NHS FPX 6008 Assessment 4 Lobbying for Change
Lobbying for Change
Inadequate nurse staffing is a serious health economic problem that may lead to prolonged lengths of hospital stay, patient and provider dissatisfaction, increased readmissions, as well as more unwanted incidents, all of which reduce healthcare quality and have a negative impact on the bottom line (Haddad et al., 2022). The health economic issue impacts the constituents regarding delays in therapeutic interventions and medications, high patient-to-nurse ratio, hospital mortality, and additional risks such as hospital-acquired (associated) infections, pressure injuries, and patient falls. Healthcare facilities in the constituents were already battling a substantial nurse shortage prior to the COVID-19 outbreak (Bradley University, 2018). Nurses are also expected to help whenever they are required, irrespective of whether it is within or beyond the area of their expertise. Unless action is taken to boost flows into and limit flows out of the profession or enhance nurse efficiency and effectiveness, shortages will likely remain or even worsen.
NHS FPX 6008 Assessment 4 Lobbying for Change
Positive and Negative Outcomes
Addressing the issue has several positive outcomes for the patient population, healthcare providers, the New York community, and the country at large. Bedside nurses, rather than management, establishing appropriate nurse-patient ratios will result in increased work satisfaction, higher retention rates, and less desire to quit their line of work (Haddad et al., 2022). Appropriate staffing levels reduce mistakes, enhance patient satisfaction, and raise nurse retention rates. These are linked to improved patient outcomes, community health, and provider satisfaction. On the contrary, by not addressing the issue, nursing shortages result in mistakes, increased morbidity, and death (Haegdorens et al., 2019; Rosenberg, 2019). Nurses endure burnout and unhappiness in healthcare organizations with high patient-to-nurse ratios, and patients have high mortality and failure-to-rescue rates compared to institutions with lower patient-to-nurse ratios. These are linked to poor patient outcomes, decreased community health, and patient and provider dissatisfaction.
Key Information
The problem of an insufficient nursing workforce has an impact on nurses, the whole healthcare system, and patient outcomes. More individuals are quitting the nursing profession and abandoning their tasks. Because of the increasing patient needs, new ailments, and lifelong health needs, many nurses are compelled to work longer hours. Insufficient nurse personnel contributes to extended hospital stays and increased hospital readmissions (Rosenberg, 2019). The lack of nurses has a financial effect on healthcare institutions as well. The quality of hospitals and healthcare outcomes are significantly impacted by nurses (Rosenberg, 2019). Insufficient nurse staffing in medical facilities may result in adverse events, near misses, or even fatalities (Haegdorens et al., 2019). When time and resources are ignored, patient safety suffers.
The effects of the nursing shortage on medical professionals include nurse burnout and an increased workload. Understaffing affects clinical results, nurse practitioners’ well-being, and organizational expenditures. Furthermore, it extends shifts and increases the patient-to-nurse ratio, which reduces the quality of treatment and may cause staff members to become exhausted, experience pain, or be agitated (Shah et al., 2021). The nurse shortage most negatively impacts diverse and socioeconomically disadvantaged groups who have trouble getting medical treatment. Due to a labor shortage, accessible nurses choose to provide services to those who can access them and pay for them and overlook individuals from low-income households.
There is a deficiency in the availability of skilled nursing facilities services for children with complex and persistent health problems, and also for the caregivers of these individuals who are receiving palliative care, as a consequence of the inadequate staffing nationwide (Weaver et al., 2018). Falls are among the institutional concerns that correlate with nurse staffing (Kim et al., 2019). Organizations are now beginning to incorporate financial incentives, such as sign-on bonuses, in their hiring procedures. In an attempt to encourage nurses to put in more time at work, financial rewards are also provided. These are, at best, transitory approaches that only temporarily address the problems while placing heavy financial demands on the organization (Beitz, 2019).
NHS FPX 6008 Assessment 4 Lobbying for Change
The proposed changes and actions are based on investing in nursing education and providing growth opportunities. An annual tuition compensation program might increase the proportion of recently graduated nurses who stay in the field. An innovative strategy to alleviate the nurse shortage in the region is to provide grants to full-time nurses to incentivize them to advance their professions (Center for American Progress, 2022). This will guarantee a lower turnover rate, and it will be simpler for people to commit to remaining (Center for American Progress, 2022). Another concern is nurse educators’ remuneration (Bradley University, 2018). It will be challenging to train a significant number of highly skilled nursing staff without luring talented individuals into the field of nursing education. Pay increases and other financial and non-financial incentives might help retain competent educators and attract better ones. Moreover, facilitating faster and simpler settlement of student loan debt from nursing schools might help (Bradley University, 2018). Most nurses have student loans, which might factor in the industry’s frequent turnover (Bradley University, 2018).
