Appreciative Inquiry in Health Care : Positive Questions to Bring Out the Best

Appreciative Inquiry (AI), a positive and collaborate approach to organizational change, is taking hold in clinics, classrooms, and executive offices of leading healthcare organizations worldwide. Appreciative Inquiry in Healthcare: Positive Questions to Bring Out the Best is a practical toolkit designed to stimulate positive change and engage others in creating the healthcare environment so desperately needed today. It is an encyclopedia of positive questions to help you and your team: Harness the creative energy and passion of people at all levels; Focus positive energy on the challenges facing your healthcare organization; Create a culture of top quality care; Learn about and support the best of caregivers, patients, and families; Embrace improvement opportunities with commitment and optimism; and Build collaboration based on trust and a belief in the best of one another. AI thought leader, Diana Whitney and the team of healthcare professionals at the University of Virginia Health System have joined together to provide this book of questions and AI activities designed especially for hospitals, clinics, medical educators, and health care leaders.

A common phrase in contemporary business literature is Culture eats strategy for lunch. But there are precious few examples of organizations that have built, or even attempted to build culture, especially examples in healthcare. Positive Questions to Bring Out the Best shares real-life examples on how Appreciative Inquiry can shape culture in today s healthcare environment. Oh, by the way, it works. --R. Edward Howell, Vice President and CEO, University of Virginia Medical Center

In a world where seemingly insurmountable problems and deficit thinking dominate the culture, this book offers the opportunity to foster hope, courage, optimism and creativity. These are essential ingredients for a successful transformation in health care, and anyone interested in discovering the best of what they can offer should read this book. --Stephen T. DeKosky, MD, Dean, University of Virginia School of Medicine

Nurses and all health care providers come into the profession with hearts full of energy and compassion and may leave each day with a broken heart. With a relentless focus on the positive, Appreciative Inquiry in Health Care engages us in the first step to create a healthy work and learning environment where all can flourish. The interprofessional team of authors reminds us why we chose this helping profession. If we truly are the questions we ask then this book invites a way to change the conversation and reclaim the meaningful life we once chose. I have seen the power of appreciative inquiry in action for nurses, physicians, and our students. If we use these questions, we can reclaim the heart of health care. --Dorrie K. Fontaine, PhD, RN, FAAN, Dean, University of Virginia School of Nursing