Feb 23, 2024 NURS 6053 Week 1 Discussion: Review of Current Healthcare Issues SAMPLE
NURS 6053 Week 1 Discussion: Review of Current Healthcare Issues SAMPLE
NURS 6053 Week 1 Discussion Review of Current Healthcare Issues SAMPLE
RE: Discussion – Week 1
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Over the past years even before I started practicing nursing science, some of the problems that the health care system has been facing include affordable healthcare coverage and services, access to quality healthcare, and the evolution of information technology. Moreover, the Triple Aim which is a framework that is established by the Institute of Healthcare Improvement is innovated for addressing the concerns and issues in the health care system. To address these concerns and issues, “The goal was to improve the healthcare issues by improving access to healthcare, improving health outcomes, and decreasing the cost of healthcare delivery” (Laureate Education, 2018). The national healthcare issue/stressor that is selected for analysis and explanation of how the healthcare issue/stressor may impact my work setting is understaffing/shortage of nurses and medical burnout.
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In NURS 6053 Week 1 Discussion: Review of Current Healthcare Issues SAMPLE, Describe how your health system work setting has responded to the healthcare issue/stressor, including a description of what changes may have been implemented. Be specific and provide examples.
I have worked in various facilities where there is understaffing and a shortage of nurses. The shortage of nurses in the health care system has been a huge problem in the health care system which still remains a major problem today. There should be an equilibrium between nurse staffing and the number of patients. One of the priorities of the health care providers is to have a well-trained nurse to provide adequate quality care. If there is a shortage of nurses, the available ones will be prone to mental and physical fatigue which can also lead to fatigue syndrome. Moreover, nurses that have “burnout
syndrome” can make clinical errors. Medication error for example can cause permanent damage to the health of the patient of eventually leads to death. In addition, nurses are prone to “burnout syndrome” which is described “as a feeling of failure and exhaustion resulting from excessive demands on the energy, personal resources or spiritual strength of workers that prevent them from providing care and assistance to users of organizations in different fields whose primary objective is to help others”( Ruiz-Fernández et al.,2020).
My facility reacts to this issue by writing the American Nursing Association (ANA) on how to identify major elements to achieve optimal staffing which includes: the consumer, interprofessional teams, workplace culture, practice environment, and evaluation (American Nursing Association, n.d). Unfortunately, this has been an ongoing problem of health care systems for years which is still a problem till today. The immediate response was sent to the facility; however, the promises and solutions have not been implemented till today as the facility still suffers a shortage of nurses. However, since there were no forthcoming solutions from the government despite that the American Nursing Association (ANA) promised to get across to the legislators on the issue of shortage of nurses especially in the remote areas, the facilities had to implement an increase of overtime from “ a time and a half to a time and three-quarter” to nurses who are ready to work overtime. Moreover, the available nurses in urban centers were trained with the use of telemedicine so that they can see patients through this information technology in case the number of patients supersedes the available nurses in the remote areas – NURS 6053 Week 1 Discussion: Review of Current Healthcare Issues SAMPLE.
References
American Nursing Association. (n.d.). Principles for nurse staffing. Retrieved from American Nursing Association. (n.d.). Principles for nurse staffing. Retrieved from https://www.nursingworld.org/practice-policy/nurse-staffing/staffing-principles/
Griffiths, D. (2017). How low staffing levels intensify risk stressors for nurses. Ohio Nurses Review, 92(2), 11.
Laureate Education (Producer). (2018). The Healthcare Environment [Video file]. Baltimore, MD: Author.
Ruiz-Fernández, M. D., Pérez-García, E., & Ortega-Galán, Á. M. (2020). Quality of Life in Nursing Professionals: Burnout, Fatigue, and Compassion Satisfaction. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(4).
National Healthcare Issue/Stressor
Hi A! I enjoyed reading your discussion post on the nursing shortage and how it has become a
NURS 6053 Week 1 Discussion Review of Current Healthcare Issues SAMPLE
national healthcare issue/stressor. Nursing shortages have been an issue for sometime and continue to be due to many factors. One factor that effects the nursing shortage in rural areas and primary care settings is due to most nursing schools are located in metropolitan areas and those acute care hospitals tend to attract the newer graduates (Haryanto, 2019). In urban areas, rehabilitation hospitals and skilled nursing facilities tend to have a shortage due to salary expectations.
