Patient Acuity, Workload and FTE's

Week 3 DQ 3.4

3.4 DiscussionPatient Acuity, Workload and FTE's

After reading Chapter 11:  Staffing and Scheduling, answer the discussion question.

Nurses work within the constraints of the situation.  Staffing, budget, day of the week, number of patients, and situations on the unit among many others.  Nurse managers also have constraints today due to limited staffing, staff mix, patient: nurse ratios, etc.   Managers - and often charge nurses too -- have to make unit decisions for a shift based on the constraints given to them and the best possible outcomes for the patients and staff.  Is it easy, no way! 

This exercise places you in a fictitious nursing unit with constraints.  This is NOT your unit or any unit you know.  Your work situation does NOT apply to the scenario below.  Please work through the discussion and spreadsheet to the best of your ability to work within the unit's constraints.  Put your thinking cap on!  See how to best solve the puzzle!

· First, watch the video made for this assignment  BEFORE beginning the assignment. 

· This assignment does not apply to your unit, where you work, or your own personal working conditions. 

· The situation in this exercise is intended as a critical thinking exercise for you to demonstrate your ability to work through a difficult situation. 

· Do NOT apply anything from your personal working unit to this scenario unit.  Do not include your personal working conditions in the answer to this discussion question.

· Please follow the instructions and experience the constraints that nurse managers typically work within.

· You will be using a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet in this discussion.  You only can change the cells in the spreadsheet that are "unlocked" for your use.  Some cells have a red flag in their upper right corner - click on the cell and you will see a pop-up box with information.

Approved Resources to Use in Writing Discussion Posts:

· The course textbook,

· any published peer-reviewed full-text article from the CINAHL database 

For your initial post, complete the following:

Next, find, open, and read the Excel spreadsheet document that goes with this discussion question. Complete the spreadsheet and attach it to your post. Then, return to the discussion question.  Prepare a minimum of a 200-word response using the instructions and the scoring rubric.

In your post, answer the following questions
Question 1:	Describe the process of creating your own staffing positions and 2-week schedule. If the acuity or average daily census on your unit goes up during a year's time, and your budget plan does not include an increase in acuity levels or an increase in census, what will you need to do as a leader and manager in this organization?
Question 2:	If the acuity at your facility goes DOWN during a year's time, and your budget plan does not include direction for a decreased census, what will you need to do as a nursing leader/manager?

Response Posts