Nurse Staffing Ratio Essay
explanatory Essay
1041 words
Managers and Leaders view on Nurse Staffing Ratio Nurse staffing ratio is an ongoing issue in healthcare. For some units, it is a temporary problem until more team members are hired. Unfortunately, for others it is an everyday challenge that must be addressed. Nurse staffing ratio is usually based on number of patients a nurse should be responsible for during a shift. Unfortunately, not having enough staff is a safety concern for both the patients and the nurses. Therefore, addressing this topic should be a priority for nurse managers and leaders. According to Vantage Point (2009) a patient has a greater chance of dying while in the hospital when nurses have to care for more patients than recommended. A heavier workload will not result in …show more content…
In this essay, the author
- Opines that nurse staffing ratio is an ongoing issue in healthcare, and that it should be a priority for nurse managers and leaders.
- Explains that leaders are people with the ability to influence others. they have great communication skills and are easy to talk to and approach.
- Explains that nurse managers look at the fine print, and if there is a way to compromise and get it done with less people for the same amount of money then that’s the route to take.
- Explains that their personal and professional philosophy is to keep everyone safe. having adequate staffing greatly decreases the number of medication errors.
- Explains that managers and leaders share the same goals, but their vision on how to reach that destination is very different. stanley acknowledges both leadership and management are necessary for complex organizations to function properly.
Effective leadership has a great impact in what direction the team takes. They have great communication skills and are very easy to talk to and approach. Employees look up to the nurse leader for reassurance and comfort when things are not so bright. Leaders are very compassionate and caring individuals. They are not afraid to take risk in order to reach their goals. Nurse leaders will go the extra mile for his or staff and patients. From a leader standpoint, providing quality care to every patient is a priority. Leaders are usually on the floor with the nurses and are very aware of the work load. Leaders can better understand the nurse’s frustration about the staffing ratio. Sometimes having four patients feels like six because of the acuity level. When faced with a situation like not having enough staff to work a shift, leaders are quick to call in an extra nurse to come and work. Reducing the work load and proving effective quality care to the patients is what a leader usually has in mind. Leaders are not thinking about the hospital budget and deficits. They look at the big picture which is staff shortage and the work that needs to get done. The leaders goal is to keep everyone safe and happy. According to Stanley (2006), leaders tend to be solitary, proactive, intuitive, emphatic and attracted to situations of high risk; they ask the 'why not ' question and 'do the right thing. Therefore, a leader will do everything he or she can to accommodate patients and nurses
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- The Importance Of Effective Nursing Leadershipexplanatory essayStudies have found that each additional patient assigned to a nurse, the patient has seven percent increase in the likelihood of dying within thirty days of admission, and a seven percent increase of failure to rescue (Nurses to patient ratios, n.d.). Research has found after the implementation of minimum nurse-patient ratio found less nurse burnout, higher job satisfaction, and better ability to care for patients (Impact of Mandatory Nursing Staffing levels on Patient Outcomes, n.d.). State laws and the scope of nursing practice should be considered with staffing (Mensik, 2014).
In this essay, the author
- Explains that leadership is a function of all parts of life and an important component of human existence. effective nursing leadership has courage, integrity, initiative, and the ability to handle stress.
- Explains transformational leadership provides leadership to guide complicated groups and organizations. transformational leaders influence, inspire, motivate, understand followers weakness and strengths, encourage followers to take ownership, and enhance the performance of their followers.
- Explains that transformational leadership has four components: intellectual stimulation, individualized consideration, inspirational motivation, and idealized influence.
- Explains that a transformational leader's focus is on motivation, collaboration, and team building to accomplish change for the better to take the team to the next level of success.
- Explains that cherry states that this style of leadership can have a positive effect on the group, have higher levels of satisfaction and performance, then lead by other types of leaders.
- Explains that the executive director of central ohio area agency on aging is respected and her team is loyal to her. she has a passion for what she does and energizes the whole organization.