There is also a demand problem with the number of inpatient, critical and labor-intensive patients that have increased due to the aging population and the advancement of keeping ill patients alive longer (Upenieks, 2003). These patients require increased work hours by nurses to care for them. Lastly, retention of nurses has been an issue. Many hospitals have incentive programs and have increased pay, but money is not the only problem, nurses want to be appreciated and respected. According to Upenieks,2003, nurses want to be recognized for their expertise and be a part of the decision-making when it comes to patient care. There are many more issues that have contributed to the nursing shortage, these are just a few as required by NURS 6053 Week 1 Discussion: Review of Current Healthcare Issues SAMPLE.
Impact on my Healthcare Organization and Their Solution
When my hospital found itself in a nursing shortage, the first thing they did was to offer incentive sign-on bonuses and retention bonuses. At first, this strategy worked, and we were almost fully staffed. However, the nurses weren’t feeling appreciated and still felt overwhelmed by the acuity of the patients. The hospital never has fully figured out how to fix the acuity issue, but they did come up with an appreciation strategy that has seemed to help some on the retention factor. The “Yeti Yell” is the name of the appreciation program- NURS 6053 Week 1 Discussion: Review of Current Healthcare Issues SAMPLE.
Anyone can nominate a nurse for this program. There are forms all over the hospital that you fill out on why you are giving a “Yeti Yell”. These forms are duplicate so once you fill it out, one copy goes to the person you are appreciating, and the other goes to administration. The forms that administration receive are then compiled and put out in an email newsletter for all to read and one person is drawn every month to receive a Yeti Tumbler of their choice. Nurses have felt more appreciated since this program started almost two years ago and many who were thinking of moving on before the program started, have stayed. You can hear them talk about how someone gave them a “Yeti Yell” and how it makes their day and makes them feel like what they are doing matters and is appreciated. This program is not a complete solution to retention, however it is a start in the right direction.
References
Haryanto, Mickey & RN-BC, MBA. (2019). Nursing Shortage: Myth or Fact?. Orthopedic
Nursing, 38, 1-2. https://doi.org/10.1097/NOR.0000000000000535
Upenieks V. (2003). Recruitment and retention strategies: a magnet hospital prevention
model. Nursing Economic$, 21(1), 7–23.
https://search-ebscohost-
com.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/login.aspx?direct=true&db=rzh&AN=106823835&site=ehos
RE: Discussion – Week 1
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Description of the National Healthcare Issue
I currently work in a mental health unit where we have patients that with mental illnesses and substance abuse. In my unit, I see a big turnover with patients struggling with alcohol abuse. Unfortunately, we have been seeing more patients admitted for substance abuse due to the Pandemic. These are very stressful times, and our staffing department has been struggling to keep our mental health units staffed safely by using a grid for each unit. Sometimes the grid doesn’t make sense to me because the acuity is high most times in mental health and we need extra staff so we can deliver the best care.
Our patients that are admitted due to alcohol abuse are most times on a CIWA protocol. A CIWA protocol is a tool used to determine what level of severity of detox the patient is in according to their symptoms. With the CIWA protocol, we also medicate the patient according to a score used measured by the patients symptoms. According to the World Health Organization (2018), “Worldwide, 3 million deaths every year result from harmful use of alcohol, this represents 5.3 % of all deaths”. Alcoholism can be triggered by so many factors in people’s lives. Unfortunately, alcohol can be the only coping skill for some people to get through their daily struggles. I have seen very sick patients who struggle with alcoholism, one being liver disease. In 2018 there were 83,517 deaths due to liver disease starting with the age of 12 and older, this included 42.8 % that involved alcohol (National Institute of Alcohol NIH, 2019).
Impact of Registered Nurse Shortage in high acuity settings
Since alcoholism comes with many factors which not only included physical illnesses but also mental illnesses, we as nurses not only have to care for the patient physically but also mentally. Since these patients are most times very ill, our acuity on the mental health unit is very high. These patients require a lot of attention and most times are suicidal as well. Most times we are short staffed due to a grid that was made according to census. For example, if we have 12 patients one mental health unit (hall), then the grid states we only need 2 nurses and one tech. To some people this may sound accurate, but unless you have worked on a mental health unit and detox unit, this is short. We deal with patients yelling, cursing, and threatening us which we have to call security and medicate the patient, then we have the detox patients that we also have to care for and make sure they are not regressing.
