Unit practice committee (UPC) is a group I participate in at work. A UPC is seen in a professional setting such as a hospital, comprising of professionals of a certain job description such as nursing (The University of Iowa, 2017). The committee for the medical-surgical nursing meets once a month to addresses issues that are related to clinical practice in medical-surgical nursing by utilizing and developing different practices or troubleshoot current practices that need to be revised.

Stages of Group Formation

There are four stages of group formation namely; forming, storming, norming, and performing. During the forming stage, the group is developed and the members meet each other (Marquis & Huston, 2015). The next stage is storming, and in this stage the group members’ identities become known, there is an increased level of comfort amongst members, and disagreements sometimes occurs (Marquis & Huston, 2015). At this stage, failure of the group can occur due to conflicts that may arise (Mind Tools, 2012). The norming stage is when the group has agreed on a plan of action and ground rules established (Marquis & Huston, 2015). Performing is the final stage where the goal of the group is achieved (Mind Tools, 2012). The unit practice committee has been in existence for a long time, therefore, the members who attend would be at any stage of the group formation depending on their frequency of attending, duration of membership, and their participation in their attendance. This committee is open to all discussions, moderates and responds to clinical discussions by medical-surgical nurses, specifically trying to expand the awareness and utilization of evidence-based practice (EBP), research, and performance. Most of the individuals are in the norming and performing stages. This committee cooperates to settle differences and express any problem for a solution at every meeting (Marquis & Huston, 2015).

Personal Task/Group Building Role

My task in the committee is a procedural technician. I to facilitate group action by arranging the environment for change (Marquis & Huston, 2015). I communicate in writing the discussed ideas with the department managers and administration. I usually employ the use of our department educator at our meeting to further educate and inquire about what will help us get the changes that the department need while still abiding by the current practice guidelines. The department educator is the information seeker, she asks for clarification of suggestions made in terms of their factual adequacy (Marquis & Huston, 2015)

Strategies for Facilitation

As a leader, to better facilitate the group process, I would have an open door policy to show them that the purpose of the meeting is to better our practices as well as provide a more efficient workflow for all staff in the department. Having an open door policy will enable me to obtain the ideas of all staff involved in the committee. The world of healthcare is becoming increasingly complex, therefore, it is absolutely required of nurses to work collaboratively on interprofessional teams