Capstone Change Project Topics
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Professional Capstone and Practicum
Running head: Capstone Project Topic Selection 1
Nurses have a responsibility to their patients to deliver quality healthcare and to keep patients safe. According to a report conducted by the American Nurses Association (2015) there is a new emphasis placed on cost containment and the first group being affected by cost-cutting measures is staffing (p. 4). This is not a very good idea since the majority of patient care falls on nurses and “appropriate nurse staffing levels are essential to optimizing quality of care and patient outcomes in the era of value-based healthcare (American Nurses Association [ANA], 2015, p. 4). This writer would like to explore how staffing affects patient care in regards to quality, outcomes and level of satisfaction. In addition, this writer would also like to explore the affect short-staffing has on the nurse and how the organization benefits financially from cutting staff. In the end, this writer would like to seek creative, cost-effective solutions that would benefit the nurse, the patient and the organization.
Impact of Staffing
Organizations believe that by cutting staff they are saving money to help their bottom-line, which is not unreasonable because everyone has a responsibility to be cost-conscious in today’s world. However, the reality may differ from what the organization believes that they are gaining. Lower staffing can have detrimental effects on patient care and outcomes and increase the risk of patient harm. When staffing is not adequate to care for patients it increases the risk for hospital acquired infections, medication errors, falls, missed treatment, and even death.
When staff levels are low and nurses are expected to perform too many tasks with too little time in a twelve-hour shift, staff burnout is sure to happen which will lead to high staff turnover. With the push to have more registered nurses with their Bachelor’s degree on the belief that they can deliver better more efficient care, will more likely open the door for the nurse to seek employment elsewhere. In the end, the nurse does not like to put patient safety or their license on the line when put in this dangerous and exhausting position.
This is like a domino effect which will eventually cost the organization more out of pocket than maintaining adequate nurse to patient ratios in the first place. Once this effect begins it will be difficult to stop and the fallout will affect patient care which will affect the organizations bottom-line.
Solutions to staffing
There are several different models for staffing that could benefit all involved, and involve in depth coordination between management and staff nurses. The American Nurses Association (ANA) is working with individual states to develop The Registered Nurse Safe Staffing Act, which “promote legislation to hold hospitals accountable for the development and implementation of valid, reliable, unit-by-unit nurse staffing plans” ("Safe Staffing", 2015, p. 1). The American Nurses Association does not want this to be mandated staffing, but would like to see each hospital create new staffing models to deliver safe, effective patient care, while creating a safe work environment for nurses (“Safe Staffing”, 2015, p.1).
Conclusion
There is a bigger picture here than anyone wants to see, how one action affects another or the cause and effect dilemma, either way the patient is the one who is affected the most and they are the one paying the cost of the care. Creating a safe work environment for nurses and staffing appropriately using specific nurse to patient ratio’s according to the needs of each unit, can make a difference in the patient’s outcome and can make a difference in the success of the organization in the long run.
References
American Nurses Association. (2015). Optimal nurse staffing to improve quality of care and patient outcomes: Executive summary. Retrieved from http://www.nursingworld.org/DocumentVault/NursingPractice/Executive-Summary.pdf
Safe staffing. (2015). Retrieved from http://www.nursingworld.org/SafeStaffingFactsheet.aspx
Running head: Capstone Project Topic Selection
1
Staffing, What Does It Cost?
Jane Doe
Grand Canyon University
Professional Capstone and Practicum
NRS
-
490
Professor Barbara Pridgen
August 25, 2017
Running head: Capstone Project Topic Selection 1
Staffing, What Does It Cost?
Jane Doe
Grand Canyon University
Professional Capstone and Practicum
NRS-490
Professor Barbara Pridgen
August 25, 2017
