ANA Code of Ethics and Nurses’ Work Environment

THE PUBLIC HEALTH NURSES WORK ENVIRONMENT, A CHALLENGE IN LEADERSHIP
The public health nurse is working in an agency that currently has 4 of its 8 nursing positions open.  There have been 3 nursing directors in the position over the last year. The work environment has not supported shared governance and independent decision-making. It is not unusual to hear insensitive comments or stereotypical statements.  There is no nursing staff diversity.  The population served by this clinic is a 5-mile radius in one of the poorest areas of Any City, Some State with a population of mixed minorities, low-income, single-parent homes, high unemployment, and poor health status and outcomes. Children attend a neighborhood school that is one of the poorer schools in the district and have even experienced lack of heat during the early part of the winter. When discussing the issues with her peers, her friends laughed at her decision to stay and recommended she leave the job immediately. The nurse has been offered the position as Director of Nursing under a new Health Care Administrator who is under a directive to correct the issues and improve the quality of care for the clients served in this community. Respond to the following questions from the perspective of a new Director hiring and employing a full nursing staff to support this agency.

1. Explain the workforce ecosystem model.
2. Using components of the model as the guiding activities in your plan, identify changes or actions that will be addressed in each component to alter this work environment as you move to full nurse staffing.
3. What key ethical issues identified in the ANA Code of Ethics must be addressed as a part of your plan?
4. Identify two types of training you would include in your orientation program for all staff. You may simply list and identify why you would include this component.