Case2.1

Case 2 Summary Case 2 Organizational Culture: Life or Death, focused on looking at the culture within hospitals that provided the healthcare workers the ability to quickly deliver an effective treatment to patients who had suffered a heart attack. The researchers in this article visited 11 different hospitals and took time to interview staff members ranging from the individuals who work hands on with the patients to those that run the hospital. With conducting this study, the researcher found that it takes more than just the hands on care to ensure that the patients are treated in the most efficient manner which reduces the risk of acquiring disabilities and death. The researchers discovered that there were eight common characteristics shared among the 11 hospitals that allows them to work in the efficient manner that they do. The first is that the hospitals showed that they were committed to decreasing the delays that could potentially occur during the treatment process. The next thing that was observed was that the senior management actually supported effort that would lead to improvements. Additionally, there are protocols that each of the hospitals followed, but they were open to revamping the protocols as needed. Another characteristic that was seen among all of the hospitals is that they worked together as a team. The nursing staff worked with the cardiology staff, and with who all worked with the emergency staff. It was also observed that the hospitals all had the capability of real-time feedback in order to measure the success of the treatment. Lastly, but not any less important than the other characteristics, the hospitals demonstrated that they had an organizational culture that allowed the hospitals to be flexible when it comes to setbacks. Overall, these hospitals demonstrated characteristics that hospitals across the country should look at to help improve their “ door-to-balloon” treatment time as these hospitals have managed to do. Questions 1. There are several values that appear to be driving the doctors and nurses in the hospitals to treat heart attack patients. The first value is the ability to preserve life and prevent disabilities and death among patients who suffer from heart attacks. I say that this is a value seen in this case study because if this was not something that the healthcare workers valued, they would not put the effort into making the improvements needed to speed up the process and make it as efficient as possible. This leads me to the second value, the value of improvement. These doctors and nurses value improving the process of treating heart attack patients. It is clear when reading the case study that this is another one of the values because the doctors and nurses, along with other hospital staff, are willing to change their routine to better fit the situation and improve the situation if needed. Another value that drives the doctors and nurses in the hospitals to treat heart attack patients is team work. The ability to work together as a team can be the difference between life and death and this case study clearly shows that they value team work and it has lead to successful treatment of heart attack patients. 2. A person’s work habits must match the team culture in order for the team to successfully complete the task at hand. When looking at the hospitals that are observed in this case study, there is no way that they would be as successful as they are if there are people on the team that do not work in the same way as the rest. It leads to a chain reaction of events if someone’s work habits do not match. The emergency room must be willing to communicate and work effectively with the nurses who also have to be able to work effectively with the emergency room. This in turn goes for both to be able to work with the cardiologist. Management must also be willing to work with all three, while all three must be willing to work with management. If one part of the team does not agree with this, then there could be a lack of communication and then that could result in delays in treating the patient. Then those delays could lead to the patient developing life-long disabilities or even result in death. In work environments, people have to be willing to put their differences aside and work in a manner that best suit the team and that leads to the best treatment possible. It takes just one person in the team to not want to work in the same manner, or same team culture, to bring the whole team down. 3. The types of events that could change or alter the strong team culture in the hospitals that are depicted in this case study, are ones that cause the team to disagree on the course of treatment, or even the severity of the patients heart attack. Maybe there is another patient who comes in who is worse off than the first, so then the team has to decide on which patient requires the treatment first knowing that both do need treatment. This could cause a division in the team because the culture of the team is to work to get the patients treated as quickly as possible, and now they have to find a way to treat both patients in the most effective and efficient way. Another event that could change or alter the strong team culture is a change in management. Having someone new come into the team not knowing the procedures and protocols that are followed can cause delays and can cause conflict among the team members with the new management. Eventually the team would resume the culture that they once displayed, but it is not to say that they won’t hit hiccups along the way. A new team member will need training to learn the process and work their way into the team culture. This goes the same for if you lose another member of the team who is not management and someone new comes in to replace them. It takes time to fit into a group and to learn the way that the group operates.