Bmj Executive Summary

Hospitals nationwide are experiencing nurse shortage and increased workloads because of shorter hospital stays, fewer support resources and higher acuity in patients (Vahey, D. C., Aiken, L. H., Sloane, D. M., Clarke, S. P., & Vargas, D., 2004). Higher nurse workloads are directly associated with job burnout and job dissatisfaction which in turn causes more voluntary nurse turnover and relates to the increased nursing shortage. According to the Missouri Hospital Association the turnover rate of nurses has increased by fourteen percent in the last five years (Browning M., 2012). Nursing shortage is a real threat to the patient population. According to the Quality Health Outcomes Model by the American Academy of Nursing by Donabedian, effects of the healthcare interventions are characterized by the environment the staff works in (Vahey et al., 2004). Donabedian describes that quality metrics can be divided into three broad categories, structural, process, and clinical.

Inadequate professional nurse staffing levels integrate many social, ethical, economic, and political considerations which can directly impact patient quality outcomes. Requiring hospitals to utilize staffing committees to assign safe professional nurse staffing standards to each unit, reduces the risk for adverse patient measures. High-quality empirical research found a correlation between the professional nursing staff and the quality of patient outcomes (Mason, Leavitt, & Chaffee, 2012). By implementing H.B. 476, safer nursing care can be provided and excellence in patient outcomes can be achieved.

In 1994 the American Nurses Association (ANA) started the Patient Safety and Quality Initiative. It was a pilot program designed to evaluate the links between nurse staffing and quality care (Montalvo, 2007). The program outcome was a set of nursing-sensitive indicators used to evaluate quality care for patients in the acute setting and the start of the National Database of Nursing Quality Indicators (NDNQI). The NDNQI is a

One can wonder if there is any correlation between patient-nurse ratio and it’s effect on patient safety. In the research conducted by Jack Needleman and his associates (2002), they examined the relationship between amount of care provided by the nurse and compared it to patient outcome. The result showed that the increase amount of time a nurse is able to spend with the patient better the quality of care is. The data for this research was collected from seven hundred and ninety-nine hospitals across eleven states. This covered both medical and surgical patients that were discharged and the data was evaluated the relationship between the time provide to the patients by the nurses and patients’ outcome. As research showed,

The broad research problem leading to this study is the belief that nursing shortage in facilities leads to patient safety issues. The review of available literature on this topic shows strong evidence that lower nurse staffing levels in hospitals are associated with worse patient outcomes. Some of these outcomes include very high patient to nurse ratio, fatigue for nurses leading to costly medical mistakes, social environment, nursing staff attrition from the most affected facilities. The study specifically attempts to find a way to understand how nurse

On June 15, 2012, President Obama signed into law Deferred Action Arrivals (DACA) this new policy will allow undocumented youth who have been in the United States before January 1, 2010 to stay in the United States for a renewable two year period and avoid deportation (“Consideration of Deferred Action,”2015). Recipients who are eligible for DACA will be able to receive a work authorization, this policy does not provide a pathway to citizenship. According to an article “Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals” (DACA): Funding Opportunities for Philanthropy’ published by Grantmakers Concerned with Immigrants and Refugees, stated six purposes of DACA are:

In the 1990’s, the American Nurses Association (ANA) identified indicators which brought about the development of the Nursing’s Patient Safety and Quality Initiative (Miller & Soule, 2008). These indicators were specific to nursing,

Patients want and expect to receive high quality care. Nurses want to provide the best care possible to their patients and like everybody else; want a pleasing job environment. Hospitals, on the other hand, are expected to provide a safe environment to patients, have enough nursing staff and remain profitable (Keller, Dulle, Kwiecinski, Altimier & Owens, 2013). The ultimate goal is to improve quality of care and patient safety across the United States; therefore, all the different interests of these major stakeholders should be taken into

This is a tough question to answer, because I believe Madison was wrong when writing to Jefferson when it comes to today’s society. Yet, I believe he was correct when pertaining the readings we have gone through in the class so far. When you look at the bill rights I think perhaps one of the most important parts is the freedom of speech. Yet, that was clearly violated in the case of Plessy v. Ferguson when Plessy was arrested for sitting on the white part of the train. You could even go further to say that he also had the right to do so under the freedom to petition section in the first amendment. A more broad or difficult approach that could be taken to try and answer this question is bringing into the conversation state power. Time and time

Errors pervade in our lives whether it is our home, in our workplace, or in our society. The effects of healthcare errors have impacted all our lives either directly or indirectly. Patient safety and quality care are at the core of healthcare system which strongly depends upon nurses. “To achieve goals in patient safety and quality, thereby improve healthcare, nurses must assume the leadership role. Nurses need to ensure that they and other healthcare providers center healthcare on patients and their families. Even though the quality and safety of healthcare is heavily influenced by the complex nature

Mulloy, D. F., & Hughes, R. G. (2008). Patient safety & quality: an evidence-based handbook for nurses. Rockville, MD: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. Retrieved from http://www.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK2678/

The Joint Commission focuses on certain goals each year. For patient safety and positive outcomes, hospitals are required to follow certain standards. National Patient Safety Goals were established in 2002 to help identify areas of concern with patient safety. This group is made up by a panel of experts including nurses, doctors, pharmacists and many other healthcare professionals. They advise the Joint Commission on how to address these different patient safety issues. Two goals to be discussed are improving the accuracy of patient identification and medication safety. To improve patient

Some people might assume few women of nineteenth century England, were truly successful as authors. Jane Austen is an exception to that assumption. She was an independent lady who lived and died by her pen. Despite the obstacles she encountered in her lifetime Austen did not achieve success until after her death. Jane Austen may have lived a quiet and humble lifestyle, but her literary works have made a lasting impression on the lives of women of the 20th century.

Barry Hill (2017) performed studies related to the quality of care that patients receive and what factors are associated with those perceptions. One area that was noted to be of importance and directly related to quality of care provided to patients is staff dissatisfaction and burnout. This study also found that longer shifts contributed to increased amounts of emotional exhaustion leading to decreased quality of care for patients. Addressing staffing needs early and intervening can decrease the amount of nurse burnout and dissatisfaction that is often seen. This study has shown that hiring additional competent nurses reduces medication errors, falls, infections, wounds, and decreases hospital litigation costs, while improving staff morale, patient experience and care, and cost-effectiveness for the hospital.

In today’s health care system, “quality” and “safety” are one in the same when it comes to patient care. As Florence Nightingale described our profession long ago, it takes work and vigilance to ensure we are doing the best we can to care for our patients. (Mitchell, 2008)