- Explains that central ohio area agency on aging has gone through multiple changes in the last couple of years. the leader is upbeat, energetic, and the manager is approachable.
- Explains that the director is enthusiastic, optimistic, encourages teamwork and commitment. she leads with meaning and guidance to promote the vision and mission.
- Explains that central ohio area agency on aging has been in business for over forty years. the agency partners within the community are active and positive.
- Explains that the work environment at coaaa is that of trust, open communication, and empowerment. inappropriate staffing threatens patient safety and health.
- Explains that research has found a significant relationship between nurse staffing ratios and patient deaths, length of stay and infections.
- Explains that the ohio department of health mandated staffing levels and facility policy for patients. staff ratios help maintain safety, consistency, raise productivity, employee safety and satisfaction.
- Explains that patient safety is essential and vital component quality care. nurses are the key to safety for patients.
- Explains that baby boomers struggle with technology that could lead to patient safety issues and increase stress.
- Opines that leaders should provide an atmosphere that enforces policies and procedures and allow staff to be able to discuss errors without fear of retaliation.
- Opines that leaders must remember that baby boomers prefer face-to-face communication. education for them treats them as an equal, and they promote teamwork activities.
- Opines that working with mexican nurse leaders must commit to understanding the culture. leaders should not assume that nodding is an agreement. training materials and policies should be in their language.
- Explains that the federal patient safety and quality improvement act of 2005 is a framework for health patient safety and risk hazards.
- Explains the benefits of peer review performance, which involves employees who have the best insight on employee’s workings, leaders appreciate the input from others, and it gives a different view of employee performance.
- Explains that performance appraisals, if done correctly, encourage the employee and gain insight on their strengths and weaknesses. they also remind supervisors of the importance of employee motivation and communicating company goals and objectives to employees.
1667 wordsRead More - Patient Staffing Ratio In Nursingopinionated essayNurses across the globe are saving multiple lives daily. They work hard to take care of various patients with an array of different health problems. They are accountable for not only caring for the patient’s health but also being empathetic and friendly with all visitors. Exactly how many patients is a nurse responsible for keeping safe, comfortable, and alive? It is difficult to say because the nurse to patient ratio policies varies immensely across state borders.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that nurses across the globe are saving multiple lives daily. they work hard to take care of various patients with an array of different health problems.
- Opines that the nursing staffing ratio is a policy that is important but has been neglected for years.
- Opines that the lack of regulation for the patient to nurse ratio is a huge issue that is impacting the shortage of nurses.
- Analyzes how the arizona nurse practice act and arizona board of nursing do not have ity to regulate healthcare facilities or mandate specific nurse/patient staffing ratios.
- Opines that patient care quality decreases as more patients are piled onto a single nurse, causing nurses to become burnt out and dissatisfied with the job.
- Opines that a hospital's number one priority should be to take care of their patients and their staff, not to cut corners and make money.
1273 wordsRead More - Essay On Nursing Shortageexplanatory essayThe prolonged shortage of skilled nursing personnel has been a serious concern to the healthcare industry, and this shortage has impacted the quality of care delivery. In addition, nursing turnover has also exacerbated the problem of nursing shortage. Nursing shortage has been blamed on many nurses retiring and less younger nurses joining the occupation. There is also an increase in life expectancy (baby boomers) leading an increase in both physical and mental ailment with subsequent demand in nursing care. Nurses are also leaving nursing profession because of inadequate staffing, tense work environment, negative press about the profession, and inflexible work schedules. Even though nursing is a promising career and offers job security, the
In this essay, the author
- Explains that the prolonged shortage of skilled nursing personnel has been a serious concern to the healthcare industry and has impacted the quality of care delivery.
- Opines that lack of nurses will lead to poor quality of care to patients, and patient's safety will be compromised because increase of patient to nurse ratio leads to mistakes in delivering quality care.
- Explains that nursing shortage and turnover are a complex issue that is affecting healthcare delivery. it is important for facilities to hire and train their leaders and managers.
