Improving Care Through Staff Education

You are the director of staff development focused on nursing services for a 600-bed acute care hospital. In this position you attend the weekly chief nurse executive (CNE) meeting with the nurse managers. As you enter the room, you scan the agenda, which you did not have time to review prior to the meeting. You know this was a mistake, and sure enough, there is a surprise item on the agenda: Discuss staff development plan to address increase in hospital-acquired complications (HACs). You review in your head past meetings and scan the last meeting’s minutes, which you brought with you on your tablet. You see no information or discussion about HACs. You sit there and get frustrated. The item comes up in the meeting.

You know this is a complicated issue and has “political” aspects. Your immediate supervisor, the CNE, is at the meeting along with all the nurse managers who do not want responsibility for the problem.

1.
How should you handle this?

2.
What should be your tone? Describe what you propose as next steps.