Unsafe Nursing Staffing Practices, Coursework Example

Introduction

Staffing in the nursing work environment is critical in the ability to provide high quality care and treatment for all patients; therefore, staffing levels must be adequate, nurse-to-patient ratios must be sufficient, and turnover rates must be minimized. Based upon prior evidence, it is important to address nursing-related staffing concerns in order to promote patient safety and to maximize the productivity of nurses in a variety of different environments. This reflects the importance of mandatory staffing ratios to ensure that patient safety is not compromised and nurses are able to manage their workloads in a productive manner (Harper, Jebb, Brown, & Scullion, 2014). Staffing levels have become a serious economic and even political issue in some organizations; therefore, it is necessary to develop strategies that will encompass the directives set forth by an organization to ensure that all required tasks are achieved and patient satisfaction is optimized, using prior evidence-based research to promote staffing at a safe level (Munier & Porter, 2014).

Body

One of the most important areas of consideration is transparency, whereby nurse staffing levels are made public to protect patients and to disclose any potential violations that could impact patients (Ball, 2014). This is a necessary and realistic approach for nurse staffing that may lead to possible complications, yet it reflects a need to be truthful regarding how staffing policies are developed and executed within healthcare organizations, as patients and even nurses may be at risk in some situations (Ball, 2014). At the same time, nurse staffing models must take cues from new and existing practice models to ensure that all requirements are met and nurses are able to provide a transformative and appropriate environment to achieve productive and safe results in all areas of direct patient care (Mensik, 2013). There must be a greater understanding of the dynamics of nursing practice and the overall development of nursing-based models that will have a strong impact on patient care quality and in minimizing safety-related risks for patients (Mensik, 2013).

A discussion of nurse staffing strategies must also include perceptions of staffing by nurses themselves, particularly as their behaviors, levels of autonomy, and authority play a role in promoting improvements in nurse staffing so that patient safety is not compromised and there are sufficient numbers of nurses available on any given shift to administer high quality patient care (van Oostveen, Mathijssen, & Vermeulen, 2015). However, the ability to develop nurse staffing models must be supported by a strong knowledge base and support from organizations such as the American Nurses Association, as well as federal laws to regulate nurse staffing (Keller, Dulle, Kwiecinski, Altimier, & Owens, 2013). It is necessary for nurse leaders and other executive leadership teams to be cognizant of the common issues related to nurse staffing and to recognize the value of advancing knowledge to promote effective decision-making regarding staffing levels that will facilitate safe outcomes for patients and for nurses (Keller et.al, 2013). With this perspective in mind, it is necessary to identify the relationship between nurse staffing and the ability to provide a safe environment for patient care (Jones & Jenkins, 2014).

From a nursing perspective, the work environment must support such characteristics as job satisfaction, skill mix, and staffing in order to optimize employee productivity at this level (Duffield et.al, 2011). Furthermore, it is important for nurses to work in an environment that is supportive of their needs and in which there are opportunities for professional growth on a consistent basis (Duffield et.al, 2011). This reflects a need to develop new approaches to improve nurse staffing in order to accomplish the intended objectives that involve direct patient care and to optimize the conditions under which nurses are able to work effectively and in a productive manner (Duffield et.al, 2011). Therefore, it is necessary to examine prior evidence in order to determine the most appropriate staffing mix for an organization and to be most effective in enabling nurses to work towards achieving excellence in patient care quality on a continuous basis (Duffield et.al, 2011).

Due to the challenging and overwhelming nature of the nursing work environment, staffing must be considered as a critical factor in the promotion of patient safety and in minimizing risks such as medication errors (Frith, Anderson, Tseng, & Fong, 2012). Therefore, it is necessary to consider the importance of increasing staffing for nurses in order to promote a safe and effective environment for medication administration (Frith et.al, 2012). These factors must include an examination of the primary causes of medication errors and to determine what is required to facilitate a safer environment for patients that will have positive and meaningful benefits for a given patient population (Frith et.al, 2012). In addition, patient safety in other areas must also be examined in order to evaluate the conditions under which patient care is optimized and staffing is appropriate for nurses across all areas in order to provide the desired level of care in a consistent manner.

Conclusion

Nurse staffing is a critical issue in modern healthcare environments and requires an examination of key variables that impact patient safety, such as nursing work hours, staffing ratios, and other considerations. Therefore, it is necessary to evaluate the conditions under which nurses work in order to determine how to improve staffing at different levels, along with developing an understanding of how staffing relates to patient safety and risk in a variety of ways. This will demonstrate the importance of understanding patient care and how nurses play a role in patient care quality.

References

Ball, J. (2014). In search of clarity: Reporting nurse-to-patient ratios is crucial to achieving transparency in safe staffing levels, says Jane Ball. Nursing Management, 20(10), 15-15.

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.

Frith, K. H., Faye Anderson, E., Tseng, F., & Fong, E. A. (2012). Nurse staffing is an important strategy to prevent medication errors in community hospitals. Nursing Economics, 30(5), 288.

Harper, R., Jebb, P., Brown, J., & Scullion, J. (2014). Readers panel. Time to enforce staff ratios. Nursing Standard, 28(40).

Jones, R., & Jenkins, F. (2014). Safe and Effective Staffing Levels for the Allied Health Professions: A Practical Guide. Otmoor Publishing.

Keller, A. E., Dulle, M., Kwiecinski, S., Altimier, L., & Owens, C. (2013). Professional Collaboration: Who Should Determine Safe Staffing for Nurses?.Newborn and Infant Nursing Reviews, 13(3), 113-116.

Keogh, K. (2014). More detail needed on nurse staffing levels. Nursing Standard, 28(34).

Mensik, J. S. (2013). The importance of professional practice models in nurse staffing. Nurse Leader, 11(4), 65-68.

Munier, T., & Porter, S. (2014). The struggle for safe staffing levels in the USA: a political economy of evidence-based practice. Journal of Research in Nursing, 19(7-8), 592-603.

van Oostveen, C. J., Mathijssen, E., & Vermeulen, H. (2015). Nurse staffing issues are just the tip of the iceberg: A qualitative study about nurses’ perceptions of nurse staffing. International journal of nursing studies.