Analysis Of A Pertinent Healthcare Issue Assignment

Analysis Of A Pertinent Healthcare Issue Assignment

The healthcare institution is currently facing a deteriorating deficit of nurses and nurse managers, a trend that has been observed nationwide in recent years. This ongoing and escalating shortage of nursing professionals is unparalleled in the annals of modern healthcare (Tamata & Mohammadnezhad, 2023). Within our organization, seasoned nurses have exited the profession due to retirement or career transitions, leaving behind vacancies that the remaining nurses and leaders have struggled to fill (Broome & Marshall, 2021). This challenge is exacerbated by the absence of nursing education opportunities in baccalaureate nursing programs and the lack of experience among potential candidates for these open positions. As Beitz (2019) note, the scarcity of academic nursing education programs in the United States has been a persistent issue since the early 1970s. The purpose of this paper is to explain evidence-based strategies to curb the nursing shortage and how the strategies can be applied to our institution.

Two Outside Articles and How Issue is Addressed in Other Organizations

The issue of nursing shortages has been a long-standing challenge, and its effects on our institution are reflected in various important indicators (Baker, 2022). Based on our internal records, there has been a 15% rise in nurse-to-patient ratios in the last year, resulting in heavier workloads and possible risks to patient safety. Furthermore, there has been a 20% surge in burnout and discontentment among nursing staff, impacting overall staff morale per the survey done three months ago.

Two reputable sources have provided insights into how different organizations are addressing the nursing shortage problem. The initial article, authored by Ma et al. (2022), focuses on “Innovative Staffing Solutions for Nursing Shortages.” It examines the impact of a newly implemented therapeutic staffing model at the Kent and Medway NHS and Social Care Partnership Trust (KMPT). The article identifies several themes among the staff, including shift patterns, ward duties/workload, and morale. While the new model shows promise, it also highlights certain issues. The article suggests recommendations to enhance team cohesiveness, foster a sense of value, and strengthen professional identities. The second article, published by NSI Nursing Solutions, Inc. in 2021, is a report on national healthcare retention and RN staffing. According to this article, one measurable indicator of the severity of a hospital’s vacancy rate is the utilization of contract labor and overtime. The management should not perceive contract labor costs as mere operating expenses but rather incorporate them into the position control system. A more accurate understanding of the direct labor cost can be obtained by including these costs within the payroll cost line.

Strategies to Address Organizational Impact and the Positive/Negative Impact in Our Organization

The scholarly resources provide valuable strategies that could greatly benefit our organization. One such strategy is the flexible therapeutic staffing model introduced by Kent and Medway NHS & Social Care Partnership Trust, which outlines staffing levels for each service line and ward (Ma et al., 2022). This model emphasizes the importance of flexible rotas, career development for healthcare workers, and safe staffing through therapeutic models involving various disciplines. This model allows our organization to manage patient loads, especially during peak times, effectively.

Implementing strategies aimed at retaining employees, as suggested by NSI Nursing Solutions, Inc. (2021), has the potential to enhance job satisfaction and decrease burnout within our nursing team. To enhance the financial performance of our hospital, it is imperative to focus on enhancing our ability to retain staff, addressing vacancy rates, strengthening recruitment efforts, and managing labor costs effectively. The establishment and maintenance of a high-quality workforce are crucial for successfully managing the challenges associated with staffing.

The healthcare system faces mounting pressure due to the growing general population and aging population, leading to a higher demand for health services and, subsequently, nurses. While these strategies have their advantages, it is vital to acknowledge the potential challenges they pose. For example, the upfront costs of introducing new staffing models or retention programs could put a strain on our financial resources. Additionally, resistance to change from current staff members could impede the effective execution of these initiatives.

Conclusion

One of the most critical challenges facing our organization is the shortage of nurses, which has a significant impact on our overall well-being. To address this challenge and ensure the smooth functioning of our operations, we need to adopt effective strategies that can help us attract and retain nursing staff. These strategies can be sourced from presented external sources. Customizing these strategies to suit the organizational environment is also important, as it can help the organization achieve the desired outcomes and meet the unique needs of staff and patients. By investing in effective strategies, the organization can create an environment that supports the growth and development of our nursing staff, resulting in improved patient outcomes and overall organizational success.

