Role of a Nurse manager in Re-engineering
Re-engineering has proved to be a robust process for improvement of operations in an organization. Champy and Greenspun (2014) define reengineering as the redesigning of systems and methods in a firm to increase productivity. Healthcare system is one of the areas where re-engineering has proved beneficial over the years. The ultimate goal of health care re-engineering is to improve quality of services and increase customer satisfaction by minimizing the cost of production (Larson, 2016). Reengineering done effectively involves all departments of an organization. The nurse leader needs to have skills and expertise during the reengineering process because errors can lead to detrimental reforms in the healthcare setup. The method includes discarding of old rules and assumptions, introducing new technologies, amalgamating jobs, abandoning obsolete systems and creating new principles in the healthcare system. The nurse manager has several roles in the re-engineering of health care.
The first role of the manager is communication within departments of the ongoing changes. The key messages that the employees need to know are organization’s rationale for changes, what the organization aims to achieve and how the employees will be involved in decision making and implementation (Champy and Greenspun, 2014). During the process of re-engineering, training of employees to adapt to the new technology is required. For example, when the healthcare system brings new machines to the hospital, the users are trained on how to use them. The manager helps in the organization of training sessions and allocation of staff to new roles if present.
Redesigning of work and process re-engineering is done through the creation of new jobs or opportunities in the healthcare system. Managers are involved in the recruitment of new staff and promotion of the already existing team into the new positions. Conflict is likely to arise when the employees are not included in the re-engineering process or when external incumbents are brought to take over the new jobs. The nurse leader neutralizes the situation through decision making and employee involvement. In conclusion, nurse managers form the backbone of healthcare reengineering.
