A staff nurse has been appointed to a multidisciplinary patient care task force. The unit manager notes that the meetings have been less productive since this nurse joined; furthermore, the staff nurse seems unhappy with this assignment

Question

What action by the manager would most likely help this staff nurse become a productive member of the task force? a. Ask the nurse whether there are problems with the other members.
b. Instruct the nurse to observe for the next few meetings.
c. Remind the nurse to focus mainly on patient outcomes.
d. Ask the nurse to explain his or her feelings about the assignment.

Answer 1

D
According to Gardner (2005), there are 10 specific lessons for collaborative relationships, including constructive conflict resolution skills. Because this nurse seems unhappy and the group has been less productive, the most likely issue is that the nurse has brought some conflict to the task force since joining. Therefore, it is important for the manager to explore the feelings this nurse has about the assignment.
Because the task force was more productive before this nurse joined, it seems unlikely that there are problems among the members that were not noticed before.
Observing for a few minutes will not change anything that would lead to the nurse being happier with the task force.
Reminding the nurse to focus mainly on patient outcomes is patronizing and does nothing to help the actual problem.