State-mandated nurse-to-patient ratios remains a controversial topic in healthcare. Sufficient nurse staffing is key to ensure adequate patient care, while scarce staffing effects patients’ safety and puts nurses at risk for burnout. Determining nurse-to-patient ratios in nursing facilities remains a challenge for the nursing profession. There are many factors to consider when determining staffing methods, such as cost, nurses’ satisfaction, patient outcomes and safety. Mandating ratios is one attempt at ensuring nurses’ workloads do not exceed what is needed for adequate patient care and safety.
At this time, the province’s ratio of 72 nurses to every 100,000 people lags behind the nation’s average of 83 nurses to every 100,000 Canadians. As per the Canadian Nurses Association prediction, there is a staggering demand of 60,000 nurses that is needed by the year 2022. With continuously emerging trends in healthcare services, Ontario has become the top dream destination for patient care providers from all over the world. Plenty of job opportunities, best pay packages, government support, continuing education for specialization, cost of living and a rewarding career brings internationally educated nurses to Ontario to shape up their future. Ontario
Budget Analysis Samwel Rorya Southwestern college professional studies NURS330: Nursing Leadership and Management Instructor: Pat Howell February 7, 2016 Budget Analysis This budget is for Meridian Nursing and Rehabilitation center (MNRC) .The calendar year is 2014 .According to the central supply personnel this budget was calculated at the end of year.
In studying Registered Nursing one will find that they have to be compassionate and want to care for others. Registered Nurses assist physicians with suffering patients of any medical condition. They help to decide the patient’s medicine, treatment, recovery, and educate the them and their families on post-medical treatment. They need to have bedside manner, and be able to prepare patients for surgery. Registered Nursing careers range anywhere from critical care, oncology, mental health, to an everyday school nurse.
Our nurses are being over worked and understaffed and no one is saying anything! There are mountains of evidence that show the adverse relationship between subpar nursing care and patient outcomes. Many people work overtime to make that overtime money because the hospital is usually understaffed. But because patient outcomes really depend on nurses to be in tip top shape, I think it is extremely important that hospitals eliminate working overtime. That is why I am asking policy makers to cosponsor the bill S. 1132: the Registered Nurse Safe Staffing Act of 2015.
1. After reviewing the reading on NP reimbursement--what do you think are the three most important concepts an NP should be familiar with to maximize their value? Why--provide rationale and justification. Overhead cost According to Waxman (2013) overhead cost is defined as the price of doing business.
Due to hospital care reaching an all-time high in America, we need nurses now more than ever before. Currently in America, we have an issue with nurses having too many paperwork to fill out. In the article “We Need More Nurses” by Alexandra Robbins argues we need more nurses in the hospital. Nursing shortage has been a common issue throughout the world. Because of this issue others are being affected in many different ways.
The article “Why Are Nurses Leaving? Findings From an Initial Qualitative Study on Nursing Attrition” by Carol Isaac MacKusick and Ptlene Minick is a qualitative research study with a phenomenological research design. The research question addressed in this article is the experience of registered nurses who flee bedside nursing. The sample provided were registered nurses (RN) in the United States who were mostly Caucasian females varying in ages 40-49. The sample size investigated was ten nurses total.
Mandatory overtime is an issue faced by many nurses across the nation. It is seen as a solution to the nursing shortage crisis; however, it is not a sustainable solution as it has led to an increase in medical errors, increased patient mortality, decreased job satisfaction, nurse fatigue, and deficits in nurse’s work performance. Several states have enacted or are considering laws to prohibit this problem. According to Rubenfire, “This is something that's been going on in hospitals for a very long time,” Ruben noted. “But it is not as focused on as much in the past.”
References Lopez, J. (2014, September 26). Clinical staff shortage: How your hospital can address staffing needs. Retrieved from http://www.healthcarebusinesstech.com/clinical-staff-shortage/: http://www.healthcarebusinesstech.com/clinical-staff-shortage/ Shortages, E. I. (2002, March). Ethical Issues Related to Staff Shortages. Retrieved from https://www.ache.org/policy/shortage.cfm: https://www.ache.org/policy/shortage.cfm Sultz, H. &.
Understaffing in hospitals is a major problem that has been affecting healthcare workers and patients for many years. I have chosen to highlight understaffing as a patient safety issue because of the consequences that can arise from it. Shortages in staffing can result in an increase of infection rates (Stone et al., 2007) leading to complications and poorer patient outcomes (Needleman et al. 2002). This particular issue is of interest to me because I have experienced and witnessed it myself. As a midwifery student in a busy maternity hospital, I can appreciate the hard work and dedication each midwife gives to their patients.
The importance of staff retention Nurse retention is to provide staff with implements that will empower them in the workplace. Empowerment in organizational structures include power and opportunity. Employees with high levels of power are included in lines of information, support, resources and opportunities to learn and grow (Schwinger ET AL., 2010). In additional employees who have high levels of opportunity in their jobs tend to be more proactive problem solvers and accept change. When staff have opportunity and power, they are motivated, feel more in control, have increased wellbeing and have greater job satisfaction (Schwinger ET AL., 2010).
A heavy nursing workload can influence the care provider’s decision to perform various procedures. A heavy workload may also reduce the time spent by nurses collaborating and communicating with physicians, therefore affecting the quality of nurse-physician collaboration” (ncbi). This is important because it tells us that nurses wouldn 't have enough time to perform tasks that can affect the patients’ care. If nurses are being overworked because of a nurse shortage, then patients’ would not have the best quality care they would need, which can be a
Ethical Issues in Nursing: Nurse-Patient Ratios Megan Harvey, Katie McKelvery, Erica Robbins & Cassandra Tingley St. Johns River State College March 2018 Ethical Issues in Nursing: Nurse-Patient Ratios Every day nurses are faced with ethical dilemmas. Challenges in these situations are becoming more and more complex due to increasing workload and sicker patients. When a nursing unit is understaffed not only are nurses more likely to become burnt out, but their patients are far less likely to receive the quality of care they deserve. The problem is that the Federal regulations require hospitals who participate in Medicare to “have ‘adequate’ numbers of licensed nurses (RN, LPN, CNA) to provide care to all patients as needed,” but the regulations
Large patient loads combined with a stressful work environment affects nurses’ abilities to provide quality healthcare. Patient safety should never be compromised. It is our responsibility to learn from research and improve our current nurse staffing ratios. Nurse staffing is key and affects all other outcomes. Without nurses administering the right treatment at the right time to the right patients, all other healthcare interventions are not effective.
