NURS 6053: Interprofessional Organizational and Systems Leadership
Week 2 Initial Post
Care facilities have different staffing models to choose from it comes to providing
nursing care to their patients.
Nurse staffing studies have traditionally given crude
estimates of the amount of nursing resources available for care, for example, hours per
patient day (HPPD) assumes a standard time per occupied bed, whereas nurse/patient
ratios are based on average nurse capacity (Meyer & O’Brien-Pallas, 2010).
Profit and
money, generally, are not in the mission or vision statements of most facilities, but all too
frequently dictate the innovate staffing balance enforced upon care facilities (Mensik,
2016).
Currently, Registered Nurses are caring for the same critical and specialized patients in
shorter hospital stays (Mensik, 2016).
Changes made, at the federal and state levels,
regarding pay for services have impacted care facilities, causing budget cuts and staff
reductions to compensate.
Staffing, patient outcomes, and nurse satisfaction go hand in
hand (Mensik, 2016).
Reimbursement based on patient satisfaction and health outcomes
make staffing a struggle.
Health care systems are described as complex and adaptive
(Johnson, Miller, & Horowitz, 2008).
Change should be viewed as a challenge or a chance to do something new, but it is often
viewed as a threat (Marquis & Huston, 2015).
Because change disrupts the climate
within an organization, resistance should be expected and is a natural part of the change
process (Marquis & Huston, 2015).
There needs to be a balance of education and
innovation in care delivery models of today, that also prepare for tomorrow.
The Nursing
Services Delivery Theory (NSDT) examines the work of nurses, at the point of care, and
not just the work conditions or the structures of the role (Meyers & O’Brien-Pallas,
2010).
The NSDT offers managers new insights on prioritization and evaluation of
concurrent organizational initiatives that increase nursing efficiency, effectiveness, and
sustainability (Meyers & O’Brien-Pallas, 2010).
This offers a new theory for examining
and managing key ideas to influence the delivery of nursing services, at the point of care,
in large health care organizations (Meyer & O’Brien-Pallas, 2010).
In conclusion, with the ever-changing financial needs of an organization, paired with the
ever-increasing demands of health care, changes to staffing in health care facilities is
vital.
Long gone are the days when budget dictates minimal nursing staff to provide care.
It is far easier to change a person’s behaviors or views than that of an entire group, as
well as a person’s knowledge versus attitudes (Marquis & Huston, 2015).
Positive
change, however small, must start somewhere, why not with you?
References
Johnson, J.K., Miller, S.H. & Horowitz, S.D. (2008). Systems-based practice: Improving
the safety and quality of patient care by recognizing and improving the systems in
which we work. Retrieved
from:
-
Johnson_90.pdf
Marquis, B. L., & Huston, C. J. (2017). Leadership roles and management functions in
nursing: Theory and application (9th ed.). Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott, Williams
