Premium Essay

Management of Staff Ratios

In:

Submitted By jjager
Words 1391
Pages 6
Introduction
Having adequate staff per patient ratio has been shown to reduce medication errors, and patient complications; decrease patient mortality rates as well as nurse fatigue and burnout rates. All while improving patient satisfaction with care and nurse satisfaction with their job. (ANA, n.d). These are all reasons why this subject should be studied in depth, but there is no easy way to determine what ratios for patients to a nurse should be. In this practice, generally, the fewer patients a nurse has the more time he or she is able to spend with their patients. Assessing, examining, visiting and getting to know their lifestyle and health history will improve the care the patients are getting, but nurses often don’t have the time to perform such in depth cares with the high acuity patients they are assigned with the limited amount of nurses and help available.
Nursing leaders and management need to be active in this subject and oversee for the safety of the patients as well as all staff. This paper looks to examine ways nurse management can take charge and approach this delicate situation by maintaining the well-being of patients and staff, as well as keeping within a specific financial plan.
Nurse Responsibility
Finding the most appropriate nurse patient staffing ratio is huge concern as management tries to balance budget along with nurse satisfaction and safety. The patient to nurse mix is a huge concern in the hospital because of this. “Most state nurse practice acts require the registered nurse to effectively supervise the nursing care delegated to subordinates, greater responsibility and workplace stress will be placed upon the registered nurse” (Aiken et al, 2002). Hospitals try to cut costs by hiring lower paying positions like LPNs, CNAs, or PCTs to help with patient cares, however, they are not qualified to do all of the cares,

Similar Documents

Premium Essay

Essay Ma as Tools of Daily Job

...Management Accounting as tools of daily job routine The hospitality industry consists of broad category of fields within the service industry that includes lodging, restaurants, event planning, theme parks, transportation, cruise line and additional fields within the tourism industry. The hospitality industry is a several billion dollar industry that mostly depends on the availability of leisure time and disposable income. A hospitality unit such as a restaurant, hotel, or even an amusement park consists of multiple groups such as facility maintenance, direct operations (servers, housekeepers, porters, kitchen workers, bartenders, etc.), management, marketing, human resources, property maintenance and finance. The hospitality industry covers a wide range of organizations offering food service and accommodation. The hospitality industry is divided into sectors according to the skill-sets required for the work involved. Sectors include accommodation, food and beverage, meeting and events, gaming, entertainment and recreation, tourism services, and visitor information. Usage rate is an important variable for the hospitality industry. Just as a factory owner would wish to have his or her productive asset in use as much as possible (as opposed to having to pay fixed costs while the factory isn't producing), so do restaurants, hotels, and theme parks seek to maximize the number of customers they "process". Very important is also the characteristics of the personnel working in...

Words: 1486 - Pages: 6

Premium Essay

Effective Approaches in Nursing Leadership and Management

...Running Head: EFFECTIVE APPROACHES IN LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT Effective Approaches in Leadership and Management: Nursing Staff Ratio Yu Chen Grand Canyon University: NRS-451V Nursing Leadership and Management October 11, 2015 Effective Approaches in Leadership and Management: Nursing Staff Ratio Introduction Identifying and maintaining the appropriate number and mix of nursing staff is critical to the delivery of quality patient care (American Nurses Association, 2015). Staffing issue is very important simply because this ongoing concern affects the quality of health care service, the safety of both patients and nurses. Many research shows that adequate staff ratio has close relationship with patients’ safety and recovery time of period. In this paper, different nursing leadership and approaches are discussed. Skills and methods employed by leaders and managers to address staff issue are described. My preferred approach is also presented. The Importance of the Issue The benefits and importance to maintain s safe staffing ratio is never underestimated. • Relieve nurses from overload, fatigue and burnout so that they can focus on work to reduce medical and medication errors • Plenty of nurses can provide better service and attention to patients so that complications will be decreased • Mortality could be decreased due to more frequent monitoring of patients’ health condition and prompt response from on-duty nurses and doctors ...

Words: 1344 - Pages: 6

Premium Essay

Nursing Shortage

...the main concerns I have seen in the hospital setting is staff turnover among the nursing profession. The turnover can ultimately lead to temporary problems like understaffing. Thankfully though, I believe this problem is amendable with proper intervention to facilitate a change toward staff retention. So why is staff turnover a problem in the nursing profession? First and foremost, this is not a unifactoral issue. In fact, staff turnover is the byproduct of multiple job related factors and stressors in the nursing profession. For instance, job-related stress plays a major factor in decreasing one’s job satisfaction. Stress in nursing usually occurs when one perceives that his or her resources are exceeded in a given situation (Esther, et al., 2005). Typical factors that can promote stress in a nurse are high job demands and excessive work hours. With these factors, the nurse may continually feel overworked, while also feeling like they are working “all the time.” Other factors that could cause stress are having little control over your work environment or having limited supportive relationships in the workplace. As we all realize, at least some sense of control and peer support are necessary to promote feelings of job satisfaction (2005). Finally, staff turnover itself can cause stress for the nurse, as he or she may feel overwhelmed by the increasing workload, which is promoted by the decreasing amount of available staff. Furthermore, “burnout” will usually occur after a prolonged...

