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Resilience promoting nursing
Human resources management in health care
Necessity of adequate nurse patient ratio
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This statement seems to convey the feeling of almost every nurse that I have encountered. The art of nursing, and I say art as a sign of recognition, is an honorable and noble profession. Unfortunately, nurses rarely get the respect that they, through pain and suffering, so rightly deserve. Most give almost all that they have, mentally and physically, to their work every day they are on the job, and yet they do not get paid nearly enough. To add insult to injury, most nurses get little respect in the work place, either from the patients that they are serving, and in some cases, the doctors that they assist. The sheer willpower, patience, self-control, compassion, and understanding most nurses display, could have made Gandhi himself take …show more content…
Lisa explains to me that, “Patient to nurse ratio is a very real concern”. This is leading to a major problem with the nurses’ ability to provide quality care. This understaffing is becoming increasingly problematic. Experts have stated that there is evidence that indicates a direct relationship with overall safety, patient satisfaction, and cost. When nurse to patient ratios are handled correctly it can improve health outcomes, assure quality care, remove costly mistakes, and save lives (Waters). Even being so overwhelmed and outnumbered, nurses still seem to provide the best care possible, through unreserved determination and …show more content…
Even with all of the struggles a nurse can encounter through their treacherous journey, they still seem to carry themselves with grace and compassion. What sort of strength of heart and mind allows a person to take so much punishment, yet still come out the other side with a smile on their face? I have yet to encounter a doctor with as much compassion and understanding as the nurses in my life. Nurses seem to be the implements of compassion in their environment. When some doctors inform you of an ailment or condition, they can be cold and removed. Who knows how many times a day they have had to sit with a patient and give the same advice, but nurses seem to soften the blow, either with a gentle and reassuring touch, or an understanding smile. Nurses are the heart and soul of the workplace; they offer care, counseling, comfort, and compassion in spades. Why, and better yet, how, can they do
The problem, as defined for my argument research paper, is that to cut costs, hospitals have been steadily increasing the number of patients nurses must care for. In many areas it's not uncommon for one nurse to have to assess, give medications to, and manage the care of as many as 12 patients. This puts tremendous strain on nurses. Many of the studies I have seen in my research indicate that a high ration of patients to nurses increases the rate of death or other poor outcomes for patients. It also leads to increased nurse burnout and higher turnover, though at this point I believe my paper will focus on patient outcomes.
Many 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.
middle of paper ... ... According to Bush (2009), nurses must learn forgiveness and love to prevent and overcome compassion fatigue. “Nurses should treat themselves with the empathy and compassion that they give others” (Bush, 2009, p. 27). Nurses should take time to nurture themselves by maintaining a healthy lifestyle and diet. They should also continue to participate in activities that they enjoy, get plenty of rest, and have a sense of self-awareness throughout their career.
The nurse to patient ratio is unrealistic in many hospitals. In most cases it is almost impossible to give each patient the true amount of detailed care they really need. This is seen in most cases where there is one nurse assigned to 16 patients and each patient requires a different level of attention. Nurses are pressed for time, forcing them to cut corners, resulting in an increase in nosocomial infections and patient deaths. “The past decade has been a unsettled time for many US hospitals and practicing nu...
A nurse’s role in our society today is exceptionally significant. Nurses are somewhat idolized and looked to as our everyday “superman”. “The mission of nursing in society is to help individuals, families, and groups to determine and achieve physical, mental, and social potential, and to do so within the challenging context of the environment in which they live and work” (“The Role of a Nurse/Midwife”). Many Americans turn to nurses for delivery of primary health care services and health care education (Whelan). In our country, there is constantly someone in need of health care. There will always be a baby being born or a person dying, someone becoming ill or growing old. Some people due to their physical and/or mental state of health are completely dependent on a nurse and wouldn’t be able to get through the simple obstacles of every day, or achieve the necessary requirements of a simple day without their aid. Not only do nurses help, and assist you when you’re sick, but also act to promote good health to others. They end...
Health care organizations are focused on providing high quality and safe patient care. There are numerous organizational factors that may directly affect patient care and outcomes, but one of great importance is nurse staffing. Low nurse staffing levels are a major problem that I have encountered during both my clinical and management experiences. There is a significant relationship between inadequate staffing levels and adverse patient outcomes; however, as I observed during my experiences, there may be increased awareness about this issue, but it has not been sufficiently addressed. In order to ensure patients’ safety and positive outcomes, as well as to improve nurse satisfaction, it is imperative to effectively address low staffing levels.
