Integrated Strategic Plan

Purpose The purpose of a strategic plan is to help guide an organization for future success. It can be difficult to look past the current issues and concerns, but strategic plans are directed towards the future success of the organization (Drenkard, 2012). Strategic planning is important as it addresses “current trends, forecasts, and innovations to set in action activities that need to continue, expand, or be developed to remain competitive in the healthcare industry” (Roussel, Thomas, & Harris, 2016, p. 149). Zuckerman further discusses the importance of a continuous and more integrated strategic plan in healthcare which is named strategic management (2014). Strategic management is an ongoing strategic plan that not only addresses the

To set goals that are appropriate for the organization, the vison and mission must be known (Kurec, 2014). It is also important to assess the internal and external influences. Knowing what the potential influences on the plan are will help to create goals that will be effective. Kurec discusses that for the strategic plan to be successful it is vital to increase the knowledge base (2014). Kurec recommends addressing the “Social, Technological, Economic, Environmental, and Political agendas” (STEEP) when gathering data (2014, p. 17). Utilizing reputable resources when collecting data will ensure that the strategic plan is factual and successful (Kurec,

Zuckerman discusses challenges such as financial, time, team support, and making decisions for the future (2014). Financial challenges can be both internal and external factors. It is important to have finance involved throughout the process to ensure that there will not be an issue with the projected strategic plan. Time is a challenge that can be both external and internal. Internally there may be direction from management to complete the strategic plan in a timeframe that is not reasonable. Externally there may be changes happening that require the strategic plan to be enforced earlier than predicted. The lack of team support is an internal issue. There may be difficult or politically sensitive issues that members of the team do not agree on (Zuckerman, 2014). Another challenge that strategic planning faces is the difficulty of the mindset for future planning versus addressing more current issues. Many of these challenges can be addressed with the help of the supportive systems mentioned above. Systems thinking, shared governance and nursing informatics can play a vital role in overcoming these