NURSING STAFF RATION AND PATIENT FALLS

Response 1

 Nurses play a crucial role in providing care for patients who visit emergency rooms due to falls and fractures. They administer medications and monitor patients to prevent serious problems (Clarke & Donaldson, 2008). Despite these demanding tasks, nurses suffer from staffing problems in that patients demand healthcare services but nurses struggle to meet their needs and at the end, they develop fatigue or burnout. They work long hours and carry out heavy workloads which at the end not only affects the nurses ‘well-being but they also lead to poor patients' outcome. Therefore, safe nurse staffing is very important to ensure that there are available nurses with the necessary skills and experience to offer continuum care (Clarke & Donaldson, 2008). Adequate nursing staff is also important to ensure that the patients receive quality care. Note that when the nursing home has an optimal nurse staffing, there is positive patient outcomes, shorter lengths of stay, patient satisfaction, and low rates of nurse burnout. However, insufficient nurse staffing levels bring devastating effects to the patients and the care provider. Note that when the nursing home lacks adequate nursing  staff, patients are dissatisfied, they spend many days in the hospital, the hospital experience higher readmission rates, and many more (Clarke & Donaldson, 2008). Hence, hospital administrators should focus on implementing adequate nursing staff to maximize the wellbeing of the patients and the staffs. The healthcare sectors should create working force planning systems responsible for identifying the staffing requirements, the patients' needs, staffing model, and determine the budget (Clarke & Donaldson, 2008). The importance of concentrating on safe staffing levels is that there will be lower mortality in the nursing home, there will be higher nurse satisfaction, the workloads will be reduced, and patient safety will be maximized. The hospital administrators should focus on supporting the workers so that they can preserve their passion in delivering quality care.

Response 2

Adequate nurse staffing is an important factor to consider in the nursing home since it is an element that is associated with better outcomes. Note that in the nursing home, all patients whether older or younger depending on staff. It is the role of the staff to provide quality care, ensure a safe environment, and prevent accidental hazards, among other duties (Clarke & Donaldson, 2008). However, staffs may not meet all patients' expectations due to inadequate nurse staffing. This means that when the needs are not met, the patients as well their families suffer physically and psychologically in that nurses do not offer quality care and they end up experiencing more injuries which increase healthcare costs. It is also important to note that inadequate nurse staffing does not only affect patients and their families, but nurses are also affected.  Nurses experience extensive workloads, they work long hours, they suffer from emotional baggage since they are exposed to sickness and death on a daily basis, and they lack enough time to care for their own needs (Clarke & Donaldson, 2008). Therefore, nurse staffing can affect the life of patients and nurses positively or negatively. Thus, hospitals need to restructure especially in the area of nursing staffing in order to solve the problems of heavier workloads, patient safety, nurses burnout, shortage of nurses, nursing education program, among other issues (Clarke & Donaldson, 2008). Adequate nurse staffing is the only solution to most of the problems that occur in the nursing home. In addition, deploying adequate nurse staffing will bring safe outcomes in terms of reduction of rates of errors, and reduction of complications.  In addition, deploying nurse staffing will bring positive clinical outcomes in terms of reduction of mortality, reduction of length of stay, reduction of errors and complication, and an increase of self-care.

 

Reference

Clarke, S. P., & Donaldson, N. E. (2008). Nurse staffing and patient care quality and safety.

In Patient safety and quality: An evidence-based handbook for nurses. Agency for

Healthcare Research and Quality (US).