In between all these we have to do not hour rounds but Q15 minute rounds for each patient. Because the treatment for alcoholism and mental illness is different, we as nurses have to know the signs of regression for alcoholism and the signs of escalation for mental illness. Although alcoholism is considered a mental illness, the protocol of care is very different. Our units can become very hectic and challenging and sometimes may leave us with tears, but my peers are very skilled, and we never leave anyone drowning in work. If we can only have one more nurse or tech to help out on the floor, it would make a positive and significant difference on the attention and care we give our patients. According to the Journal of the American Psychiatric Nurse Association (APNA), 2016, “Acuity. Aligning staffing based on patient needs and acuity is an important consideration for risk mitigation and safety on the unit (Delaney & Johnson, 2006)”.
References
Alcohol Facts and Statistics. (n.d.). Retrieved December 1, 2020, from https://www.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/brochures-and-fact-sheets/alcohol-facts-and-statistics
Alcohol. (n.d.). Retrieved December 1, 2020, from https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/alcohol
APNA Position Statement: Staffing Inpatient Psychiatric Units, 2012. (n.d.). Retrieved December 1, 2020, from https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1078390311432133
I too discussed nursing shortages as a healthcare issue. It was interesting to read your views and research on the topic. My initial reaction to nursing shortages was to target the work environment and compensation issues that nurses face which lead to shortages. However, when I dug a bit deeper into researching about this; my eyes were opened to an entire world of reasons why there are shortages. “It is critical to include the systematic issues in education, health delivery systems and the work environment. Further, the impact of reimbursement, legislation, regulation and technological advances must also be considered. Failure to consider the relationships among these aspects limits the full appreciation of the nursing workforce shortage complexity.” (aacnnursing.org, 2022) Shortages are prevalent in the media amongst bedside nurses but extends to all specialties of practice. I was astounded at how much of a faculty shortage there is as well. How does an aspiring nurse achieve success in the first step of their career without the proper educators and resources? Let’s not forget the mounting stress of how these shortages will impact them upon entering the field as graduate nurses.
“The shortage has pros and cons for nursing students. One pro is being able to find a job quickly after graduation. A key disadvantage, though, is that nursing programs have fewer openings. For students, this means acceptance into a program may be more challenging.” (nursejournal.org,2022) The issue with the pro here is that graduate nurses will have astronomical ratios, which is unsafe for all involved. Nurses, even of novice status should not have 6-7 patients on a progressive care unit, or 4 ICU patients. Patients come first. That’s what we are taught and that’s how it should stay, but what if a system is put into effect where both patients and providers are #1. Also, these nursing shortages drop patients to last on the list of priorities. That’s another discussion completely.
American Association of Colleges of Nursing: The Voice of Academic Nursing. (n.d.). Retrieved September 1, 2022, from https://www.aacnnursing.org/News-Information/Position-Statements-White-Papers/Reverse-Shortage
Writers, S. (2022, August 29). Post-pandemic nursing shortage: What it means for aspiring nurses. NurseJournal. Retrieved September 1, 2022, from https://nursejournal.org/articles/post-pandemic-nursing-shortage/
NURS 6053 Week 1 Discussion: Review of Current Healthcare Issues SAMPLE
NURS 6053 Week 1 Discussion: Review of Current Healthcare Issues SAMPLE
The perennial nursing shortage is a national healthcare issue of concern. Statistics at national and international levels show that the shortage of healthcare worker (HCWs) is profound and affects effective and quality service delivery. The World Health Organization (WHO) projects that the nursing shortage could hit 12.9 million by 2035 (Marc et al., 2018). Nursing shortage creates unsafe working environment and increases fatigue, high turnover rates, and make nurses susceptible to medication administration errors. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the situation as the demand for healthcare services has increased, leading to more strain and burden on nurses, especially those working in critical care settings and others with elderly patient populations with chronic and terminal conditions.
Nursing shortage has impacted my work setting negatively as we enhance efforts to provide care to a patient diversity coming to the facility. Low staff retention, reduced levels of patient’s satisfaction, and a rise in hospital acquired infections are some of the negative effects of nursing shortage in our facility. When patient workload exceeds the available shift nurses, patients experience low levels of satisfaction. Unsafe staffing ratios contribute to burnout and high turnover rates (Alenezi et al., 2018). Further, increased length of stay happens due to higher nurse-to-patient ratios lead to more complications and a rise of hospital acquired infections.
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Many healthcare settings are struggling in responding to nursing shortage because of the few options available (Marshall & Broome, 2017). Our facility is now leveraging technologies like telehealth to enhance access and quality for patients with chronic conditions like diabetes and hypertension who require constant monitoring. While studies show that nursing supply may exceed demand in the near future, using technologies and innovative models like increased training and flexibility can help organizations mitigate the adverse effects of nursing shortage.
