Health management processes in hospitals and other healthcare facilities are evolving, with improvements continually on the horizon. These processes allow nursing executives to optimize care outcomes and nurses' day-to-day provision of care. As they shape care by motivating staff, providing guidance and delivering decisive leadership, nursing executives ensure a positive experience for all involved.
The last few years have seen significant enhancements in healthcare delivery thanks to the changes in healthcare technology and the meteoric expansion of nursing leadership. Today's nursing executives go far beyond the management of nursing teams. They critically analyze healthcare needs and forge the most innovative care delivery plans using the very latest healthcare tools. Keeping up-to-date with healthcare advancements and integrating them into everyday care is no mean feat. Nursing executives must have stellar soft skills alongside in-depth medical and technical knowledge.
This article examines the role of nursing executives in choosing and implementing optimal health management processes and what this means for patient experiences and practice management. It introduces the US government-led Comprehensive Unit-based Safety Program (CUSP) system, outlining its methods for delivering safe and satisfactory patient care across different healthcare facilities.
The ever-changing landscape of healthcare management
The expectations nursing executives must meet are continually expanding. Until a few decades ago, they were only tasked with staff administration and the management of patient care. Today's nursing executives face many additional challenges. Aside from the flood of technological advancements, staff and patient demands are diversifying. Nursing executives must be transformational leaders not only in staff training and guidance but also in the delivery of personalized patient care.
Such is the extent of the rapid changes in patient care that nursing executives must continually update their skills to stay abreast with care developments. Healthcare has become far more centralized, hierarchical and bureaucratic, meaning nursing leaders must be agile administrators as well as healers, carers and role models. Today's healthcare model may also remove them from front-line day-to-day patient care as the focus shifts to planning, management and agile implementation.
The emergence of new technology in medicine has added another workload dimension. Nursing executives must integrate tech tools and train staff, patients, and families to harness their benefits. Moving from paper records to electronic health records (EHRs) has made communication easier and outcomes more satisfying. Healthcare professionals can access and share patient data quickly and effortlessly, while remote consultations have opened up care to people unable to access healthcare in person. AI surgeries, disease detection, and the creation of personalized treatment plans further enhance patient care.
Perhaps the most significant, yet often overlooked, change in healthcare management is the shift to patient-focused healthcare delivery. Today's best practice guidelines place patients firmly at the heart of care. Their preferences, circumstances, and well-being are considered much more than ever before, and they can self-monitor and engage in their care more readily through healthcare technology.
How the role and responsibilities of nursing executives has changed
An article published on the National Library of Medicine website confirms what many nursing leaders have known for a long time: the demands on them are ever-growing. They must be leaders, educators, innovators, advocates and scientists - to name but a few areas of responsibility.
Responding to such healthcare delivery developments presents an enormous challenge. Apart from managing nursing teams and liaising with patients and loved ones for optimal patient outcomes, they are in charge of entire healthcare management systems. At the same time, they collaborate and partner with other healthcare professionals in day-to-day care and strategic future planning.
Nurses with leadership ambitions have a plethora of training options on campus and online. Leading education providers like Baylor University Online are offering nursing leadership programs to prepare nurses for this rewarding role. The online DNP in Executive Nurse Leadership (DNP-ENL) program at Baylor University trains nurses to become influential leaders with the capacity to develop and sustain a practice environment that provides optimal care.
Only the most refined processes allow nursing executives to meet their extensive workload. The Department of Health and Human Services developed the CUSP (Comprehensive Unit-based Safety Program) model to foster patient safety and enhance patient care. Nursing executives can implement this five-step intervention plan, thus fulfilling their responsibilities to staff, healthcare partners and patients strategically and efficiently.
Improved system, improved outcomes
With smooth healthcare facility operation and patient safety as the top priorities, the Department of Health and Human Services has created the CUSP method and made CUSP toolkits available. The system enables nursing leaders and medical professionals to put patient safety first while providing them with an operational structure. Facilities adopting the system start by assembling a CUSP team, choosing a leader, evaluating existing patient safety structures, and gathering data. This part of the process is followed by five CUSP intervention steps:
- Educating staff on patient safety.
- Encouraging staff to identify safety gaps.
- Collaborating with CUSP executives and encouraging nursing leaders to engage proactively.
- Deriving insights from safety defects.
- Implementing CUSP teamwork tools.
Medical professionals who have used and implemented the CUSP method have praised its value, clarity
and stellar role in delivering patient safety and optimal health outcomes. Nursing executives can use this solid structure to bolster existing management processes.
Transformational nursing management rises to the top
Solid leadership and healthcare management processes are essential in the quest for top-quality patient care. Today's nursing leaders must work beyond managing teams, providing support, motivating and inspiring while implementing the broader goals of the facility. Nursing experts argue that transformational leadership – where nursing executives create a culture of innovation, respect and collaboration – presents the best approach to achieving these objectives.
It translates into better work environments, more driven teams and, ultimately, better outcomes for patients and their families. Transformational leaders learn continually, stay up-to-date with medical advancements, and share newly acquired insights. The continuous implementation of CUSP and healthcare management processes becomes a collaborative process that can achieve optimum results and benefits.
