Students, this module gives you the opportunity to explore the HWE standards we won’t have time to discuss:Effective Decision Making; Adequate Staffing and Meaningful Recognition.
For our DB we will be focusing on Meaningful Recognition; please make sure to review the critical elements associated with this standard as they need to be addressed/discussed.
For this assignment you will be randomly paired with one of your classmates; take time to get to know each other – perhaps over a cup of tea, via zoom or face time – or maybe even in person. In order to authentically recognize each other you must have some depth of understanding of the challenges you each face, ways that you’ve overcome the challenges – your successes as well as perhaps an incident which you wish you’d handled differently. You must evidence knowing each other in order to successfully complete this assignment. I’ll make sure to pair you early in the quarter so you have plenty of time to prepare.
Write a letter to your colleague thanking them for their contribututions based on what is meaningful to them. This could reference a clinical scenario which you discussed; perhaps it relates to material or contributions they’ve made during our class [during classes or on the DB]. Many students share with me that they’re so glad that another colleague opened up about… [some difficulty] as it was something also troubling them [the student writing to me]. Invariably I ask them to please give that feedback to the other student. If you’ve been in a situation like this you’ll know it will absolutely make their day.
I expect this letter to have depth; it would be the equivalent of a 2-page hand-written card. [you may wish to also send each other a card with perhaps more personal information than can be shared publically] Be mindful that this is a public forum; you may allude in broad terms to events discussed in private but don’t spell out any details. I know this is tricky: spell out enough detail for me to know that you both know what you’re discussing while maintaining privacy. Trust yourself – run your ideas by each other; work in teams with your partner for the big ideas but please don’t share the actual letter until it’s published on BB. It should be a wonderful, heart-warming surprise.
Address critical elements of Meaningful Recognition discuss them in the body of the letter using language reflective of the wording of the AACN. It might go like this ‘Susan, I wish that we both worked in the same health care system as I would like to nominate you for [such and such] award. This award is given out to nurses on our unit who exhibit [specific qualities]. You demonstrated these qualities [values] in these specific ways…’
IF you are having difficulty getting in touch with each other then please complete the assignment by writing an ‘as if’ letter to a work colleague following the same directions as I gave in the DB. Because you won’t have a letter written to you to which you are to reply you may then write an ‘as if’ thank you letter to that same colleague thanking them for the recognition that they gave you.
