nur 531 Nursing Shortage and Quality of Care
Nursing Shortage and Quality of Care
The need for more registered nurses continues to rise as we now come to face an increase in the geriatric population that is the “Baby Boomers”. The safety and quality of patient care is directly related to the size and experience of the nursing workforce. Nurses work in a variety of conditions that may not be preferential because hospitals have not kept up with the rising demand for nurses.
As a nurse assistant, staff nurse, charge nurse or nursing administrator, inadequate staffing creates tension and stress. When staffing is inadequate patient safety, infection rates, patient satisfaction and staff satisfaction are only a few of the areas affected. Many hospital administrators and lawmakers want to make patient care a numbers game. According to Morgan (2004), The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations requires hospitals to create a staffing plan that defines staffing effectiveness as the skill mix, competence, and effectiveness related to the services needed. Patients are individuals with individual needs and one patient with a certain diagnosis can take much less attention and time from the nurse than a patient of the same age with the same diagnosis.
The notion that high-quality care in hospitals is essential to the public safety needs is not a new theory. Nursing leaders are under tremendous pressure to lower costs while improving quality. It is often found that hospitals during low census times or times of budget cuts will try to let ancillary staff go and assign their duties to the nurse caring for the patient. Nurses can replace several other positions in a healthcare setting but no other position can replace the nurse.
Acuity versus Nurse to Patient Ratios
Legislatures, health care providers, and the public are demanding adequate staffing ratios for nurses, particularly RN’s to patients in an acute care setting (Huston, 2010, p.165). These measures assign some minimum level
The need for more registered nurses continues to rise as we now come to face an increase in the geriatric population that is the “Baby Boomers”. The safety and quality of patient care is directly related to the size and experience of the nursing workforce. Nurses work in a variety of conditions that may not be preferential because hospitals have not kept up with the rising demand for nurses.
As a nurse assistant, staff nurse, charge nurse or nursing administrator, inadequate staffing creates tension and stress. When staffing is inadequate patient safety, infection rates, patient satisfaction and staff satisfaction are only a few of the areas affected. Many hospital administrators and lawmakers want to make patient care a numbers game. According to Morgan (2004), The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations requires hospitals to create a staffing plan that defines staffing effectiveness as the skill mix, competence, and effectiveness related to the services needed. Patients are individuals with individual needs and one patient with a certain diagnosis can take much less attention and time from the nurse than a patient of the same age with the same diagnosis.
The notion that high-quality care in hospitals is essential to the public safety needs is not a new theory. Nursing leaders are under tremendous pressure to lower costs while improving quality. It is often found that hospitals during low census times or times of budget cuts will try to let ancillary staff go and assign their duties to the nurse caring for the patient. Nurses can replace several other positions in a healthcare setting but no other position can replace the nurse.
Acuity versus Nurse to Patient Ratios
Legislatures, health care providers, and the public are demanding adequate staffing ratios for nurses, particularly RN’s to patients in an acute care setting (Huston, 2010, p.165). These measures assign some minimum level
References: Anonymous (2005). Ratios: Savior or villain? Australian Nursing Journal, 13(1), 15. Retrieved November 1, 2013, from ProQuest Education Journals database. Huston, C.J., (2010). Professional issues in nursing: Challenges and opportunities (2nd ed.). Baltimore: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. Morgan, S & Tobin, P. (2004). Managing the nursing workforce. Nursing Management. Chicago, 35, 4-6. Retrieved November 1, 2013, from ProQuest Education Journals database. Walsh, E. (2003). Get Real With Workload Measurement. Nursing Management. Chicago, 34(2), 38-42. Retrieved November 2, 2013, from ProQuest Education Journals database.