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Professional Meeting Paper

Suzanna Goode

Bon Secours Memorial College of Nursing

4/23/17
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Professional Meeting

The meeting attended was with the Bon Secours Richmond Human Trafficking Task

Force on January 20th, 2017. The purpose of the “dial-in” meeting was to discuss and review

next steps regarding education on human trafficking, review the health stream in progress, and

discuss the new human trafficking shelter. Their desired outcomes include: updates on education

plan, update on health stream module, and timeline of completion of action items. The meeting

began by reviewing the desired outcomes and talking about the agenda. The Health Stream

PowerPoint was presented next, followed by an update on live presentations, next steps, and

meeting evaluation.

Application of Course Material

Many aspects of the meeting’s organization and content align with course elements

covered throughout the semester. Within module one, course content discusses “Business of

Healthcare” including the topic of organizational systems/structure/effectiveness in relation to

the scope of nursing practice. This meeting’s organizational structure was identified to be shared

governance. Shared governance is innovative, empowering, and allows for authority and

decision-making to be dispersed among the members (Marquis, & Huston, 2015). There was

dual authority, meaning although there were two designated leaders, other members’ opinions

were valued and considered. This was made obvious as the leader Pete McCourt repeatedly

asked for input in all aspects of the meeting, from all who were present, including the nursing

students. A vast amount of positions was represented throughout the group: registered nurses,

student nurses, mental health nurses, management, and more. The meeting also utilized a

meeting evaluation tool like SWOT. When talking about the health stream module on human
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trafficking, the team all had an opportunity to share strengths/weaknesses of the module itself.

For example, they brought up that fact that human trafficking is a serious topic, and the avatars

within the module should be made to reflect this better. In addition, at the end of the meeting, the

team opened the floor to examine strengths and weaknesses of the meeting itself.

Within module II entitled “Advocacy,” the class explored responsibilities of agencies and

how they impact nursing as well as healthcare policies and how they affect access, affordability,

patients, and nursing as a profession. Within the meeting, one of the five modern magnet model

components were highlighted— “new knowledge, innovation, and improvement (“Modern

Magnet: Five model components…,” 2017). The HealthStream module and live presentations

discussed in the meeting are perfect examples. Health care workers are one of few professionals

who encounter women and girls still in captivity. Research even revealed “28% of trafficked

women saw a health care professional while still in captivity (Dovydaitis, 2010).” With this new

knowledge, this task force is using creative ways, such as a HealthStream module and live

trainings, to share this with healthcare workers and improve outcomes. Raising attention to the

new shelter was also a practical way of helping the population, learning about them, and

then being able to apply this knowledge in the healthcare field.

In module III, the course covers and critiques quality improvement and safety as it

relates to nursing practice. On a basic level, the elements of good quality health care include

structured environments, processes that work, and hopefully positive patient outcomes.

Within the meeting, the leader spoke about desiring quality care for the trafficked population

and reminded everyone how this was really the driving force of the meeting. In addition, he

highlighted the goal for this population being safety.

Application of Profession of Nursing

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Nurses have such a unique role within the healthcare field. Their direct care to patients

and diverse set of skills/experiences offer something that another role could not. They are vital

players among the interprofessional team and should be a part of professional meetings and

organizations. Their feedback should be extremely influential in organizational decision-making.

Without nurses being involved and speaking up, certain standards of practice would not be active

today. Believe it or not, nurses are creative and often have innovative ways to make care more

efficient, cost effective, and safe. This kind of input is making positive change in hospitals

everywhere, improving quality and safety of care, and saving lives all over the world.

Reflection

I feel that it is extremely important for nurses to be involved within their workplaces and

community. Nurses have such a vast amount of knowledge on so many elements of healthcare

because their role requires it. They perform direct care to patients and being involved in their

workplace provides not only an opportunity to further advocate for their patients, but also to

advocate for themselves in the workplace. You never know when one person can make one

suggestion to better the flow of the workplace and have it benefit everyone.

As far as community, I think nurses have a way of coming into new environments or

approaching problems with creative and critical thinking skills. For example, every community

has different needs. While one community may need massive amounts of education, another

community may have a greater need for resources or access. I think these critical thinking skills

come in handy in problem solving and have the potential to create a lot of positive change in

their communities. I have learned that as a nurse, I will have a special skillset and perspective on

the world. I think this will be important for me to remember as I build my career. As a
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professional nurse, my goal will be to stay involved in my future workplace and use my gifts and

knowledge to help my community.

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References

Dovydaitis, T. (2010). Human Trafficking: The Role of the Health Care Provider. Journal Of

Midwifery & Women's Health, 55(5), 462-467.

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jmwh.2009.12.017

Marquis, B., & Huston, C. (2015). Leadership roles and management functions in nursing (8th

ed., p. 277). Philadelphia: Wolters Kluwer Health - Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.

Modern Magnet: Five model components shift focus to outcomes. (2017). Nursing News, Stories

& Articles. Retrieved 24 April 2017, from

https://www.nurse.com/blog/2011/08/08/modern-magnet-five-model-components-shift-

focus-to-outcomes-2/