- Explains that researchers funded by the national institute of health and national center for nursing research examined the casual relationship of staff nurse retention.
- Explains that effective leadership has helped in hiring and retention of nurses. evidence-based strategies include identification of graduate education for nurse managers. nursing leaders with master's degrees may have better transformational leadership.
- Explains that leaders and managers are entrusted with the running of organizations and businesses. they shape the organization's culture and values by their decisions and examples.
- Opines that a leader or manager should have adequate communication with the nurses. this could be informal or formal conversations throughout the day.
- Opines that the problem of nurse shortage coupled with nurse turnover has affected and continue to affect healthcare delivery. concerted efforts are vigorously pursued to recruit and train new nurses to replace retired ones.
932 wordsRead More - Staffing Issues in Nursing: Annotated Bibliographyanalytical essayGordon, S., Buchanan, J., & Bretherton, T. (2008). Safety in Numbers: Nurse-to-Patient Ratios and the Future of Health Care (pp. 1-2). Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that the book is a comprehensive look at mandatory legislated ratios and how effective they are in the localities where they have been enacted.
- Cites hodge, m. b., romano, p. s.
- Explains that the article is a comprehensive look at staffing on hospital units. it evaluated several different categories of hospital facilities.
- Analyzes how the article, written after the california ratio legislation went into effect, advocates for a system enacted in pennsylvania, which relies on committees to decide staffing levels.
- Argues that nurse-patient ratios are needed to save lives and reduce complications in hospital inpatients, but a weakness of the study is that it was conducted in an icu.
- Opines that the book provides an overview of issues nurses face today within the profession.
- Explains that adomat, r., and hewison, a. (2004), assessing patient category/dependence systems for determining the nurse-patient ratio in icu and hdu: a review of approaches.
- Analyzes the methodologies hospitals use to determine the nurse-patient ratio on their units. the main advantage of this source is the wealth of information provided and the diversity of the systems examined.
- Opines that the article is skeptical of mandated nursing ratios, and discusses outside factors that may be biasing the other studies.
970 wordsRead More - Essay On Nurse Staffingargumentative essayNurse Staffing Levels: The Effects on Patient Outcomes Nurse staffing is a complex issue. There are many factors which need to be considered when staffing a nursing unit. Evidence shows an association between Registered Nurses (RNs) having decreased workloads and better patient outcomes, including a decrease in patient mortality (Aiken et al., 2011; Needleman et al, 2011; How Lin, 2013; Patrician et al., 2011; Wiltse-Nicely, Sloane, Aiken, 2013). A small percentage of patients expire during their hospitalization as evidence suggests that a portion of these deaths can be attributed to RN staffing levels (Shekelle, 2013).
In this essay, the author
- Explains that nurse staffing is a complex issue with many factors that need to be considered.
- Explains that the effect of hospital nurse staff levels on patient outcomes is critical for an organization.
- Analyzes seven research articles that look at the effects of nurse staffing levels on patient outcomes, including cho, aiken, needleman, and lin.
- Recommends that mercy medical center re-evaluate the hppd and rn-to-support staff mix per shift. self-scheduling will assist in staff morale and job satisfaction.
- Explains that the mission of mercy medical center is to continually improve the health and well-being of those being served in the community.
1880 wordsRead More - Nurse Patient Ratio In Nursingopinionated essaySafe nurse-patient ratio is a complex issue debated on for many years. Due to inadequate staffing registered Nurses are faced with high patient ratios, and nurse burn out everyday. According to the American Nurses Association, “Massive Reductions in nursing budgets combined with, the challenges presented by a growing nursing shortage have resulted in fewer nurses working longer hours for sicker patients. This situation compromises care and contributes to the nursing shortage by creating an environment that drives nurses from the bedside”. (2012) Through the nursing process, the essential role of the Registered Nurse is to assess, diagnose, and plan based on outcomes, implement and evaluate the effectiveness of nursing care. However, it is not realistic to thoroughly implement these core guidelines in a safe and effective way, when you are
In this essay, the author
- Opines that integrating into the hospital's culture as a newly licensed nurse is overwhelming to begin with, but adding the stress of unsafe nurse-patient ratios, threatens the quality of care given to them, and ultimately my license.