The changes and actions are equal, ethical, and sensitive to cultural differences. They contain these three concepts in terms of allowing institutions to incorporate diversity, equality, and inclusion principles into their management, daily operational processes, strategic planning, decision-making, resource allocation, and priority-setting. The changes and the proposed actions do not unjustly burden or disadvantage any group because they first ask for a more diversified workforce that includes individuals from all realms of life. Everyone in the nursing industry will have equal opportunities thanks to investments in nursing education and the provision of sign-on incentives and other financial perks.
Personal and Professional Experience
My experiences affected how I planned the required resources to address the issue. In all these years of working, I have seen many nursing professionals leave due to too much work, long shifts, and burnout. Most of them did not have a chance to advance their careers due to limited time and a lack of support and resources. It is quite challenging to see your friends leave the workforce for reasons that can be addressed. Thus, from my perspective and my experiences, investing in nursing education will help address the problem, which benefits patients, healthcare providers, and the community. When conducting risk analysis on the project, these allowed me to see the significance of integrating short-term remedies (such as hiring seasonal and international nurses and offering bonuses) while advocating for a long-term solution. Of course, for this issue to be fully addressed, it requires a comprehensive and holistic approach.
Summary
The issue of nurse shortage is critical, and if nothing is done, it will continue to escalate and jeopardize the well-being of the general population. As a nursing professional and a patient advocate, I request your support in this proposal to address the issue of creating a healthy future and community where patients and providers are satisfied and healthcare institutions adopt continuous quality improvement strategies to guarantee safe and high-quality clinical care. With the recent bill you proposed (that provides incentives to address the nursing shortage in New York), I am confident that this proposal provides more insight into addressing the nursing shortage. Also, as you proposed a bill addressing this similar healthcare issue, I believe you are the right person to advocate for action. The objective is to mitigate all adverse outcomes imposed by this health-economic challenge.
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
Bradley University. (2018). The nursing shortage and how it will impact patient care. https://onlinedegrees.bradley.edu/blog/the-nursing-shortage-and-how-it-will-impact-patient-care/
Center for American Progress. (2022). How to ease the nursing shortage in America. https://www.americanprogress.org/article/how-to-ease-the-nursing-shortage-in-america/
Haddad, L. M., Annamaraju, P., & Toney-Butler, T. J. (2022). Nursing shortage. In StatPearls [Internet]. StatPearls Publishing. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK493175/
Haegdorens, F., Van Bogaert, P., De Meester, K., & Monsieurs, K. G. (2019). The impact of nurse staffing levels and nurse’s education on patient mortality in medical and surgical wards: an observational multicentre study. BMC health services research, 19(1), 1-9. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-019-4688-7
Kim, J., Kim, S., Park, J., & Lee, E. (2019). Multilevel factors influencing falls of patients in hospital: the impact of nurse staffing. Journal of nursing management, 27(5), 1011-1019. https://doi.org/10.1111/jonm.12765
Moore, D., Onsomu, E. O., Brown, T. L., Nwanaji-Enwerem, U., Esquivel, M., Bush, D., & Richardson, S. (2019). African American Nursing Students’ Perceptions of their Professional Image in the Media. Journal of Best Practices in Health Professions Diversity, 12(2), 154–164. https://www.jstor.org/stable/26954206
Rosenberg, K. (2019). RN shortages negatively impact patient safety. AJN The American Journal of Nursing, 119(3), 51. https://doi.org/10.1097/01.NAJ.0000554040.98991.23
Shah, M. K., Gandrakota, N., Cimiotti, J. P., Ghose, N., Moore, M., & Ali, M. K. (2021). Prevalence of and factors associated with nurse burnout in the US. JAMA network open, 4(2), e2036469-e2036469. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2020.36469
Weaver, M. S., Wichman, B., Bach, S., Schroeder, D., Vail, C., Wichman, C., & Macfadyen, A. (2018). Measuring the Impact of the Home Health Nursing Shortage on Family Caregivers of Children Receiving Palliative Care. Journal of Hospice and palliative nursing: JHPN: the official journal of the Hospice and Palliative Nurses Association, 20(3), 260–265. https://doi.org/10.1097/NJH.0000000000000436
