Job Shadowing

1. Prior to even hiring a nurse I would require them do prehire job shadowing to get them to begin to understand the organizational culture of the hospital. This would assist them in evaluating the workload and cultural norms. Once hired, I would assign them a permanent mentor to assist them in learning more about our day to day operating rhythm, gain social skills, and hopefully develop a friendship of trust. Due to stress being a strong component of employee turnover, I'd offer free mandatory seminars directly related to stress and how to identify it, alleviate it, as well as how to properly communicate when it presents itself. Lastly, our insurance would cover counseling sessions for all of our employees.

2. One challenge that hospitals may face when attempting to create a supportive organizational culture would be improper staffing. Meaning they've hired employees whose values didn't align with the hospitals to begin with. Or they've hired unqualified staff. Low funding could be a challenge because the hospital doesn't have the income to provide things that help alleviate stress such as adequate training, counseling support, fitness options, etc. Poor technology investments could also be a challenge.

3. My organization attempts to create or maintain a positive culture by first starting at the top with its Leaders. So one example would be through the training they provide to our Leaders equipping them with the skills they need to help create organizational culture. In addition to that, the company has a strong interest in developing our employees through job shadowing, a mentor program, and several rotation programs. They've established social groups for new employees, cultural groups, etc. Anything that you'd have an interest in, it is pretty much offered to you. They offer great benefits, a tuition reimbursement program, free health exams, fitness options, and for the most part flexible schedules depending on the division. In my opinion they've been pretty successful in creating the desired culture. And what's even more appealing to me is their focus on continuously wanting to improve it.