NSW Health — Nursing & Midwifery
The Nursing and Midwifery Office of NSW Health initiated a project called ‘take the lead’. The project came about as a result of recognition of the key role that Nursing and Midwifery Unit Managers (N/MUMs) play in care delivery at the ward or unit level. It had become increasingly evident that these roles were critical to patient flow and care-coordination. The role had grown and changed over time, and expectations had also increased to the extent that Nursing Unit Managers were reporting a range of challenges in fulfilling their roles.
NSW Health approached Primed to assist them to address some of these challenges. The N/MUMs were seen as pivotal to the success of any culture change initiative.
Primed researchers sprung into action getting to understand the current culture, pressures and practices in hospitals. Working closely with the Chief Nursing and Midwifery Officer and Project Manager, we visited hospitals, talked to Nursing/Midwifery Unit Managers and Directors of Nursing. We discovered that Nursing/Midwifery Unit Managers were at the centre of communication with patients, carers, doctors, hospital administration and, of course, their own staff. Each piece of communication was critical and potentially impacted everyone else in the communication chain. The ‘Facilitating Critical Communications’ program was born as part of an integrated NSW Health Leadership initiative, ‘take the lead’.
Based on a range of communication and constructive negotiation techniques, the program brought together N/MUMs from across NSW to develop insights into their current situation, learn some new skills (from us and from each other) and decide on a positive response. At the heart of the program was the ‘RealPlay’, a scripted drama that brings the current situation to life and enables the group, through discussion and coaching the characters in role, to begin to envision a new reality.
From the first workshop behaviours began to shift in small but significant ways. The program was attended by over 1500 N/MUMs and had expanded to include Directors of Nursing and allied health professionals. The social movement has well and truly begun.
