Essay On Safe Staffing

The nurse manager in today’s health care has a solid role in providing a healthy working environment. Healthy working environment is the basis for safe and better patient outcomes. Healthy working environment in a unit depends on the inspiration, motivation and support from the nurse manager and the management in all the ways. So as a nurse manager in a unit, the change I wish to initiate is the safe staffing patterns. Safe staffing patterns are always important for safe working environments to deliver excellent patient care. Staffing and scheduling means providing an adequate staff mix to meet the needs of the patients (Grohar-Murray & Langan, 2011). Nurse manager should know how to schedule and skill mix to provide adequate

Julia, a registered nurse, has been run down all week making medication errors and recently one of her patient’s fell out of bed. Julia has eight patients assigned to her due to staffing shortage since the hospital decided to stop using LPNs. Julia is very overwhelmed and is unable to safely take care of her patients. Julia was required to report to her manager’s office the next morning due to her patient neglect and fall. The manager informed Julia the high nurse to patient ratio is not a problem as other floors and nurses are doing fine with it. Recently, I have seen this occur with in my own facility I work for. As of right now it is staffed with fifty percent locums or travel nurses, which leads to increased

As health care workers we are under a legal obligation to protect an individual from any kind of abuse, whether it is physical, financial, emotional, sexual or psychological .Legislation, policies and procedures exist to promote a safer working environment and reduce the potential for risks occurring. They are tailored for the needs of each setting, known and understood by employers and employees and reviewed on a regular basis.

Primarily, it is crucial for health care organizations to focus on ensuring safe and quality patient care, as well as improved job satisfaction by enforcing an optimal and adequate nurse-to-patient ratio and creating innovative and long-term strategies through a collaborative effort. In order to ensure the safety of patients and nurses, state-mandated safe-staffing ratios are necessary. Adequate nurse staffing is key to patient care and nurse retention, while inadequate staffing puts patients at risk and drives nurses from their profession. As baby boomers age and the demand for health care services grows, staffing problems will only intensify. Consequently, safe-staffing ratios have become such an ever-pressing concern. In 2004, California became the first state to implement minimum nurse-to-patient staffing ratios, designed to improve patient care and nurse retention. Subsequent studies show that California’s program measurably improved patient care and nurse retention.

healthcare organization accrediting bodies, and to maintain credibility with patients and peers alike, must adhere to the National Patient Safety Goals. As stated by Ulrich and Kear (2014), "Not only are nurses responsible for providing safe patient care, we are also responsible for creating an environment in which others can provide safe patient care, and for being the last line of defense when needed between the patient and potential harm. Having a deep understanding of patient safety and patient safety culture allows nurses to be the leaders we need to be in ensuring that our patients are always

The influx of insured patients due to the Affordable Care Act (ACA) needs to be met with an increase in health care providers to ensure adequate and safe patient care. Currently, there are issues regarding safe staffing within hospitals that leaves the patient’s and healthcare providers’ safety at

The research studies reviewed all share a common theme that staffing and patient care make a safe care environment. The patient safety conditions all are enhanced by adequate staffing and nurse retention. Nursing turnover leads to reduced staffing and affects the patient’s outcomes and overall satisfaction. The point of agreement is that nurse staffing and the environment has a positive effect on patient safety, outcomes, and satisfaction.

I found your paper informative since it is the topic of my health policy paper for this course. I know all too well how it is to work in unsafe staffing environments. Doing some research I came across an association that is working toward establishing safe staffing laws. The National Nurses United (2015), the largest union and professional association of registered nurses in U.S. history, has a nationwide campaign in support of safe staffing for RNs and patients. They currently have two national safe patient ratio bills including one in Senate (S. 864) and one in the House (HR 1602).

In previous years safe staffing has been a concern in Massachusetts hospitals. In a survey conducted by the

Finally, we must address accountability. We know hospitals, and long-term facilities can be a hectic work place and often face challenges of staffing issues and so forth. Nonetheless, we must be consistent. Godlock, Christiansen, and Feider (2016), recommends the use of a safety team in facility; some responsibilities may include identifying prevention strategies, education and teaching, spot checks, as well as patient chart reviews all of which promotes compliance and

I completely agree with RN Safe staffing issue. In the hospital I work at, we experience nurse shortages all the time. We are also pulled from our home unit to another unit that you may have never worked in, but they need a nurse or an aide. When you are hired you are oriented to the other units, but it could be six months or longer before you work on that unit again which to me is unsafe. We have nurses from the OB/GYN unit who know nothing about a person being on a heart monitor, working in our unit because their unit has a low census and our unit is full and we need another RN. So is this considered an unsafe work environment or is it considered safe because the patient/nurse ratios match what the staffing matrix says or is patient

To improve the quality, safety, efficiency, and effectiveness of patient care, applying research and evidence-based practice is necessary. In the Institute of Medicine’s report, Keeping Patient Safe: Transforming the Work Environment of Nurses, there is an emphasis on adequate nurse staffing (Hickey & Brosnan, 2012). Therefore, the quality improvement initiative is to focus on closing the gap between the core staffing and actual staffing in a six-week schedule.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (2000) shows that 48% of all non-fatal work related assaults and acts of violence have occurred in health care and social service settings. Violence against mental health and health care workers has the potential to cause major physical injuries and psychological trauma. In return this poses serious consequences on employers such as increased turnover, medical and psychological care, increased absenteeism, decreased morale, job dissatisfaction, legal issues, and worker burn-out. Agencies and clinicians are encouraged to evaluate and identify the risks that are potential barriers in their agencies. Safety plans need to be implemented and strategized along with re-evaluations on a continuous basis (Taylor, H. 2013).

One of the greatest challenges in healthcare, as well as the biggest threat to patient safety, is staffing and the nurse to patient ratio on hospital floors. Studies have shown that low staffing levels lead to increased mortality rates in patients, as well as multiple other adverse effects including falls and pressure ulcers. These adverse effects are all preventable, but policies on staffing must be in place to ensure safety for staff and patients.

Staffing deficits pose a direct threat of manifesting negative outcomes associated with the delivery of patient care. Anything or anyone that compromises patient care should be eradicated immediately. This author believes that staffing deficits remain a consistent issue due to lack of solutions that actively address the issue. This author believes that inadequate staffing is a major concern due to the degree of harm it can impose on patients. Adverse events associated with