Scenario:
Eric is the nursing supervisor in charge of the hospital operations during the 3 to 11 pm shift. Joyce is the charge nurse in the emergency department, and Diane is the charge nurse in the intensive care unit.
The three meet one evening to discuss problems with moving patients out of the ED and into beds in the ICU.
As they discuss the issues, Eric sits behind his desk, folds his hands, crosses his legs, and begins glancing at a paper on his desk. Joyce sits across from Eric, with her legs and arms crossed.
She looks directly at Eric. Diane pulls a chair from the wall, placing it near the corner of the desk, forming a triangle with the other two participants. She sits down, leans forward, and smiles.
1. What are the nonverbal cues from each of the participants?
2. Identify the verbal and nonverbal facilitative and obstructive messages from each of the participants in this case.
The three nurses agree on a process to facilitate the transition from ED to ICU. Eric makes a summary report of the meeting and submits it to the director of nursing with an appointment to meet the following week.
Joyce holds a meeting of the ED personnel the next day and informs them of changes made to the process.
She creates a memo describing changes to the ICU transfer process and posts it in the department classroom.
She requests all staff to read and initial the memo, noting that they have read and understood the changes.
Diane also informs her staff by holding mandatory meetings at various times throughout the next week.
She schedules in-services for all staff and requires them to relate the pertinent information back to her to determine staff understanding of their roles in the procedural change.
3. Which of the three displayed upward communication? Was it effectively handled? Why or why not?
4. Joyce and Diane both took initiative in distributing the information to the necessary people.
What were the positive aspects to their methods of handling the situation? What were the negatives?