Words: 2496 - Pages: 10

Premium Essay

Safe Staffing

...Nurse-to-Patient Ratios Primary health care organizations such as New York Presbyterian (NYP) are impacted by low nurse-to-patient ratios. The recent implementation of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) has required organizations such as NYP to explore many approaches to improve quality and patient outcomes that contain costs. “Numerous studies reveal an association between higher levels of experienced RN staffing and lower rates of adverse patient outcomes” (www.nursingworld.org, 2015, para. 1). For this reason, nurse-to-patient ratios is an issue that needs to be addressed at NYP in order to improve quality healthcare within their organization. The acuity of the unit in which patient care is being provided, should determine the acceptable nurse-to-patient ratio. According to the American Nurses Association (ANA), factors that influence the nurse staffing needs include: patient complexity, acuity, or stability; number of admissions, discharges, and transfers; professional nursing and other staff skill level and expertise; physical space and layout of the nursing unit; availability of or proximity to technological support or other resources ("Optimal Nurse Staffing," 2015). Currently, New York is one of only fourteen states that addresses the nurse staffing issue in hospitals. New York State requires organizations such as NYP to disclose their nurse-to-patient staffing ratios to the public; however the state does not require a minimum nurse-to-patient ratio to be maintained...

Words: 3851 - Pages: 16

Premium Essay

Financial Performance Evaluation in the Case of Modern Building Industry

...organization by taking in to account company’s liquidity, leverage, operating efficiency and profitability. It concentrates on financial statements analysis, which highlights the key aspects of firms operations. Financial managers need the information provided by the analysis both to evaluate the firm’s past performance and to map the future plans and undertake informed decision. In addition to this, both lenders and other potential lenders use financial ratios to assess the future performance of a company in which they plan to invest in. Managers use this information in order to judge the performance of their entity and to control the day-to- day operation of that entity and owners make use of financial ratios to evaluate whether their companies are maximizing their wealth or not. Ratio analysis is used to compare a firm’s performance and status with that of other firms or itself over time. It involves calculating and interpreting financial ratios in order to assess the firm’s performance and status .The basic inputs to ratio analysis are the firm’s income statement and Balance sheet for the period to be examined ( Yaregal, 2007). The main objective of this study is to evaluate the financial performance of Modern Industry PLC. The study...

Words: 4537 - Pages: 19

Premium Essay

Shouldice Hospital

...1. Problem statement With the increasing demand on Shouldice Hospital, the hospital management is looking to increase the capacity of the hospital to meet the demand without sacrificing the quality of service the hospital offers and has built up over 30 years. 2. Situation analysis Shouldice hospital is a well-known hospital for its specialization in hernia operations. Last year, Shouldice performed operations on 7500 patients. The greatly developed technique that the hospital uses and the excellent customer service that all staff members and doctors work hard to provide give the hospital a great reputation. Thisincreases demand on the hospital as its exceptional reputation increases patients’ desire to have their hernia operations performed at Shouldice hospital. As per the customer service, the patient should arrive one day before the operation and stay one day after for a total of 3 days. The first day gives the patient the opportunity to understand his or her situation by meeting with other patients and sharing their personal experiences. Inaddition, the patient pairs with another who has similar interests and hopes. As a result, the patient forgets their fear and enjoys their time. The journey does not end by leaving the hospital; Shouldice has a yearly event where all patients are invited to mingle, socialize, and see the doctors and staff. Currently the hospital has 90 beds, 12 full time surgeons, 7 part-time assistances, 5 operating rooms, a patient recovery room...

Words: 1302 - Pages: 6

Premium Essay

Team-a-Advantage-Plus-Consulting-Final-Report

...capture a mass market of a variety of segmented consumers. Despite CanGo’s initial success, however, the organization is not without its fair share of concerns. The primary issue with CanGo is that it lacks a formal strategic business plan. The company has also failed to clearly define what its short-term goals and long-term goals are and how it plans to go about realizing those goals. The company also has problems with its current organizational structure. Although roles are clearly defined, CanGo often succumbs to a centralized form of decision-making, with Elizabeth Bennett micromanaging to such a degree that the decision-making process almost becomes paralyzed. Poor communication has also proven to be an issue at CanGo, resulting in staff members unclear in terms of goals and...

