Enhancing Quality and Safety Essay Assignment
Please use the issue of staffing shortages. I have attached the PDF that has more instructions on the issues. I have also attached the scoring guide.
For this assessment, you will analyze a safety quality issue in a health care setting and identify a quality improvement (QI) initiative.
Be sure that your plan addresses the following, which corresponds to the grading criteria in the scoring guide. Please study the scoring guide carefully so that you know what is needed for a distinguished score. Enhancing Quality and Safety Essay Assignment
- Explain factors leading to a specific patient-safety risk in a health care setting.
- Explain evidence-based and best-practice solutions to improve patient safety and reduce costs.
- Explain how nurses can help coordinate care to increase patient safety and reduce costs.
- Identify stakeholders with whom nurses would coordinate to drive safety enhancements with a specific safety quality issue.
- Communicate using writing that is clear, logical, and professional, with correct grammar and spelling, using current APA style.
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- Length of submission: 3–5 pages, plus title and reference pages.
- Number of references: Cite a minimum of 4 sources of scholarly or professional evidence that support your findings and considerations. Resources should be no more than 5 years old.
- APA formatting: References and citations are formatted according to current APA style.
Patient safety, a top priority in healthcare, reflects quality. The nurses’ emphasis on patient safety is detrimental to improving the quality of care and preventing medical errors (Vaismoradi, 2020). Healthcare staffing shortage is a crucial problem in today’s healthcare sector because it affects patient safety, quality of care, and health professionals’ well-being. These shortages are caused by different factors, such as the aging population, excessive movement of healthcare workers, or lack of financial means of healthcare institutions (Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, 2022). Sufficient staffing significantly enhances the chances of high-quality patient care and safety (American Hospital Association, 2022). As patient acuity rises and demand for healthcare services grows, the strain on the existing workforce becomes more pronounced. Enhancing Quality and Safety Essay Assignment
Towards this end, using evidence-backed programs, giving nurses a leadership role in care coordination, and involving major stakeholders are crucial components in championing patient safety, delivering better care services, and managing the understaffing risks (World Health Organization, 2020). This paper will highlight key contributing factors to these staffing shortages, provide evidence-based solutions to minimize patient safety risks and underscore the vital role of nurses in managing health care in these circumstances. These strategies, if implemented, will be building blocks that can be used to create a more resilient and sustainable healthcare system for all.
Factors Leading to Patient Safety Risks from Staffing Shortages
The demand for handling an augmented patient-to-staff rate is practically a greater workload for healthcare professionals, leading to patient safety problems. Missed care and medication errors are the main consequences of nurses working over the clock. They may not be able to complete all essential tasks with attention as some mandatory procedures may be overlooked, and incorrect administration of medications might happen (Phillips et al., 2021). Furthermore, insufficient staffing delays responding to patients’ call requests and worsening conditions. These consequences ultimately hinder prompt reactions and result in worse outcomes (Twigg et al., 2021). This delay in healthcare can give rise to a lot of problems, especially in emergencies where you need swift action. Besides, chronic understaffing causes a relentless work environment, leading to burnout, job dissatisfaction, and high turnover. Hence, this vicious cycle cannot end as long as the hospital has insufficient staff. The continuous jostling leads to gaps in constant care, subsequently adding to patient safety risks (Chan et al., 2021). Enhancing Quality and Safety Essay Assignment
The factors that contribute to healthcare workforce deficiency are multiple and interdependent. The aging population will result in rising dependency on health services. A high staff turnover rate will worsen the situation as the government is slow to meet the current demand. Financial limitations of healthcare facilities, in addition, not only cause staff shortages but also make it hard to get the needed staff to respond to the needs of the patients. Burnout and work-related stress are the other contributors to this growing understaffing problem. It becomes increasingly difficult for them to cope with the exceptional pressures of their roles as they lack resources. Disentangling these multi-dimensional factors is an approach that should be pursued to keep the negative impact of staff shortage on safety and quality of patient care at its least detrimental level. Through evidence-based approaches and the involvement of healthcare providers in the process, healthcare institutions can move closer to ensuring the safety and well-being of patients and employees rather than against it.
