Mission & Vision Statements
When walking through the halls of Portsmouth Regional Hospital, each nursing station, patient room, and elevator is decorated with the hospitals mission and vision statement. According to Portsmouth Regional Hospital, their overall mission is to "serve our community with innovative care delivered with compassion and a commitment to excellence" (PHR), while their vision states they strive to "become recognized as a healthcare leader in New England, Providing advanced care in a safe, healing environment"(PHR).
Although these two statements seem quite similar, there is a significant difference between a mission and vision statement. A mission statement can be described as why an organization exists, while mentioning specific priorities related to the organization and their responsibilities. While a mission statement can be multiple lines, a vision statement is one sentence, describing long term goals for an organization.
At Portsmouth Regional Hospital, I work as a Licensed Nursing Assistant on the interventional care unit, otherwise known as IVCU. The IVCU is described as a "step-down" unit from the intensive care unit, as well as the cardiovascular unit of the hospital. On Thursday, I stepped through the doors of the hospital for my twelve hour shift with a goal in mind. For the day, I would consciously replay the mission and vision statements in my head to see if these statements could potentially effect the care I give. Each time I entered a patients room, I made an effort to stand by the mission and vision that Portsmouth Regional Hospital has created for their employees, and the community it serves.
Of course, my findings did not surprise me. By following the mission statement consciously, I was able to do my job better than before. Allowing myself to follow the hospitals mission each time I walked into a patients room, made me remember why I was an employee of the hospital, the care I was expected to give to each patient, and the basic reasoning behind my job. Before Thursday morning, I never noticed the mission and vision statements plastered throughout the hospitals walls. On Saturday, when I walked in to work at six in the morning to begin my day, I again remembered the mission that Portsmouth Regional Hospital sets for the community, and I consciously made the effort to "serve our community with innovative care delivered with compassion and a commitment to excellence" (PHR) for those twelve hours.
Although these two statements seem quite similar, there is a significant difference between a mission and vision statement. A mission statement can be described as why an organization exists, while mentioning specific priorities related to the organization and their responsibilities. While a mission statement can be multiple lines, a vision statement is one sentence, describing long term goals for an organization.
At Portsmouth Regional Hospital, I work as a Licensed Nursing Assistant on the interventional care unit, otherwise known as IVCU. The IVCU is described as a "step-down" unit from the intensive care unit, as well as the cardiovascular unit of the hospital. On Thursday, I stepped through the doors of the hospital for my twelve hour shift with a goal in mind. For the day, I would consciously replay the mission and vision statements in my head to see if these statements could potentially effect the care I give. Each time I entered a patients room, I made an effort to stand by the mission and vision that Portsmouth Regional Hospital has created for their employees, and the community it serves.
Of course, my findings did not surprise me. By following the mission statement consciously, I was able to do my job better than before. Allowing myself to follow the hospitals mission each time I walked into a patients room, made me remember why I was an employee of the hospital, the care I was expected to give to each patient, and the basic reasoning behind my job. Before Thursday morning, I never noticed the mission and vision statements plastered throughout the hospitals walls. On Saturday, when I walked in to work at six in the morning to begin my day, I again remembered the mission that Portsmouth Regional Hospital sets for the community, and I consciously made the effort to "serve our community with innovative care delivered with compassion and a commitment to excellence" (PHR) for those twelve hours.
Kudos to you for taking the time to "unblind" yourself from a string of words you pass by multiple times a day, and internalizing and applying those words into meaning! I further challenge you to start a ripple and share this experience with your peers!
ReplyDeleteVery interesting! May I ask specifically what you noticed changed in how you interacted with patients and staff based on consciously accessing the mission/vision statements in your mind during your shift?
ReplyDeleteINteresting - I bet PRH would love to hear this story.
ReplyDelete