Mike: The Lab Technician's Failure
View the scenario called "Critical Decision Making for Providers" found in the Allied Health Community media.
In a 1,000-1,250-word paper, examine the scenario involving Mike, the lab technician, and discuss the following:
Discuss the consequences of a failure to report.
Explain the impact his decision had on patient safety and organizational performance (risk for litigation, organization's quality metrics, workload of other hospital departments, etc.).
As Mike's manager, describe how you would address the issue with him and steps you would take to ensure other staff members do not repeat the same kind of mistake.
Reflect on the scenario and describe what underlying aspects or issues may be contributing to workplace dilemmas such as this.
Consider the manner in which most health care organizations function (structure, people, technology, environment). As a leader, discuss what principles of organizational behavior and development can be applied to effectively contribute to the success of a health care organization. How could these principles be applied to this scenario?
A minimum of three academic references from credible sources are required for this assignment.
Mike: The Lab Technician's Failure
Scenario
Mike works in a community clinic as a lab technician and a family man with a wife and newborn baby. He has a habit of being late to report to duties, and his supervisor warned him if the pattern continues. In the scenario, he tries to be at work on time and leaves 20 minutes earlier than usual. He encountered a problem while commuting, which saw him arrive at work precisely on the check-in time. While walking to check in, he saw a spill at the healthcare. He is faced with the dilemma of ignoring the spill as there were individuals responsible for cleaning the facility. His dilemma is that he misses the check-in, which would see him lose his job and ensure the hospital is safe for all the patients.
Consequences of Failure to Report
Mike, the lab technician's failure to report the spillage would have more implications for the hospital and the patient. First, mike suffered guilt and emotional torment to see the patient suffering on his behalf. Second, spillage can cause health implications of falling, resulting in severe injuries or death for both the patient and staff. In addition, the spillage indirectly increased the cost of treatment as the patient had to overstay in the hospital to get treatment. Also, the patient would have sued the hospital for negligence as they are supposed to provide care and safety to the patients and staff. Thus, mike did not inform the supervisor. A patient fell, which increased the cost of treatment, subjected the facility to a lawsuit, and felt guilty for choosing the job over the patient, which is against the doctor's oath.
Impact of Mike's Decision
In a hospital setting, safety and risk control are enhanced by the institution. Still, every employee's personal responsibility is to ensure the patient and staff are not at risk at all times. Thus, mike's decision would impact the patient's safety, the risk for litigation, organization quality metrics, and other departments' workload. The patient fell and broke her leg, which compromised the quality of the health facility. In addition, she questioned the quality as she believed hospitals are a haven. Therefore, Mike deciding to save his job and not act on the spillage subjected healthcare to the risk of litigation. The patient would have sued the facility for negligence.
Further, the other department would be affected by increased workload as they had to attend to the patient who spent several days in the facility. To achieve organizational goals, every department must commit to the mission and its responsibilities for success (Mold, 2017). Thus, mike's failure to report the spillage affected him, the department of risk management as well as cleaning department. However, if he reported, preventative measures would have been put in place, and further damage controlled.
Additionally, the quality of healthcare is determined by the system in use, the number of beds available, nurse-patient staffing ratio, and risk management preparedness (Hanefeld et al., 2017). Thus, mikes decision impacts quality metrics, a set of standards established by CMS to quantify a facility's healthcare process, patient outcome, and organizationa...