stakeholders and demonstrate an ability to network within the organization

Stakeholders are those who may be affected by or have an effect on an effort. They may also include people who have a strong interest in the effort for academic, philosophical, or political reasons, even though they and their families, friends, and associates are not directly affected by it. One way to characterize stakeholders is by their relationship to the effort in question. · Primary stakeholders are the people or groups that stand to be directly affected, either positively or negatively, by an effort or the actions of an agency, institution, or organization. In some cases, there are primary stakeholders on both sides of the equation: a regulation that benefits one group may have a negative effect on another. A rent control policy, for example, benefits tenants, but may hurt landlords. · Secondary stakeholders are people or groups that are indirectly affected, either positively or negatively, by an effort or the actions of an agency, institution, or organization. A program to reduce domestic violence, for instance, could have a positive effect on emergency room personnel by reducing the number of cases they see. It might require more training for police to help them handle domestic violence calls in a different way. Both of these groups would be secondary stakeholders. · Key stakeholders, who might belong to either or neither of the first two groups, are those who can have a positive or negative effect on an effort, or who are important within or to an organization, agency, or institution engaged in an effort. The director of an organization might be an obvious key stakeholder, but so might the line staff – those who work directly with participants – who carry out the work of the effort. If they don’t believe in what they’re doing or don’t do it well, it might as well not have begun. Other examples of key stakeholders might be funders, elected or appointed government officials, heads of businesses, or clergy and other community figures who wield a significant amount of influence. While an interest in an effort or organization could be just that – intellectually, academically, philosophically, or politically motivated attention – stakeholders are generally said to have an interest in an effort or organization based on whether they can affect or be affected by it. The more they stand to benefit or lose by it, the stronger their interest is likely to be. The more heavily involved they are in the effort or organization, the stronger their interest as well. Stakeholders’ interests can be many and varied. A few of the more common: · Economics. An employment training program might improve economic prospects for low-income people, for example. Zoning regulations may also have economic consequences for various groups. · Social change. An effort to improve racial harmony could alter the social climate for members of both the racial or ethnic minority and the majority. · Work. Involving workers in decision-making can enhance work life and make people more satisfied with their jobs. · Time. Flexible work hours, relief programs for caregivers, parental leave, and other efforts that provide people with time for leisure or taking care of the business of life can relieve stress and increase productivity. · Environment. Protection of open space, conservation of resources, attention to climate change, and other environmental efforts can add to everyday life. These can also be seen as harmful to business and private ownership. · Physical health. Free or sliding-scale medical facilities and other similar programs provide a clear benefit for low-income people and can improve community health. · Safety and security. Neighborhood watch or patrol programs, better policing in high-crime neighborhoods, work safety initiatives – all of these and many other efforts can improve safety for specific populations or for the community as a whole. · Mental health. Community mental health centers and adult day care can be extremely important not only to people with mental health issues, but also to their families and to the community as a whole.