Being busy does not necessarily correlate to productivity. Too many times, nurses use the word busy as a badge of honor. The busier they are, the better they are as nurses – but that’s not true. A busy person is just that, busy; a productive person produces results. Nurses have so many tasks to juggle at any given moment, it can be overwhelming, and sometimes certain tasks will get ignored.
If you’re looking to increase productivity on your nursing team, here are some simple ways to do that:
Delegate
You can’t possibly complete all the necessary tasks at your facility or even within your team. By training your team, you are increasing productivity. Think of your team as extensions of you, able to perform at the highest level, and with the efficiency you need. Giving them the necessary space to work and make decisions will empower them to be smart about how they accomplish it all.
Use Technology
Get rid of tedious paperwork, mandatory in-person meetings, paper schedules, and the list goes on. Take the time to learn and train your team on the technology that makes life easier. Think about if your entire team had their schedules available immediately and could message each other about conflicts and have things resolved within minutes. Think about if you could provide a higher quality of care due to software that allowed nurses to see what was done in the previous shift within seconds. These are just some of the ways your team could be more productive.
Stress Management
Provide ways for your team to destress, even while on shift. As their leader, you can keep an eye on them throughout their shifts and recognize when they are feeling stress. You don’t want to work them to their breaking point but give them the chance to alleviate stress before that critical point. You’ll see an increase in quality care and a decrease in mistakes. Too many conflicts in a nurse’s head due to work, family, and personal life can cause problems when they are at work. A focused nurse will provide the best care they possibly can.
Keep It Simple
Managers can sometimes get too excited about creating new policies, implementing new routines, and even with the best intentions, their team is overwhelmed with complex systems and ideas. Streamline processes when you can. Make it easy for your team to do their job at a high level. That is their ultimate goal, and you can help them achieve that goal by keeping things simple.
To learn more about increasing your teams’ productivity, contact the team at WSi Healthcare. We can provide temporary staff to get you over a hurdle, talk with you about some different management skills, and even recommend ways to interact with your team in a positive way.