When I write my books, my goal is to address the issue as 1-what’s the problem; 2-what’s the cause; 3-what’s/who is affected; and 4-what’s the solution.
I thought I had flunked that premise after a follow-up call with a coordinator of nursing education in a northeastern hospital last week. I had met her at the Nursing Magnet Conference in Salt Lake City in October. She kindly bought a copy of Stabotage! How to Deal with the Pit Bulls, Skunks, Snakes, Scorpions & Slugs in the Health Care Workplace.
She told me that it didn’t meet her expectations and that felt that it was just too negative to be considered for you a leadership retreat in the Spring of 2009.
Bummer, I’ve never had anyone say that to me about any of my books and I’ve been writing on this topic for two decades now. After the call, I went through Stabotage!, feeling that maybe I missed the boat on this one… but, each chapter, after the new survey on the topic, is structured within my four steps.
Let’s face it, undermining and conflict is not a “happy” topic, but it can, and must be dealt with. The health care workplace is riddled with it, losing mega millions within a facility annually because of it.
Can the topic be dealt with via programs/presentations/trainings with humor? Absolutely, but it must be dealt with. If not, organizations, even Magnet ones, will continue to lose their Keepers and keep their Losers. Just recently, the Joint Commission has added bullying and abusive behavior to it’s list of bad practices.
She mentioned that her organization has had a nursing union for the past three years. I wonder why?
Here’s how I know how to keep unions away: when communications are open; when accountability is practiced; when transparency is evident at every level; when management and leadership have a zero tolerance to bad behaviors, unions don’t thrive, they don’t even get in the door.
Tags: conflict, conflict resolution, hospital leadership retreat, hospital management retreat, hospitals, Magnet, nursing education, pit bulls, pit bulls with lipstick, presentations, sabotage, trainings, workshops
