The PLENASAL® raison d’être and research product portfolio
In the previous edition of PLENASAL PERSPECTIVES, we analysed the concept of “therapeutic nurturance” that hospitals and care institutions need to impart to their patients. In the process, we outlined the six preconditions that hospitals need to foster in order to nurture and heal patients. Finally, we emphasised how “therapeutic nurturance” is more than the sum of its parts. While the construct includes contemporary concepts such as “patient centricity” and “integrative care”, its holistic adoption alone can separate the marquee hospitals from the good ones (https://nirsanconnect.com/09/05/2019/plenasal-perspectives/therapeutic-nurturance-in-hospitals/). In this edition, we bring therapeutic nurturance to the vanguard through PLENASAL® – our research category aimed at strengthening nurturance in hospitals. We describe the six research products within the category, and reflect on the synergies from the PLENASAL® platform that go over and beyond the benefits that schools get from individual products.
The PLENASAL® platform hosts research products that enables hospitals develop leadership, staff, approaches and infrastructure that take into consideration five aspects of patient healing environment – internal, carative, curative, social and physical. EUDAIVIRON® conducts research into the healing environments of hospitals; P-CORE® helps hospitals adopt principles of patient centricity; NURSPIRE® assesses the motivation state of nursing staff driven by occupational health and work climate; CREDO-N® examines the strength of the hospital’s nursing credo statement; CAREVAL® identifies opportunities to strengthen hospital vision and values; EVOLVAST® analyses for opportunities to adopt sustainable approaches in healthcare.
Research on the human condition and the philosophies of care and healing have led to the revival of the ancient Greek concept of “eudaimonia” (i.e., the contented state of being in health, happiness and prosperity) and advanced the powerful concept of ‘integrative care’ through a synergy of wholeness, healing and caring. EUDAIVIRON® believes that patient’s interactions with the care environment are primary enablers of these exalted goals of personal happiness and holistic healing. EUDAIVIRON® characterises the hospital environment along five dimensions (i.e., internal, ‘carative’, curative, social, and physical) and their nineteen components.
Research has established that a patient-centric hospital stands to gain by achieving better performance on operating parameters, clinical outcomes, chronic care management and employee satisfaction scores. And while patient centricity has been a priority for leading health systems for over a decade, its comprehension and application remain mixed. P-CORE® provides the hospital leadership with a thorough assessment of the level of patient centricity achieved by the hospital, including an assessment of its people, processes and infrastructure. P-CORE® is underpinned by the medical philosophy: “no decision about me, without me”.
Research on altruistic caring and healing models have established that positive work climate and a high standard of occupational health underpin the success of nursing communities that are consistently able to deliver holistic and patient-centric care. Nursing organisations with poor work climate suffer from depersonalisation and empathy degradation, along with high turnover rates. NURSPIRE® embodies the truth that “it is not possible for a caregiver to care, unless she is adequately cared for”. NURSPIRE® profiles the work climate within the nursing organisation, identifies factors underpinning this climate, and describes the resultant impact on motivational states of the nursing community.
The role of the staff nurse lies at the heart of the hospital’s caring model. As the definition of care advanced over time, the nurse’s role also evolved from being ‘the in-charge’ who controls the patient’s internal-spiritual and external environment, to ‘the coach, strategist and integrator’ who unifies the patient’s mind, body and spirit, manages the journey from admission to discharge, and catalyses the achievement of biologic, psychologic, spiritual and social well-being. The ‘nursing credo statement’ outlines such philosophies and principles that guide the nurse’s care related actions. CREDO-N® provides a comprehensive diagnostic of the quality and depth of the hospital’s ‘nursing credo statement’.
The mission, vision, values and strategy of the hospital together constitute its direction. More often than not in hospitals, this direction is implicit, assumed and ambiguous. And this in a sector in which vision statements and strategies are fast driven to obsolescence by evolving standards of care, rising payor expectations, and sophisticated competition. CAREVAL® brings the hospital’s direction in sharp focus. CAREVAL® provides an in-depth assessment of the appropriateness and adequacy of the hospital’s statements of mission, vision and value; their level of integration with the strategy development process; and the quality of the hospital’s strategy.
Sustainable change and sustainability approaches are intensely relevant in healthcare given the accelerated dwindling of resources. While action is needed at health systems level, individual providers need to attune their delivery, accentuate health promotion, and emphasise prevention. Such sustainability initiatives will benefit most the hospital itself, while having knock-on benefits for the health system. EVOLVAST® describes the hospital’s commitment and ability to drive sustainability approaches through an assessment of its major initiatives, and outlines opportunities for financial, social and environmental optimisation.
Clearly, each of the six products within PLENASAL® researches for insights while being centred to a unique belief or affirmation that serves as its pedagogic backbone. While EUDAIVIRON® explores the hospital’s therapeutic environment while embracing the concept of “eudaimonia”, P-CORE® attaches to the construct of “patient centricity” in the task of patient care. As NURSPIRE® extols the positive potential of occupational health in nursing, CREDO-N® leverages the power of a nursing credo statement. And, as CAREVAL® champions the case for a strong hospital vision and values statement, EVOLVAST® advocates for sustainability approaches in healthcare. The PLENASAL® platform generates synergies that add to the impact of individual products by embedding the conditions of “therapeutic nurturance” in all research under its umbrella.
In the next edition of PLENASAL PERSECTIVES, we start our journey to examine individual research products on the platform. We begin by appreciating the concept of the hospital’s “healing environment”, discussing the underlying concept of “eudaimonia”, and analysing how EUDAIVIRON® leverages this age-old concept to assess the healing environment in hospitals.