References

Baker, D. W. (2022). Addressing the nursing shortage in the United States: An interview with Dr. Peter Buerhaus. Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety, 48(5), 298–300. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcjq.2022.02.006

Beitz, J. M. (2019). Addressing the perioperative nursing shortage through education: A perioperative imperative. AORN Journal, 110(4), 403–414. https://doi.org/10.1002/aorn.12805

Broome, M., & Marshall, E. S. (2021). Transformational leadership in nursing: From expert clinician to influential leader. Springer.

Ma, E., Kritsimali, A., Olby-Clements, B., Boyd, K., & Demirbasa, B. (2022). Innovative staffing solutions to nursing shortages in acute mental health inpatient wards. Issues in Mental Health Nursing, 43(2), 103–110. https://doi.org/10.1080/01612840.2021.1961331

NSI Nursing Solutions, Inc. (2021). 2021 NSI national health care retention & RN staffing report. http://www.nsinursingsolutions.com/Documents/Library/NSI_National_Health_Care_Retention_Report.pdf

Tamata, A. T., & Mohammadnezhad, M. (2023). A systematic review study on the factors affecting the shortage of nursing workforce in the hospitals. Nursing Open, 10(3), 1247–1257. https://doi.org/10.1002/nop2.1434

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The Quadruple Aim provides broad categories of goals to pursue to maintain and improve healthcare. Within each goal are many issues that, if addressed successfully, may have a positive impact on outcomes. For example, healthcare leaders are being tasked to shift from an emphasis on disease management often provided in an acute care setting to health promotion and disease prevention delivered in primary care settings. Efforts in this area can have significant positive impacts by reducing the need for primary healthcare and by reducing the stress on the healthcare system.

Changes in the industry only serve to stress what has always been true; namely, that the healthcare field has always faced significant challenges, and that goals to improve healthcare will always involve multiple stakeholders. This should not seem surprising given the circumstances. Indeed, when a growing population needs care, there are factors involved such as the demands of providing that care and the rising costs associated with healthcare. Generally, it is not surprising that the field of healthcare is an industry facing multifaceted issues that evolve over time.

In this module’s Discussion, you reviewed some healthcare issues/stressors and selected one for further review. For this Assignment, you will consider in more detail the healthcare issue/stressor you selected. You will also review research that addresses the issue/stressor and write a white paper to your organization’s leadership that addresses the issue/stressor you selected.

To Prepare:

• Review the national healthcare issues/stressors presented in the Resources and reflect on the national healthcare issue/stressors you selected for study.
• Reflect on the feedback you received from your colleagues on your Discussion post for the national healthcare issue/stressor you selected.
• Identify and review two additional scholarly resources (not included in the Resources for this module) that focus on change strategies implemented by healthcare organizations to address your selected national healthcare issue/stressor.

The Assignment (2-3 Pages):

Analysis of a Pertinent Healthcare Issue

Develop a 2-to-3-page paper, written to your organization’s leadership team, addressing your selected national healthcare issue/stressor and how it is impacting your work setting. Be sure to address the following:

• Describe the national healthcare issue/stressor you selected and its impact on your organization. Use organizational data to quantify the impact (if necessary, seek assistance from leadership or appropriate stakeholders in your organization).
• Provide a brief summary of the two articles you reviewed from outside resources on the national healthcare issue/stressor. Explain how the healthcare issue/stressor is being addressed in other organizations.
• Summarize the strategies used to address the organizational impact of national healthcare issues/stressors presented in the scholarly resources you selected. Explain how they may impact your organization both positively and negatively. Be specific and provide examples.

