NR-531 Week 2 Discussion: Mission & Vision Statement (GRADED A)

Dear Dr. Scott and class A lack of skilled nurses touches all aspects of healthcare. As the nurse administrator at SLMC, it is my responsibility to ensure that safe staffing levels are occurring on patient care units. Hospitals with inadequate nurse staffing have been linked to negative patient outcomes such as increases incidents of surgical site infections (SSI), catheter associated urinary tract infections (CAUTI), ventilator associated pneumonia (VAP), central line associated blood stream infections (CLABSI), and higher readmission rates. In today’s complex healthcare environment. Additionally, the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) does not reimburse hospitals for hospital acquired conditions and readmissions that they deem avoidable (Snavely, 2016). SLMC is already experiencing an increase in their readmission rates of patients with heart failure and is not sure of the cause. Before implementing this plan at SLMC, I would have a discussion with the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) regarding my concerns related to patient safety and the quality of nursing care being delivered. Although the addition of extra nursing assistants may assist in completing patient care tasks, it is not a solution to address a nursing shortage and should be implemented cautiously. The nurses will still have a higher nurse-patient ratio, may have to delegate tasks to multiple CNAs, many of whom are newly hired, leading to gaps in care. Adding a body is not always the answer. Several studies have demonstrated a clear association between nurse staffing levels, skill mix and the outcomes of care such as increased UTIs and VAPs (Twigg et al., 2016). The focus should be on why recruitment of nurses is so difficult and strategies to support the nurses currently working at SLMC until more nurses can be onboarded. Insufficient staffing levels can increase stress levels and burn out of nurses, which in turn impacts job satisfaction and can lead to an increased nursing turnover rates. The possibility of decreased reimbursement from adverse outcomes and the costs associated with frequent nurse turn over could significantly impact the financial stability of SLMC. The addition of contracted agency nurses may bridge the gap and support the nurses more effectively than nursing assistants. References Snavely, T. (2016). Data watch. A brief economic analysis of the looming nursing shortage in the United States. Nursing Economic$, 34(2), 98-100. Retrieved from Twigg, D., Myers, H., Duffield, C., Pugh, J., Gelder, L., & Roche, M. (2016). The impact of adding assistants in nursing to acute care hospital ward nurse staffing on adverse patient outcomes: An analysis of administrative health data. International Journal of Nursing Studies, 63, 189-200. doi:10.1016/stu.2016.09.008