Nurse Staffing Challenge in Acute Care Hospitals

Karen Born, I. (2013). Evidence-based hospital nurse staffing: the challenges.

Healthydebate.ca.Retrieved 23 September 2016, from http://healthydebate.ca/2013/09/topic/politics-of-health-care/nurse-staffing-mix

In this journal, the author uses evidence-based techniques to identify the specific staffing challenges that face the nursing profession mostly in acute and intensive facilities. It is identified that the changing mix that is being used in some hospitals is facilitating replacement of Registered Nurse with the Licensed Practical Nurses as an effective strategy the facilities are using to increase on their savings. Mixed study methods are involved in determining how different hospitals handle the nursing staffing process to address the shortages which are currently being experienced and have lowered the efficiency in health care delivery.

The author indicates the training requirements of nurses who are supposed work in different hospitals considering their level of training. It is required that those working complex care units should have attained high education levels, such as a bachelor degree, which indicates their capabilities to attend to patients with different levels of unpredictable health needs. The number of such trained nurses is indicated to be limited at all times and this is a major challenge affecting acute hospitals which require a lot specialized nursing capabilities. It is also indicated that the different regulations that control the practice of both Registered Nurse and the Licensed Practical Nurses affect their working opportunities in different hospitals. Government hospitals will have training needs for nurses that are different from what private hospitals are looking for and this is indicated to have challenges when it comes to staffing opportunity for different nurses based on the level of their training.

This journal is very helpful in understanding the nursing challenges that are attributed to the fact that their different training qualification affects their employment chances in different hospitals. It helps to indicate the requirements that nurses should have for them to work in acute hospitals. It is a good source of information for those pursuing their career in nursing to help them understand that it is only by acquiring the highest academic qualifications that they will be assured of working in acute and complex health facilities.

Mandatory Hospital Nurse to Patient Staffing Ratios: Time to Take a Different Approach.

(2016). Nursingworld.org. Retrieved 23 September 2016, from http://www.nursingworld.org/MainMenuCategories/ANAMarketplace/ANAPeriodicals/OJIN/TableofContents/Volume122007/No3Sept07/MandatoryNursetoPatientRatios.html

This is an online publication that focuses and addresses the current trends in nursing profession to reveal the various challenges that are encountered from time to time. It is a qualitative study that investigates the challenges in nursing in relation to the on-going research and training needs. The relationship that exists between the nursing profession and the laws of the land that regulate health care workers is revealed.

It is in this publication the staffing ratios are indicated and the effects they have on health care delivery. These ratios are determined to affect the number of nurses that are available in a given health facility to attend to attend to patients with different health needs. The ratios and the number of nurses in government hospitals are in most cases not sufficient to offer timely services to all patients who present themselves for treatment. The minimum and mandatory ratios that are indicated in some states are meant to address the nurse shortages in hospitals especially in acute facilities where specialized services are required.

This publication is important in highlighting the available government regulations that are known to affect health care delivery due to their impact on the number of nurses that are available at any one time to attend to high number of patients in the recent times. It also give insights into the financial constrains that affect the nursing profession and the suitable models that the government can use to overcome the challenges. The information is important in coming up with policies that are meant to make improvements on the staffing models that are currently being used in nursing profession to make sure that the staffs are not overworked and that they are assigned roles in hospitals based on their training and experience.

International Journal of Nursing Studies (2016). Journalofnursingstudies.com. Retrieved 23

September 2016, from http://www.journalofnursingstudies.com/article/S0020-7489(13)00069-2/abstract?cc=y=

This is an international journal that uses a qualitative study to reveals the various challenges that are faced by patients when seeking medical services from acute hospitals by considering the available nurses to attend to them with specialized services. It gives focus to people with dementia in acute hospitals and their challenges which are attached to the settings of the hospitals. The five Kitwood’s dimensions about personhood are illustrated to explore the most recent approaches that are determined have a strong impact in enhancing personhood in older people and those that nurses should uphold.

Details of the nursing struggles in determining the health issues and other needs of patients with this condition are described in details where it is indicated that the nurses have to worker harder to involve their relatives for the selection of treatment options to be excellent. The success of the relationship that exists between the nurses and the relatives is what will make the treatment of such patients in acute hospitals to be successful. This indicates the challenges the nurses usually face in acute hospitals at times when they are required to engage other stakeholders to make optimize their output. It becomes hard for the nurses in cases where the family relatives of the patient are not available or reachable. In other cases, the relatives are not cooperative and this gives the nurses a hard time.

The journal is important is explaining the need of upholding workable relationship between the health care providers, nurses in this cases, and members of the community as success of treatment options is a combination of professional input and the contributions made by member of the community. Community participation in health care delivery is thus indicated to be very important and this is call to all people to uphold it. This also helps to point at the importance of including relatives in treatment options for patients who are mentally challenged as they are the ones who spend most of the time with them at home.

Homes, I., Wunderlich, G., Sloan, F., & Davis, C. (2012). Staffing and Quality of Care in

Hospitals. National Academies Press (US). Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK232662/

This is a journal by four authors who explain some of the recent challenges that are affecting nurses in the US healthcare system. The replacement of Registered Nurses with Licensed Practical Nurses is described to have negatively affected the quality of services offered in hospitals and more importantly in acute hospitals. The public hospitals are determined to use cheap nurses who are less qualified because they are cheaper and this has made the nursing profession to constantly be accused of incompetency and poor experience.

The journal critically describes the job insecurity that surrounds Registered Nurses in the United States as they are not sure of their tomorrow. They work in fear that they will be replaced by others should the government think of making more savings from healthcare sector. This is the major cause of lacked motivation in nurses working in acute hospitals where their output is greatly jeopardized. It is for this reason that a number of Registered Nurses are now working on private basis to offer quality services at a higher cost than what the public facilities are charging.

The information from this journal is important in describing the recent trends in health care where a big number of Registered Nurses are now turning to be private nurses to secure their future in employment without fearing that they will soon be replaced by less qualified nurses who will be cheaper to the government. This also explains the reason as to why private hospitals are now becoming suitable options for patients seeking quality medical services. A private nurse, who is registered, will always do the best to offer quality services to sell themselves and make more money in the long run. It is for this reason that the journal indicates that quality of health services in public hospitals will always remain to be poor despite the huge amounts of money that the government is always using to fund the hospitals and the ongoing programs.

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