Evidence-Based Solutions to Improve Patient Safety and Reduce Costs
Some evidence-based strategies may be able to help manage the risks on the safety side as well as reduce costs. Staffing nurses per acceptable ratio has led to better patient outcomes. Implementing mandated minimum staffing ratios based on patient acuity ensures adequate supervision and care delivery (Flaubert et al., 2021). Besides this, optimizing the skill structure among healthcare workers also assists in efficient task delegation. Therefore, nurses can focus on complex patient care while other team members carry out routine tasks (Swanson et al., 2020). Telehealth and remote patient monitoring technologies can be integrated to help alleviate staffing pressures of providing virtual consultations and continuous monitoring, especially when and where there are geographically remote areas (Haleem et al., 2021). This evidence-based approach improves patient safety by helping to make sure that there are enough personnel on duty and effective task allocation. It also reduces costs by optimizing resource utilization and improving workflow efficiency. Through these strategies, healthcare entities will remedy staffing disruptions adequately while delivering high-quality patient care and reducing operational costs. Enhancing Quality and Safety Essay Assignment
Role of Nurses in Coordinating Care
Nurses are central in care coordination for patient security and higher patient safety, while the staffing shortage is impacting the healthcare system. They function as patients’ representatives, guaranteeing their requirements are complied with and treatment is delivered most effectively. As part of the collaboration with interdisciplinary teams, nurses inform other care providers regarding patients’ status and treatment plans. This way, the process of patient transition and the continuity of care is ensured. Additionally, nurses’ improvement of the quality of medical care is another factor in the process, which involves identifying their areas for improvement and providing significant insight to bring organizational change. When there are not enough staff nurses, they use prioritization and delegation to effectively manage the patient’s requirements with increased efficiency of the workflow process (Flaubert et al., 2021). By promoting evidence-based protocols and using automation tools in their work, nurses bring the processes to order, reduce human error, and improve patient safety (Swanson et al., 2020). Besides that, nurses watch out for the development of patients and families by educating them and collaborating with them on care plans that aim to improve safety and outcomes. Such versatile roles reflect the nurses’ crucial contribution to planning for care during staff shortages, which is a goal that supports patient safety and lowers costs in health settings. Enhancing Quality and Safety Essay Assignment
Stakeholders Involved in Driving Safety Enhancements
Nurses must work with other stakeholder partners to develop safety improvements with staff shortages. Hospital administrators play a crucial role by utilizing the resources and supporting initiatives that tackle staff shortages. Nurses can work with administrators to advance decently staffed levels, develop well-structured development policies, and offer competitive compensation intended to attract and retain competent nurses (Flaubert et al., 2021). In addition, policymakers play a significant role by putting regulations and policies in place to offer adequate staffing levels and workforce stability. Nurses should support the legislative laws that expand the health workforce by providing loan repayment programs and enhancing working conditions to reduce staff shortages (Swanson et al., 2020). Collaborating with educational institutions would also be important in dealing with long-term staffing challenges. With nursing schools, nurses can develop strategies to increase enrolment, facilitate placement, and specialize in skill shortage areas. Through connecting with hospital administration, policymakers, and any educational facility, nurses actively identify safety standard achievements, guarantee proper staffing and deliver top-quality care in the most challenging nursing situations.
Conclusion
Addressing healthcare staffing shortages is vital to maintaining the safety of patients and providing high-quality care. While nurses are actively promoting patient care coordination, advocating for patients, and driving safety improvements in conditions of nurse shortage, at the same time, they also suffer from the difficulties of adapting to new technologies, dealing with stressful situations, and functioning under high workloads. Addressing the problem of staff shortage in health care is not easy. Still, by implementing evidence-based solutions, encouraging nurses to take on leadership roles and collaborating with relevant actors, healthcare institutions can shred the risks and improve patient outcomes. Staffing shortages in healthcare facilities arise from the complex factors beneath them; therefore, administrators, policymakers, educational institutions, and healthcare professionals must cooperate to thwart the situation and create a more robust healthcare system. Thus, organizations that pledge to be patient-centered and quality-driven in healthcare institutions can create a safer and more inventive environment for patients and healthcare professionals. Enhancing Quality and Safety Essay Assignment
References
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. (2022, October). 2022 National Healthcare Quality and Disparities Report. Www.ahrq.gov. https://www.ahrq.gov/research/findings/nhqrdr/nhqdr22/index.html
American Hospital Association. (2022). 5 ways to ease staffing shortages now and into the future | AHA. Www.aha.org. https://www.aha.org/aha-center-health-innovation-market-scan/2022-02-15-5-ways-ease-staffing-shortages-now-and-future
Chan, G., Bitton, J., Allgeyer, R., Elliott, D., Hudson, L., & Moulton Burwell, P. (2021). The impact of COVID-19 on the nursing workforce: A national overview. OJIN: The Online Journal of Issues in Nursing, 26(2). https://doi.org/10.3912/ojin.vol26no02man02
Flaubert, J. L., Menestrel, S. L., Williams, D. R., & Wakefield, M. K. (2021). The role of nurses in improving health care access and quality. In www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov. National Academies Press (US). https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK573910/
Haleem, A., Javaid, M., Singh, R. P., & Suman, R. (2021). Telemedicine for healthcare: Capabilities, features, barriers, and applications. Sensors International, 2(2), 100117. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sintl.2021.100117
Phillips, J., Malliaris, A. P., & Bakerjian, D. (2021). Nursing and patient safety. Ahrq.gov. https://psnet.ahrq.gov/primer/nursing-and-patient-safety
Swanson, M., Wong, S. T., Martin‐Misener, R., & Browne, A. J. (2020). The role of registered nurses in primary care and public health collaboration: A scoping review. Nursing Open, 7(4), 1197–1207. https://doi.org/10.1002/nop2.496
Twigg, D. E., Whitehead, L., Doleman, G., & El‐Zaemey, S. (2021). The impact of nurse staffing methodologies on nurse and patient outcomes: A systematic review. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 77(12). https://doi.org/10.1111/jan.14909
Vaismoradi, M. (2020). Nurses’ adherence to patient safety principles: A systematic review. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(6), 1–15. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17062028
World Health Organization. (2020). Patient safety assessment manual. World Health Organization, Regional Office For The Eastern Mediterranean. Enhancing Quality and Safety Essay Assignment
