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Inadequate Staffing in Healthcare

NHS-FPX6008 Econ Decision Making Healthcare

June 3, 2024

Inadequate Staffing in Healthcare

Introduction

Healthcare staffing shortages are a critical problem that is costly and has a direct impact on care, patients, and health system organizations (Anderson, 2022). The main consequences of chronic understaffing include excessive workload, increased incidence of errors, decreased patient satisfaction, and, consequently, higher costs due to complications and readmissions. This paper aims to discuss why this issue has been chosen, its negative effects on healthcare workers and institutions, and the shortcomings that lead to it.

Economic Issue

Healthcare workforce deficits are situations where there is a shortage of healthcare staff capable of providing quality services to all patients (Zeleníková et al., 2023). This problem is common in many care institutions, such as hospitals, clinics, and nursing homes. Many negative effects arise from insufficient staffing, including health risks, compromised patient outcomes, and impaired organizational performance.

Effects on Specific Community or Population

The problems associated with inadequate staffing are more severe in underserved and rural areas due to poor healthcare facilities. These communities have limited access to healthcare providers and must cope with excessive demand and fewer staff members. According to studies conducted by the American Hospital Association (AHA) (2020), staffing in rural hospitals remains a challenge, worsening healthcare inequality in such regions.

Why the Particular Issue Was Selected

The reason for selecting inadequate staffing as the main economic problem stems from its universality and significant influence on the healthcare system and its outcomes. It is evident that the lack of adequate staffing not only results in patient suffering and clinician burnout but also jeopardizes healthcare organizations' effectiveness and efficiency. However, the lack of personnel is not only a matter of workforce deficit but also an economic issue that affects healthcare costs and resources (Anderson, 2022). Impact on Work, Organization, Colleagues, and Community

The shortage of staff impacts various aspects of healthcare systems, influencing work, organizations, colleagues, and communities. Patient care is affected as healthcare workers, including nurses and doctors, receive increased workloads, which decreases time with patients, increases mistakes, and leads to poor quality of care and patient dissatisfaction. Research has revealed that places with a higher number of nurses per shift than the national average have lower mortality rates and fewer patients who develop complications such as infections and falls. This shortage also affects the well-being and longevity of healthcare employees, as those working in understaffed environments are prone to burnout due to immense pressure, resulting in low job satisfaction and shorter service periods. This creates a cycle where more staffing shortages lead to increased burnout, as more workers leave the profession. A survey conducted by the American Nurses Association showed that more than half of the sampled nurses considered quitting their positions due to burnout and workload issues. Organizational efficiency is affected since an insufficient workforce results in extra hours for existing staff, hiring temporary employees, and reduced productivity. Insufficient staffing can also lead to increased expenses to manage the shortfall in medical facilities, making it difficult to generate adequate revenue and invest in improvement measures (Zeleníková et al., 2023). Community health is most affected in areas with limited access to healthcare services; due to staff shortages, necessary preventive care and chronic disease management are not provided, worsening overall health and escalating lifetime care costs.

Gap Contributing to the Issue

The first key factor contributing to inadequate staffing is the imbalance between the demand and supply of healthcare services and the healthcare workforce. Several factors contribute to this gap. Firstly, people are living longer, leading to a greater need for medical services, primarily for chronic diseases and disabilities (U.S. Census Bureau, 2018). As the population ages, the demand for healthcare workers increases, but the availability remains insufficient. Secondly, there are significant systemic gaps in the education and training of the healthcare workforce, including limited capacity in nursing and medical schools and high educational costs, which restrict the number of entrants into the health workforce. Moreover, the long training periods required for some specialties also contribute to the problem. Lastly, legal and policy restraints, such as scope-of-practice laws that restrict nurse practitioners and other non-MD providers, exacerbate the issue. Changing these regulations could help overcome staffing shortages by expanding the opportunities for different healthcare workers to serve.

Conclusion

The shortage of staff in healthcare is a major economic concern with far-reaching implications for patients, employees, organizations, and the population. To address this issue, it is necessary to increase the availability of healthcare staff, enhance statutes and policies, and optimize the working environment to retain the existing workforce. By filling these gaps, the standard of care and patient outcomes will improve, leading to an enhanced healthcare system.

References

American Hospital Association. (2020). Rural Report: Challenges Facing Rural Communities and the Roadmap to Ensure Local Access to High-Quality, Affordable Care.

Anderson, A. P. (2022). Patient protection and registered nurse retention: Model legislation addressing inadequate registered nurse staffing in hospitals.  J. Health Care L. & Pol'y,  25, 91.

U.S. Census Bureau. (2018). An Aging Nation: The Older Population in the United States.

Zeleníková, R., Jarošová, D., Mynaříková, E., Janíková, E., & Plevová, I. (2023). Inadequate number of staff and other reasons for implicit rationing of nursing care across hospital types and units.  Nursing Open,  10(8), 5589-5596.   https://doi.org/10.1002/nop2.1802

Write a letter to an official in your state or local government. (Choose the individual in the level of government that will best address your issue). The purpose of this letter is to advocate for action with regards to your chosen health care environment issue.

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Introduction

Note: Each assessment in this course builds upon the work you have completed in previous assessments. Therefore, you must complete the assessments in the order in which they are presented.

