Mission and Vision and the Impact on Nursing Practice

Mission statements are used to define the purpose and the objectives of the organization. It relates to the internal function aimed at outlining the key measure or measure of the organization’s success. Its main audience is the leadership group and the stockholders. They form part of strategic planning and goal setting process. What it formulates is meant to focus the efforts and provide the assurance that the internal and external stakeholders come to terms with what the organization is striving to accomplish. On the other hand vision, statements provide a reflection of the ideal image of the organization for future. They establish a focal point for strategic planning with a specified time frame. The main purpose of a vision statement is to communicate the purpose and values of an organization. It gives direction to the employees on what they are expected to do and inspire them to achieve it in the best way possible. In this paper, the impact of the organization’s mission and vision on nursing practice will be addressed. The paper will provide feedback from a nursing leader from the Mather Hospital (Mather Hospital, 2016).

The respondent was nursing leader form Mather hospital that operates in New York State.  Mather Memorial Hospital is an accredited 248-bed no- profit and community teaching hospital. It offers a wide spectrum of healthcare services while maintaining high quality and cost efficiency. The hospital is guided by the vision of being the best community hospital in the whole state of New York. The mission of the hospital stipulates its commitment to offering the best care in a manner that shows compassion and respect to every patient. The Mather Hospital is committed to offering high-quality service just like they would like accord to their loved ones. Their goal is to meet and exceed the expectation of every patient. To achieve this, they engage in collaborative efforts with all the relevant stakeholders. The mission is outlined in a hospital pledge. The Mather Hospital commits itself to: offer healthcare at an understanding atmosphere full of compassion, having fast response to the need and concerns of the clients and family, use technologically advanced options to offer the health care, provide nutritionally beneficial and tasteful prepared meals that address the specific medical needs, and provide care in a clean and safe environment.

The Respondent clearly indicated that the mission and vision statement of Mather Hospital directly influenced the nursing practice. It ensured that the nursing practitioners functioned with care and compassion towards their patients. The mission creates an emotional empathy by promising to accord service at the same level the practitioners would want to be offered to their loved ones. This helps create a favorable nurse-patient relationship with strong bond just like the family ties. The nurses are challenged to view the patients a not as outsiders but as family members. In this perspective, the nurses just want their member to get well in the best environment and under compassionate care. The mission and vision, as the respondent indicated were crucial in helping the nurse deal with the ethical dilemma that arises from work.  As Ann & Bjarnason (2010) observes nurse encounter situations with complex moral and ethical dilemmas. The mission and vision help the nurses to act in a manner that is ethically right. It offers them moral courage to face the dilemma and uphold their commitment to the patient’s welfare.  The mission and vision are also considered beneficial in creating a culture of high-quality care, something that Mather Hospital is enjoying (West, 2013).The respondent also outlined that the mission and vision may be a threat when not properly developed without considering the contribution of all the stakeholder.

References                                 

Ann, C., & Bjarnason. (2010). Creating Workplace Envrionments that Support Moral Challenge. The Online Journal of Issues in Nursing.

Mather Hospital. (2016). Mission/Vision. Retrieved from http://www.matherhospital.org/mission-vision.php

West, M. (2013). Creating a Culture of High-Quality Care in Health Services. Global Economics and Management Review, 40-44.