This is one of the values that is of the utmost importance when being a nurse. We must have compassion for our patients. We as nurses will make an impact every single day in the lives of people in our community. We need to realize that we are the voice of the voiceless and the advocates for those who cannot advocate for themselves. You realize that even by helping one person, you are making a difference and are making the world a better place one patient at a time. Some of us may enter the field and some of us may be continuing on in our education, but we all share one thing in common, we are all nurses and we all made
Thousands of nurses throughout the nation are exhausted and overwhelmed due to their heavy workload. The administrators do not staff the units properly; therefore, they give each nurse more patients to care for to compensate for the lack of staff. There are several reasons to why
From over-crowding and long waiting lists to staff shortages which have knock on effects resulting in inadequate skills mix and unacceptable nurse-patient ratios. An aging population, high birth rates and an increase in chronic diseases also puts pressure on the healthcare system. The nursing role has had to evolve in response to changing societal needs and the challenges in the healthcare system today. (McCurry et al. 2009). This can bring additional challenges to nurses’ professional identity. ??
...n the world today and people need all of the help and care that they can get. Nursing has changed over the years; however, what hasn’t changed is the dedication and compassion of the nursing profession.
The purpose of this paper is to address the issue of nursing staffing ratios in the healthcare industry. This has always been a primary issue, and it continues to grow as the population rate increases throughout the years. According to Shakelle (2013), in an early study of 232,432 surgical discharges from several Pennsylvania hospitals, 4,535 patients (2%) died within 30 days of hospitalization. Shakelle (2014) also noted that during the study, there was a difference between 4:1 and 8:1 patient to nurse ratios which translates to approximately 1000 deaths for a group of that size. This issue can be significantly affected in a positive manner by increasing the nurse to patient ratio, which would result in more nurses to spread the work load of the nurses more evenly to provide better coverage and in turn result in better care of patients and a decrease in the mortality rates.
These articles have many similarities when discussing the issue of staffing shortages. For patients, their loved ones and the general population, they don’t understand the ramifications and strain that staffing shortages have on nurses. People expect and deserve complete, competent and safe care when they are patients. These articles bring to light all the struggles that nurses have to deal with. Nurses are fearful that they will make mistakes, will harm patients, and will harm themselves. (Bae, 2012; Erlen, 2001; Martin, 2015) Overtime can be overwhelming and exhausting, which can lead to errors being made. (Bae, 2012; Erlen, 2001) These articles perceive that it may be beneficial for nurses, patients, and healthcare facilities to decrease the nurse-to-patient ratio, however, this option is not always
Factors such as, heavy workloads, stress, job dissatisfaction, frequent medical errors, and intention of leaving the job are all common for nurses to experience, especially during the nursing shortage crisis. Not only do the nurses suffer during a shortage, but the patients ' health outcomes suffer even more. For instance, there are higher rates of infectious diseases and adverse patient outcomes, such as urinary tract infections (UTIs), upper gastrointestinal bleeding, shock, pneumonia, prolonged hospital stays, failure to rescue, and mortality. As a result, this leads to higher re-admission rates for patients. Furthermore, high patient-to-nurse ratios cause heavy workloads due to an inadequate supply of nurses, an increased demand for nurses, a reduction in staffing and an increase in overtime, and a shortened length of stay for patients. Without the heavy workloads that nurses have to endure on a daily basis, there would more time for nurses to communicate more effectively with physicians, insurance companies, and patients and their families. Those heavy workloads are the result of hospitals reducing the nursing staff and implementing mandatory overtime policies just to meet unexpectedly high demands. Unfortunately, the nursing shortage has affected nurses ' mental and physical health. For example, the most common health concerns for nurses include cardiovascular health, occupational injuries and illnesses, and emotional and physical exhaustion. Therefore, safe-staffing ratios/levels have to become the main
Maintenance and promotion of quality improvement initiatives are essential for the successful growth and development of the health care industry. Nurses are key to all quality improvement initiatives as they are in the frontlines and have the most contact with the healthcare consumers. Therefore, nursing professionals are good at putting in their valuable inputs for quality improvement efforts. On a daily basis nursing professionals strive to deliver safe, efficient, effective, patient-centered care in a timely manner. With the growth and development in the health care industry, there is an increased need to provide competent and high quality services. Nurses are equipped with distinctive proficiency required for delivery of patient care
Ethics is defined as moral principles that govern a persons or a group’s behavior, ethical principles apply to both personal and professional relationships (Webster, 2015). The field of nursing is a profession that has been highly regarded and respected in society. Most nurses enter the profession in order to utilize their clinical skills to help others in their time of need. Those in failing health rely on nurses to care for them in their most vulnerable states, and expect a level of compassion and humanity while receiving care. Nurses have an ethical responsibility to their patients, clients, and their community. Compassion, empathy, and integrity are staple characteristics that nurses possess that allow them to successfully perform their