LEARNING RESOURCES

Required Readings

• Broome, M., & Marshall, E. S. (2021). Transformational leadership in nursing: From expert clinician to influential leader(3rd ed.). New York, NY: Springer.
  • Chapter 2, “Transformational Leadership: Complexity, Change, and Strategic Planning” (pp. 34–62)
  • Chapter 3, “Current Challenges in Complex Health Care Organizations and the Quadruple Aim” (pp. 66–97)

Read any TWO of the following (plus TWO additional readings on your selected issue):

• Amalberti, R., Vincent, C., Nicklin, W., & Braithwaite, J. (2019). Coping with more people with more illness Part 1: The nature of the challenge and the implications for safety and quality.Links to an external site.International Journal for Quality in Health Care, 31(2), 154–158.
• Bangani, R. G., Menon, V., & Jovanov, E. (2021). Personalized stress monitoring AI system for healthcare workersLinks to an external site.. 2021 IEEE International Conference on Bioinformatics and Biomedicine (BIBM), Bioinformatics and Biomedicine (BIBM), 2021 IEEE International Conference On, 2992–2997.
• Carter, M. W., & Busby, C. R. (2023). How can operational research make a real difference in healthcare? Challenges of implementationLinks to an external site.. European Journal of Operational Research, 306(3), 1059–1068.
• Dixon-Woods, M., McNicol, S., & Martin, G. (2012, October 1). Ten challenges in improving quality in healthcare: lessons from the Health Foundation’s programme evaluations and relevant literatureLinks to an external site.. BMJ Quality & Safety, 21(10), 876.
• Gjellebæk, C., Svensson, A., Bjørkquist, C., Fladeby, N., & Grundén, K. (2020). Management challenges for future digitalization of healthcare servicesLinks to an external site.. Futures, 124.
• Greco, E., Graziano, E. A., Stella, G. P., Mastrodascio, M., & Cedrone, F. (2022). The impact of leadership on perceived work-related stress in healthcare facilities organisationsLinks to an external site.. Journal of Organizational Change Management, 35(4/5), 734-748.
• Hale, K. (2021). Benefits and challenges of social media in health careLinks to an external site.. Critical Care Nursing Quarterly, 44(3), 309–315.
• Navaz, A. N., Serhani, M. A., El Kassabi, H. T., Al-Qirim, N., & Ismail, H. (2021). Trends, technologies, and key challenges in smart and connected healthcareLinks to an external site.. IEEE Access, Access, IEEE, 9, 74044–74067.
• Slonim, A. (2023). Top challenges facing healthcare: Back to basicsLinks to an external site.. Physician Leadership Journal, 10(2), 12–14. https://doi.org/10.55834/plj.2064149664

Academic Support Resources

Required Media

• Walden University, LLC. (Producer). (2015). Leading in Healthcare Organizations of the Future[Video file]. Baltimore, MD: Author.

This is just an example of using the rubric criterion as heading levels. Some in past quarters asked for this information. So thought I would continue to share that information.

Use the rubric criterion as heading levels in your work.

For example, the First heading level – HEADING LEVEL 1 COULD BE: National Healthcare Issue and Quantifying Data

The first criterion per rubric is:

• Describe the national healthcare issue/stressor you selected and its impact on your organization.
• Use organizational data to quantify the impact (if necessary, seek assistance from leadership or appropriate stakeholders in your organization)

The second criterion per rubric is:  Heading level could be: Two Outside Articles and How Issue is Addressed in Other Organizations

• Provide a summary of the two articles you reviewed from outside resources, on the national healthcare issue/stressor.
• Explain how the healthcare issue/stressor is being addressed in other organizations.

The third criterion per rubric is: Heading Level could be: Strategies to Address Organizational Impact and the Positive/Negative Impact in Your Organization

• Summarize the strategies used to address the organizational impact of national healthcare issues/stressors presented in the scholarly resources you selected. You also need to cite the literature with author and year for each strategy.
  • Not ok to say in Article 1 the strategy is!
  • An example only would be to Say, in article 1 written by Smith and Jones in 2012 included a good strategy of … just an example only!!!
• Explain how the strategies may impact your organization both positively and negatively. Be specific and provide examples.

Then be sure to include 4 sources from the Module 1 Learning resources and outside sources. See Rubric Resource Synthesis for that criterion.

Rubric

NURS_6053_Module01_Week02_Assignment_Rubric