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Findings

Dayana Lewandowski

Florida International University

November 17, 2016

Findings

Introduction

The topic “US nursing workload and patient safety," has become a subject of several research studies. The aspect of a heavy workload for nurses in hospitals has been the biggest impediment for quality services offered to patients. An explanation of this is a situation where nurses are highly demanded in fulfilling various duties, leading to a case of less staffing of available nurses. The role of this section is to present a summary of findings relating to the research about nurse workloads and patient safety. Segments covered include the limitations of the study, application of findings, the main recommendations, and a concluding statement.

Limitations of the Study

The study was limited by various factors encountered in the aspect of undertaking research. There was a case of fraught environments with frequent interruptions in human and technical support. There was a problem of insufficient integration and coordination of data. There was a problem of limited data while undertaking this project, making it impossible to validate any available data. Available data points were very hard to obtain in a short-period (Brooks, Otway, Rashid, Kilty & Maggs, 2001). The project was also constrained by issues of time where only a short period was utilized in undertaking an extensive research in the determination of nursing workload. Similarly, there was a problem of insufficient funding while conducting the study. Such an issue made it impossible to access certain regions for collecting data for the experiment.

Use and Application of Findings

The role of this segment is to give a summary of findings obtained from undertaking this research project. It was observed that the use and application of these findings might contribute largely to the fact that nursing workload is a problem contributable to many components other than the issue of staffing levels. As such, it is crucial to develop an understanding that nursing workload in a requirement for assessing its impact on the outcomes of patients. The aspect of developing feasible solutions can be experienced by developing solutions brought about by human factors and engineered approach to the problem of nursing workload.

Recommendations

Recommendations in this category can be explained by identifying individual objective and providing appropriate recommendation as identified below:

Recommendation 1: The Aspect of Increasing US Population and their Contribution

The aspect of an increasing US population is linked to the issue of increased nurses’ workload. The best recommendation in such a scenario is a case where all nurses must be allowed to gain quality education and training. Such an approach can be very beneficial in helping them to be able to attend to their staff in the most appropriate manner (Shields, 2004). The provision of trained professionals provides the healthcare industry with an assurance that quality services can be provided to the increasing population in the US. Advance Practice Registered Nurses (APRNs) is a component of trained professionals who are well equipped in the provision of autonomous care to a given population of their focus. Such a population is made up of primary care, critical care, mental health, and pediatric care making it possible for the provision of services to a wide population.

There is the need for the US government to cope up with the problem of increasing population of the US by employing more nurses and other healthcare providers. Such a mechanism would provide assurance that all people visiting health care facilities are attended to by care providers. The availability of increased healthcare providers must also be coupled with the provision of quality services. The quality of service can only be increased by the use of professionally qualified personnel working in healthcare learning institutions. The number of teachers in these institutions should also be increased to ensure that there are enough graduates who can be employed to work in various healthcare facilities. These workers would be in a position to attend to the increasing number of US populations accessing healthcare facilities.

Recommendation 2: High nursing workload is associated with non-optimal care and rising patient dissatisfaction rates

The case of increasing workload of nurses is associated with non-optimal care and rising patient dissatisfaction rates. The meaning here is that when the workload of nurses is increased, there is the tendency to have a case of patient dissatisfaction in hospitals (Zeytinoglu et al., 2007). The best remedy in such a case is to ensure a case for patient satisfaction. Patient satisfaction ensures increased cases of retaining patients and having appropriate clinical outcomes. Patient satisfaction can be enhanced through the delivery of patient services on schedule. An example is by avoiding the unnecessary wait for any lab results for the patient.

Customer satisfaction can be enhanced through the attribute of giving quality customer service. Quality service can be administered by understanding the complaint of each patient and providing personalized services in certain circumstances. All concerns of the patient should be handled in a professional manner. Standards must also be maintained in the waiting time of patients, office appearance, telephone service, problem-solving, patient education, and in any interaction between the doctor and the patient.

Recommendation 3: Nursing workload increases work burnout, stress, and rampant procedure deviations among the nursing staff

It has been observed that nursing workload increases work burnout, stress, and rampant procedure deviations among the nursing staff. The best remedy to such problems could be an aspect of maintaining safe staffing ratios as a mechanism of controlling the problem of nursing workloads. Safe staffing ratios can be applied to ensure that experienced nurses are retained, and making it favorable for luring those nurses who left the professional sometimes back (Cullen, Silverstein & Foley, 2008). Similarly, students are attracted to the profession since they are aware that their services will not be abused once they become employed. Cases of mandatory overtimes can be introduced to ensure that nurses are encouraged to stay in their jobs.

It is highly recommended that US hospitals employ the use and application of safe staffing ratios as a mechanism for ensuring improved performance of nurses. It has been observed that safe staffing ratios reduce the rate of turnover, thus contributing largely to the element of lower costs of staffing. Therefore, it is suggested that hospitals utilize the application of safe staffing ratios to ensure a case of improved performance of nurses.

Conclusion

Conducting any work of research on the subject of US nursing workload and patient safety presents an opportunity for accomplishing much to achieve success. The determination of the best approach means making sure that patient safety remains the number one priority of any healthcare institution. The best recommendation is to ensure that nursing workload does not become a problem in the provision of care, calling for appropriate strategies to be employed to correct that problem. The problem of the high population should be addressed by hiring more qualified nurses to handle the issue of increased number of patients. A case of nurse workloads should be solved amicably through the provision of proper measurements, which are meant to reduce the problem of increased burnout among the nursing staff.

References

Brooks, N., Otway, C., Rashid, C., Kilty, E., & Maggs, C. (2001). The patient’s view: the benefits and limitations of nurse prescribing. British Journal of Community Nursing, 6(7), 342-348.

Cullen, J., Silverstein, B., & Foley, M. (2008). Linking Biomechanical Workload and Organizational Practices to Burnout and Satisfaction. Journal of Business and Psychology, 23(1/2), 63-71. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/27753889

Shields, M. (2004). Addressing Nurse Shortages: What Can Policy Makers Learn from the Econometric Evidence on Nurse Labour Supply? The Economic Journal, 114(499), F464-F498. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/3590168

Zeytinoglu, I., Denton, M., Davies, S., Baumann, A., Blythe, J., & Boos, L. (2007). Deteriorated External Work Environment, Heavy Workload and Nurses' Job Satisfaction and Turnover Intention. Canadian Public Policy / Analyse De Politiques, 33, S31-S47. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/30032503