Nursing Staffing, Nursing Workload, Coursework Example

Introduction

Staffing in nursing practice is a critical issue that requires continuous attention. In nursing units where staffing and resources are limited, they face critical challenges that include long hours, excessive burnout, inadequate performance, and potentially high turnover rates. Therefore, staffing in this capacity must be addressed in a timely manner to ensure that patient care and treatment is not compromised as a result of poor staffing. Many nurses may experience periods where their work feels incomplete and they have not been able to provide the level of care that is desired (Ball et.al, 2014). These concerns are legitimate and represent an opportunity to explore the different dimensions of quality that are required throughout nursing practice to ensure that nurses are able to provide optimal performance under the working conditions that they are given. Nurses require a positive work environment in order to perform at their best level; therefore, this process requires a high level of support for staffing so that it is adequate and appropriate for their needs (Duffield et.al, 2011). Most importantly, nurses must possess a high degree of ethical responsibility for their actions and for their contributions to the practice setting that are contingent upon adequate staffing and patient protection (Ulrich et.al, 2010). Finally, nurses must be attentive to ethical protocols that are in place to prevent problems regarding staffing and performance that could contribute to higher mortality rates, as these factors should not be tolerated under any circumstances (Trinkoff et.al, 2011).

Staffing policies and related ethical principles require a high level of care, skill, knowledge, and understanding to meet the needs of patients on a comprehensive basis. Therefore, these needs must be considered as part of a much larger effort that must enable nurses to be fully accessible to patients, family members, and the consumer population as a whole.

With any nursing-based policy, nurses are responsible for ensuring that their patients are well taken care of and that they are provided with a framework for success and achievement through continuous high performance and ethical responsibility for the actions that are taken towards patients in this capacity. Furthermore, an organization must be prepared to meet the needs of its patients through a long-term strategy to ensure that outcomes are met. However, in cases where staffing is limited or performance is low due to inadequate staffing and burnout, nurses may fall short in the delivery of care and in providing an optimal level of quality. This is a discouraging process that requires ongoing attention and support in order to meet the needs of patients on a continuous basis.

Policies regarding staffing and ethics must enable nurses to promote greater caring towards their patients, accompanied by a new perspective that will encourage greater collaboration among nurses, a collective approach to problem-solving, and an expanded focus on high-touch care to ensure that patient treatment is not compromised in any way.

Healthcare institutions and nurses are responsible for ensuring that patient care quality is maximized at all times, and this reflects a need to develop a new approach that will have a positive and lasting impact on patient care outcomes. However, the patients themselves must also be provided with a framework for success that will enable them to have a voice in their own care and to comment as appropriate on the quality of care that they receive. This will enable them to have some degree of power in the nurse-patient relationship to facilitate a higher level of quality at all times. At the same time, an organization must be prepared to effectively manage the needs of its patients through nursing empowerment and a high level of core strength that will enable them to exercise their knowledge and skill in providing high quality care and treatment at all times without limitations.

The provision of comprehensive care in any nursing policy is critical in achieving high quality treatment at all times. This is an important step towards the discovery of new techniques and strategies to ensure that patient outcomes are met, along with new strategies for growth that will support and enhance change and progress for a healthcare organization. Comprehensive care is critical to this process, and it enables nurses to be effective in treating patients at this level. However, the need for multiple layers of support may also contribute to the fragmentation of care in many cases, thereby posing a greater risk to patients in need of services.

Any nursing policy presents challenges in the form of limitations in quality of care for some patients, accompanied by other factors that may impact how care is provided on a continuous basis. This process requires a high level of support that focuses on the needs of patients above all else. In addition, the policy must reflect a strong commitment to excellence and a dedication to the lives of patients in need of services that will positively impact the quality of their care and treatment on a consistent basis. It is important to addresses gaps in care as they emerge so that they do not ultimately compromise the lives of larger numbers of patients, as this is a negative consequence of policy limitations that could compromise quality of care.

This policy may raise issues regarding the delivery of care when there is insufficient staffing available to provide a comprehensive level to patients in need of these services on a continuous basis. This process is instrumental in supporting a continuum of care that will also aim to prevent health disparities. At the same time, it is important to identify the resources that are available to ensure that organizational needs are met, while also demonstrating a high level of support and understanding for the needs of patients by addressing health disparities as they emerge in order to prevent serious concerns that could limit the health of patients over time.

References

Ball, J. E., Murrells, T., Rafferty, A. M., Morrow, E., & Griffiths, P. (2014). ‘Care left undone’during nursing shifts: associations with workload and perceived quality of care. BMJ quality & safety, 23(2), 116-125.

Duffield, C., Diers, D., O’Brien-Pallas, L., Aisbett, C., Roche, M., King, M., & Aisbett, K. (2011). Nursing staffing, nursing workload, the work environment and patient outcomes. Applied Nursing Research, 24(4), 244-255.

Trinkoff, A. M., Johantgen, M., Storr, C. L., Gurses, A. P., Liang, Y., & Han, K. (2011). Nurses’ work schedule characteristics, nurse staffing, and patient mortality. Nursing Research, 60(1), 1-8.

Ulrich, C. M., Taylor, C., Soeken, K., O’Donnell, P., Farrar, A., Danis, M., & Grady, C. (2010). Everyday ethics: ethical issues and stress in nursing practice. Journal of advanced nursing, 66(11), 2510-2519.