References
Alenezi, A. M., Aboshaiqah, A., & Baker, O. (2018). Work‐related stress among nursing staff
working in government hospitals and primary health care centers. International Journal of Nursing Practice, 24(5). https://doi.org/10.1111/ijn.12676
Marc, M., Bartosiewicz, A., Burzynska, J., Chmiel, Z., & Januszewicz, P. (2018). A
nursing shortage – a prospect of global and local policies. International Nursing Review, 66(1), 9-16. https://doi.org/10.1111/inr.12473.
Marshall, E. S., & Broome, M. E. (2017). Transformational leadership in nursing: From expert
clinician to influential leader (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Springer
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Nurses work in different settings with varying work demands, support mechanisms, and approaches to work. Regardless of these differences, healthcare stressors are part of everyday work. These stressors are usually workplace challenges widespread in the United States that hamper nurses’ ability to deliver timely and effective care (Rose et al., 2021). The nursing shortage is a prevalent national stressor with far-reaching effects on patient care. It is characterized by higher demand for nurses than the current supply.
The effects of the nursing shortage witnessed in other organizations may be experienced in my work setting. As Shah et al. (2021) explained, the nursing shortage is a leading cause of burnout among nurses. It increases the nurse-patient ratio implying that nurses are overworked and may lack time for self-care and other activities that enhance commitment to work. Shah et al. (2021) further observed that nurses experiencing burnout are more likely to commit medical errors than nurses working within the standard nurse-patient ratios. Errors risk patient safety and damage patients’ trust in healthcare providers. Burnout triggers turnover and increases an organization’s management costs since replacing nurses is costly.
NURS 6053 Week 1 Discussion Review of Current Healthcare Issues SAMPLE
To avert the damaging effects of the nursing shortage, healthcare organizations should implement robust strategies, both staff-centered and organization-wide. My healthcare setting has responded to the nursing shortage through continuous supervision of staff, motivation programs, and formulating policies that prevent work overload. As Lee and Lee (2022) noted, nurse motivation is critical to creating a positive work atmosphere and retaining nurses. The same perspective guides the management when developing and implementing motivation programs. Regarding the changes that may have been implemented, nurses need mental strength to cope with the increasing workload. As a result, the management should invest more in coping programs and organize appropriate training initiatives to improve nurses’ resilience.
References
Lee, J. Y., & Lee, M. H. (2022). Structural model of retention intention of nurses in small-and medium-sized hospitals: Based on Herzberg’s Motivation-Hygiene theory. Healthcare, 10(3), 502. https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare10030502
Rose, S., Hartnett, J., & Pillai, S. (2021). Healthcare worker’s emotions, perceived stressors and coping mechanisms during the COVID-19 pandemic. PLoS One, 16(7), e0254252. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0254252
Shah, M. K., Gandrakota, N., Cimiotti, J. P., Ghose, N., Moore, M., & Ali, M. K. (2021). Prevalence of and factors associated with nurse burnout in the US. JAMA Network Open, 4(2), e2036469-e2036469. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2020.36469
First response
Thanks, Tiffany, for this educative post. When I was trying to choose a healthcare stressor for this discussion, the first stressor that came to my mind was the shortage of healthcare providers, as this has been going on since the inception of COVID-19. Since this is a current issue, many other students may want to discuss this topic, so I chose a different stressor. Without any doubt, as you have mentioned, there are many factors influencing and challenging the healthcare industry in today’s world.
A shortage of healthcare providers is overwhelming the healthcare industry. High demand for healthcare providers’ services has inflicted severe financial pressure on staff shortages, high workloads, and work-related stress (Rodriquez Santana et al., 2020). As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, many healthcare providers died, creating a daunting situation for some people thinking of becoming healthcare providers. I know some people that changed their careers from healthcare to information technology just because of the havoc COVID-19 did to healthcare providers,
Impact of Healthcare this healthcare stressor at my workplace
Healthcare providers play a crucial role in the healthcare industry. Healthcare providers’ strife took much work to ensure their patients received the individualized quality care they deserved. Healthcare providers play a vital role in educating patients, advocating for them, and delivering comprehensive healthcare services and policy guidance ( Canavera et al., 2018). They take up the responsibility for planning and management of care of their patient.
After the COVID-19 pandemic, there is no doubt that there is a need
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