Developing Organizational Policies and Practices Essay
Add a section to the 2-3 page paper you submitted (see attached) in Module 1. For this assignment, in 1-2 pages, address the following:
· Identify and describe at least two competing needs impacting your selected healthcare issue/stressor.–
· Describe a relevant policy or practice in your organization that may influence your selected healthcare issue/stressor.
· Critique the policy for ethical considerations and explain the policy\’s strengths and challenges in promoting ethics.–
· Recommend one or more policy or practice changes designed to balance the competing needs of resources, workers, and patients while addressing any ethical shortcomings of the existing policies. Be specific and provide examples.–
Resource Synthesis–
Written Expression and Formatting—Paragraph Development and Organization:
Paragraphs make clear points that support well-developed ideas, flow logically, and demonstrate the continuity of ideas. Sentences are carefully focused—neither long and rambling nor short and lacking substance. A clear and comprehensive purpose statement and introduction are provided, which delineates all required criteria.– Developing Organizational Policies and Practices Essay
Written Expression and Formatting—English Writing Standards:
Correct grammar, mechanics, and proper punctuation.–
Written Expression and Formatting:
The paper follows the correct APA format for the title page, headings, font, spacing, margins, indentations, page numbers, running head, parenthetical/in-text citations, and reference list.–
A Relevant Organizational Policy that Influences Nursing Staff Shortages
As a healthcare professional in a primary care organization, specifically the medical surgical department, nursing staff shortages result in detrimental effects, especially in the perioperative care settings. In this sense, low numbers of healthcare professionals compromise quality care delivery by leading to delays, poor nurse-patient ratios, increased risks of medication errors, massive workloads, and burnout. Beitz (2019) states that an aging workforce, a high turnover rate, and early retirement are among the causal factors contributing to nursing staff shortages in perioperative care settings. These factors necessitate the development of strategies for managing the transition, maintaining a committed workforce, and ensuring employee retention. Unfortunately, our organization does not have a policy for sustaining employee retention. Instead, it relies massively upon short-term fixes, including short-term contractual agreements, recruiting additional nurses, and providing financial incentives. Although these strategies provide short-term solutions to the problem, they are costly and unsustainable. Developing Organizational Policies and Practices Essay
Critiquing the Policy for Ethical Considerations
Overemphasizing short-term strategies for addressing nursing staff shortages is costly and yields only time-bound benefits. From a perspective of ethical considerations for nursing practice, nurses have a moral obligation to benefit patients, avoid or minimize harm, and respect patients’ values and preferences (Varkey et al., 2021). These standards are consistent with the four bioethical principles: beneficence, non-maleficence, autonomy, and justice. Although nurses should strictly comply with these ethical principles, their ability to consistently uphold ethical considerations in nursing practices relies massively upon organizational issues. For instance, they should work in clinical settings free from stressors like burnout, increased workload, nursing staff shortages, and elements of uncivil workplace cultures, including bullying, structural discrimination, and violence. As a result, it is possible to evaluate the current interventions for addressing nursing staff shortages from the perspective of assisting nurses to comply with bioethical principles.
Short-term interventions like providing incentives to nurses, hiring additional clinicians, and contract-based employments have various strengths, including providing timely solutions and improving employees’ motivation. However, these measures are unsustainable and unreliable because they overlook the root causes of nurse staff shortages. Khalil & Alameddine (2020) contend that unfavorable working conditions, poor workforce management, and limited opportunities for personal and professional development are among the underlying causes of nurse staff shortages. Short-term interventions have a weakness in ignoring these factors and favoring costly superficial solutions that exacerbate the situation rather than improving it.
Recommendations for Practice Change and Policy
Based on the strengths and limitations of a short-term solution for nursing staff shortages, it is evident that the organization should opt for sustainable and evidence-based recruitment and retention policy. In this sense, organizational leaders should emphasize strategies addressing the root causes of staff members’ shortages, including increased workloads, burnout, uncivil workplace behaviors, and a lack of opportunities for personal and professional development. According to Lockhart (2020), a contingency plan for tackling nursing staff shortages should encompass interventions for reducing nursing turnover, including improving orientation and role transitions for new clinicians, exercising zero tolerance for bullying, mitigating burnout by eliminating mandatory overtime, establishing shared governance programs to involve nurses in scheduling decisions, workflows, and poverty, and mentorship programs to foster satisfaction and retention. A positive work environment contributes to employees’ commitment, job satisfaction, and reduced intentions to quit. Developing Organizational Policies and Practices Essay
Conclusion
Nursing staff shortages pose a significant threat to the current healthcare systems by compromising quality care delivery and leading to other adverse consequences. While healthcare organizations encounter competing needs that influence policies for preventing nurse shortages, it is essential to focus on long-term interventions instead of short-term fixes that are costly and ineffective. A comprehensive policy for addressing nursing staff shortages should include interventions that promote talent recruitment and retention, including preceptorship and mentorship programs, providing opportunities for professional development, creating a conducive environment free from incivility, and transition management to replace the aging workforce. Developing Organizational Policies and Practices Essay
References
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
Haddad, L. M., Toney-Butler, T. J., & Annamaraju, P. (2022, February 22). Nursing shortage. StatPearls Publishing. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK493175/
Khalil, M., & Alameddine, M. (2020). Recruitment and retention strategies, policies, and their barriers: A narrative review in the Eastern Mediterranean Region. Health Science Reports, 3(4). https://doi.org/10.1002/hsr2.192
Korownyk, C., McCormack, J., Kolber, M. R., Garrison, S., & Allan, G. M. (2017). Competing demands and opportunities in primary care. Canadian Family Physician, 63(9), 664–668. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5597006/
Lockhart, L. (2020). Strategies to reduce nursing turnover. Nursing made incredibly easy! 18(2), 56. https://doi.org/10.1097/01.nme.0000653196.16629.2e
Varkey, B. (2021). Principles of clinical ethics and their application to practice. Medical Principles and Practice, 30(1), 17–28. https://doi.org/10.1159/000509119 Developing Organizational Policies and Practices Essay