- Explains that the study was approved by the harvard school of public health human subjects committee.
- Opines that evidence-based practice studies and research have proven that short staffing does have a significant impact on patient adverse outcomes and that hospital administrators and insurers should utilize these facts to promote healthier, safer work environments for nurses.
- Argues that inadequate nurse-patient ratios are a complex issue debated for many years.
- States that california was the first state to mandate nurse-patient ratios to improve patient care, as well as nurse retention.
1502 wordsRead More - Effects Of Nurse Staffing In Nursingexplanatory essayNursing Shortage in the U.S. West (2012) stated that currently, nurse staffing is defined in many ways- as the “presence” of staff, as total nursing care hours per patient per day, or as nurses’ expertise level or educational level (p. 24). These three factors strongly impact the way a patient is cared for. Without enough nurses there are not enough to go around to each patient and spend enough time caring for them. Hospital nurse are often forced to work short staffed, providing care in environments that place patients and even nurses themselves at risk (West, 2012, p. 24). Nurses with a lower education sometimes cannot provide the best care to patients due to the fact that they are not at that skill level.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that nurse staffing is defined as the presence of staff, total nursing care hours per patient per day, or nurses’ expertise level or educational level. hospitals with lower proportions of rns have higher rates of death.
- Describes how the military nursing outcomes database looked into the effects of staffing levels and skill mix on the probability of patient falls, medication errors, and needle stick injuries to nursing staff.
- Illustrates how nurses' education is important in patient care. in the icu, there are 10 nurses scheduled, of which seven are rns and three are not.
- Illustrates how experience affects patient care on the stepdown unit. five of those nurses have an average of five years of experience being military nurses and the rest are federally employed civilian nurses.
- Explains that the above scenarios illustrate how various factors such as staff calling in sick or an unanticipated increase in patient volume can affect patient safety.
705 wordsRead More - The Nurse-Patient Ratio and Patient Safetyopinionated essayMany nurses face the issue of understaffing and having too much of a workload during one shift. When a unit is understaffed not only do the nurses get burnt out, but the patients also don’t receive the care they deserve. The nurse-patient ratio is an aspect that gets overlooked in many facilities that could lead to possible devastating errors. Nurse- patient ratio issues have been a widely studied topic and recently new changes have been made to improve the problem.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that many nurses face the issue of understaffing and having too much of a workload during one shift. the nurse-patient ratio is an aspect that gets overlooked in many facilities that could lead to devastating errors.
- Explains that identifying and maintaining the appropriate number of mixed nursing staff, rn/lpn/cna, is critical to the delivery of quality patient care.
- Recommends that hospitals have a nurse driven staffing committee, mandate specific nurse-patient ratios, and disclose staff levels to the public.
- Explains that senator barbara boxer introduced a federal bill aimed at reducing nursing shortages by establishing minimum nurse-to-patient ration in hospitals and requiring whistleblowing protection for nurses who report quality-of-care violations.
- Explains that the american nurses association supports a legislative model in which nurses are encouraged to create staffing plans specific to each unit.
- Explains that not every facility uses a model that has other nurses’ help decide the next shifts nursing assignment. this can lead to the issue of the person making the assignments not knowing specifics and the level of care for each individual patient.
- Opines that teamwork and collaboration is a very important aspect in all areas of nursing to provide efficient patient care.
- Opines that mortality is not reduced by increased nurse staffing but by things the nurses do. there are many factors that could lead to poorer patient care, such as burnout, job satisfaction, and teamwork.
- Explains that studies involving registered nurse staffing have shown that when the nurses workload is high, nurses watch and care of their assigned patients is impaired.
- Explains the purpose of a mandated nurse-to-patient ratio, which is motivated by persistent shortages of registered nurses in the united states.