As health care leaders, it is important to understand strategies for advocating and lobbying elected officials. This can lead to the development of policies or laws that can help drive improved equity and outcomes for all participants in the health care environment as well as a more sustainable financial future.

Background and Context

As a master's-level health care practitioner, you may be expected to implement plans to ensure that initiatives designed to take advantage of economic opportunities for the organization are rolled out successfully and can be sustained over multiple years. Additionally, it is important to be able to envision how an initiative could be implemented in different contexts and for different purposes to ensure the investment remains a viable and positive asset to your organization or care setting.

As a master's-level practitioner, you will often be challenged to influence the health care environment in a variety of ways. This influence can occur on a micro-level (implementing change on your unit, institution, community, or local organizations) or at a macro level (implementing change via state or federal regulations and policy). One way you can influence the health care environment is by lobbying an elected official at the local, state, or national level to adopt policies or legislation that would support positive economic and health outcomes for patients, practitioners, and organizations within the health care environment.

Instructions

For this assessment, you will develop a letter to an official in your state or local government (choose the individual in the level of government that will best address your issue). The purpose of this letter is to advocate for action with regards to your chosen health care environment issue. Remember, when writing the letter, you must use your personal address and telephone number unless you are exclusively representing a group or your organization.

Be sure to address each main point. Review the assessment instructions and scoring guide, including performance-level descriptions for each criterion, to ensure you understand the work you will be asked to complete and how it will be assessed. In addition, note the requirements for document format and length and for supporting evidence.

Overall, your assessment submission will be assessed on the following criteria:

· Summarize the health care economic issue that you are addressing.

· Keep this brief but try to include details about how the issue is currently impacting the elected officials’ constituents.

· Explain the positive outcomes that will occur if the issue is addressed and the negative outcomes that will occur if the issue is not addressed.

· Tailor this messaging to focus on the impacts in the communities and organizations that are relevant to the elected official you are writing to.

· Summarize key information from scholarly sources to support the importance of addressing the issue; the issue’s overall impact on health care at the institutional, local, state, or national level; and proposed changes or actions to address the issue.

· Cite at least five current, scholarly sources that support your argument and help provide the elected official (who may not have a detailed knowledge of the health care environment) with an understanding of the issues, changes, or actions that you are proposing to drive improved outcomes.

· Identify the impact your issue has on health care institutions and health care providers at the local community, state, or national level.

· Make sure to include information from both a health care and an economic perspective. An elected official may be more responsive to one perspective than another.

· Incorporate social justice, structural racism, and inequity principles when picking resources and making recommendations for change in your assessment.

· Explain how personal, professional, and organizational experiences have informed the resource planning and risk analysis for working toward addressing the economic issue.

· Think about how your experiences (the experiences can be personal, professional, or from your team’s perspective or experience) affect how you have planned for the resources needed to implement your desired changes or actions. How did this impact your approach to conducting a risk analysis on the project?

· Convey purpose, in an appropriate tone and style, incorporating supporting evidence and adhering to organizational, professional, and scholarly communication standards.

· Remember to conclude your letter with a summary of your position on the issue and a compelling reason that the elected official should act in your favor and support your issue or initiative.

Additional Requirements

· Audience: Make sure you are addressing your letter to an actual local or state official.

· For most states, you can use the following resource:

· Assessment 4: Lobbying for Change .

· For local officials, search your city’s government website for officials and their positions.

· Length of Submission: 1–2 double spaced pages. Your letter needs to be succinct and persuasive.

· Number of References: Cite at least five sources of evidence to support your identification of the gap. This could be public health data, a peer-reviewed journal article, or another scholarly source.

· APA formatting: Resources and citations are formatted according to current APA style.

Note: As you revise your writing, check out the resources listed on the Writing Center's  Writing Support  page.

Competencies Measured

By successfully completing this assessment, you will demonstrate your proficiency in the following course competencies and scoring guide criteria:

· Competency 1: Analyze the effects of financial and economic factors (such as cost-benefit, supply and demand, return on investment, and risks) in a health care system on patient care, services offered, and organizational structures and operation.

· Summarize the health care economic issue that you are addressing.

· Competency 2: Develop ethical and culturally equitable solutions to economic problems within a health care organization in an effort to improve the quality of care and services offered.

· Explain the positive outcomes that will occur if the issue is addressed and negative outcomes that will occur if the issue is not addressed.

· Competency 3: Justify the qualitative and quantitative information used to guide economic decision making to stakeholders and colleagues.

· Summarize key information from scholarly sources to support the importance of addressing the issue; the issue’s overall impact on health care at the institutional, local, state, or national level; and proposed changes or actions to address the issue.

· Competency 4: Develop ethical and culturally equitable economic strategies to address dynamic environmental forces and ensure the future security of an organization's resources and its ability to provide quality care.

· Explain how personal, professional, and organizational experiences have informed the resource planning and risk analysis for working toward addressing the economic issue.

· Competency 5: Produce clear, coherent, and professional written work, in accordance with Capella writing standards.

· Convey purpose, in an appropriate tone and style, incorporating supporting evidence and adhering to organizational, professional, and scholarly writing standards.