- Opines that understaffing and nurse shortages are becoming a serious issue in many places in the united states.
- Opines that hospitals struggle with the day-to-day operations to enhance patient outcomes and deliver a high-quality, low-cost care through effective use of nursing resources.
- Explains that the nurse-patient ratio puts a burden on health care administrators to run facilities per government standards. overtime and shift differentials are both factors that play in the facility's ability to remain financially stable.
- Argues that the primary justification of nurse-patient ratios lies in the assumption that nurse staffing levels have a significant impact on patient safety and patient outcomes.
- Proposes an alternative to ratio policies that provide staffing rules that are easy to implement, are consistent across the size of the unit, and can achieve pre-specific limits on the probability of excessive dely.
- Opines that nurse-patient ratios provide fairness across a unit, but they don't account for workload alterations, which could solve the issue of overworked nurses.
- Explains that nurse staffing: the illinois experience. england journal of medicine.
1326 wordsRead More - Safe Staffing in the Nursing Fieldopinionated essaySafe staffing ratio is important while the nurse is responsible for offering the best standard of attention to patient care. Ethically, “the nurse is responsible and accountable for individual nursing practice and determines the appropriate delegation of tasks consistent with the nurse's obligation to provide optimum patient care,” (VCU, 2001). Institutions in many countries face the same staffing dilemma. The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) in the United Kingdom reflects on safe staffing ratio: the safe staffing recommendations of wards for older people are currently, one Registered Nurse (RN) to nine patients. Meanwhile, the basic safe care recommendation is one RN to seven patients (Nursing Older People, 2012). Similarly, United States Congress determined in their own study that staffing ratios were related to negative patient outcomes, “higher staffing levels by experienced Registered nurses are related to lower rates of negative patient outcomes” (Congress, 2013).
In this essay, the author
- States that nurses and institutions continue to advocate for safe staffing ratios as it regenerates to be an ethical dilemma in healthcare.
- Explains that safe staffing ratio is important while the nurse is responsible for providing the best standard of attention to patient care.
- Explains that the united states budget has reformed to provide healthcare to an increased population of insured people, but handling healthcare has become an increasingly expensive task. safe staffing could improve the quality of patient care and decrease the expenditure in healthcare.
- Explains that outsourcing is perceived as a necessary expenditure in the nursing field rather than an issue to safe staffing.
- Concludes that safe staffing remains an ethical dilemma through professional, sociological, economic, legal, and political implications in the nursing field.
- Cites the work of congress on h.r. 1821 – registered nurse safe staffing act of 2013.
- Opines that boards need to share responsibility for safe staffing levels.
529 wordsRead More - The Importance Of Clinical Nurse Leadersexplanatory essayHospital administrators will charge nurse leaders with ensuring that patient positive outcomes prevail while also controlling overhead. Nurse leaders are specially trained just for this task. Clinical Nurse Leaders are the experts that America’s patients will rely on to keep them safe and healthy in hospital settings.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that clinical nurse leaders (cnls) are key executives in contemporary hospital settings. prospective cnls must obtain a master's degree to qualify for this career track.
- Explains that the american association of colleges of nursing (accn) administers the cnl certification examination. the accn owns a patent to the clinical nurse leader designation.
- Explains that clinical nurse leaders (cnls) are heads among their peers and can create positive outcomes in regard to the nation's most pressing healthcare concerns.
- Explains that clinical nurse leaders advise and support positive patient outcomes with the latest advances available to medicine, regulating costs, and making sure that patient groups receive the best possible care.
- Explains that clinical nurse leaders act as team managers, delegating daily responsibilities to the nursing pool. they are instruments of change that encourage nursing staff to help execute new policies.
- Explains that the role of the clinical nurse leader is to improve patient outcomes by locating information sources and organizing task forces to stymie patient care problems.
- Explains that hospitals will charge nurse leaders with ensuring that patient positive outcomes prevail while also controlling overhead. cnl candidates must have a master's degree to fulfill this position.
1204 wordsRead More