Words: 4790 - Pages: 20

Premium Essay

Valley of the Sun

...Valley of the Sun United Way was founded in 1925, an Arizona nonprofit organization whose mission is to improve lives. For more than 80 years Maricopa County’s community has used their caring power to address human care needs. In 2005 Valley of the Sun United Way Foundation was organized to help engage in activities for the benefit of the VSUW. Each fall VSUW conducts a campaign that helps to offset the following year. Along with the campaign contribution there are three options for donors. The first is the Results That Matter Fund that is invested into health and human services programs, the second is the Impact Areas that identify the community needs, and third is a specific nonprofit agency or program. Cash flow and functional expenses are exampled at in all nonprofits and profit organizations. To identify properly the organizations’ strengths, weaknesses, and areas of threat the internal and external factors must first be analysis. An audit was conducted for 2008 and 2009 in accordance with the Government Auditing Standards. This audit was conducted to make sure that the statements are free of material misstatement. VSUW reported a combined statement of financial position statement for two years, 2008 and 2009 with the end of the fiscal year being June 30. Beginning with their current assets, cash and cash equivalents between 2008 and 2009, they are showing an increase of more than two million dollars has occurred. The reports showed that the contributions or pledges...

Words: 2029 - Pages: 9

Free Essay

Managing Capitol Means

...company needs a good management strategy to produce human capital. It could be easy for an organization to achieve goals when top management is able to manage human capital in their organization. But when the organization leadership fails on managing human capital, then the organization is faced with the possibility of failure to achieve its goals and downsizing their workforce to avoid bankruptcy. “The single most important policy for solving the problem of overworked and understaffed hospitals is the establishment of staffing ratios, mandating both a minimum ratio of RNs to patients and controlling the ratio of RNs to lesser-trained hospital staff. While management generally opposes staffing ratios, evidence suggests that they have proven effective in the recruitment and retention of nurses. Linda Aiken, founder of the magnet hospital program and perhaps the most widely respected author in the field, argues that unless "a floor for staffing is established, we are not going to be able to stop the flight of nurses from hospitals."169 Similarly, JCAHO President Dennis O'Leary notes, "While mandated ratios are controversial among health professionals, there are established relationships between nurse staffing levels and patient outcomes." He also stresses "achievement of mandated ratios will be meaningless until controls are placed on the numbers of non-nursing tasks that nurses are required to perform."170 Management in hospitals that have adopted such ratios has come to appreciate...

Words: 711 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

Hnc Business Mangement Human Resource Management Learning Outcome 2 & 3

...Within Escape to the Wild the new human resource management function could assist with: Formulating and implementing new policies and procedures Uniform training of employees Administration of financial matters A recruitment and selection program A policies and procedures human resource department would allow Escape to the Wild to: • Formulate appropriate policies that ensure health & safety regulations are adhered to as well as following legal requirements for employees. • Formulation of working procedures alongside managers and line managers. • Free line managers, the existing finance manager and senior managers from the human resource tasks they are currently spending valuable time on, some of which they are ill equipped to handle. The activities that Escape to the Wild would need to undertake would be as follows: • Formulate and agree upon policies and procedures that would be beneficial for the running of Escape to the Wild. • Ensure policies and procedures are both in line with legal obligations as an employer as well as adhering to health & safety regulations, upholding employee rights and disciplinary action is fair and concise. A formal recruitment and selection program would allow Escape to the Wild to: • Provide a fair systematic approach to selection of applicants and a more overall view of those who apply taking experience and qualifications into account. • Having the new human resource function handle this process would mean line managers would...

Words: 1513 - Pages: 7

Premium Essay

Important of Adequate Nursing Staff

...Abstract Adequate nursing staff is critical factor for patient’s safety and health. Inadequate nursing staffing levels are known to influence on patient’s rate of complications, falls, medication errors and overall patient’s conditions. American Nurse Association found that 54 percent of nurses on medical unit report that nurses are not spending enough time with patients. Because nursing labor cost consumes the largest fraction of budget, many hospitals trying to save money by requiring nurse to work longer hours and care for more number of patients. This short-sight solution not only creates heavier work load to staffs but also threatens patient’s safety. There are no absolute answers to determine nurse to patient ration because it affected by variety situations and acuity of patient as well as units. However, since appropriate nursing staffing affects the patient and nurse mentally, physically and medically but also the financially, this issues must be addressed by Registered Nurses when one encounter with unsafe nurse-to-patient ratio. Nursing Staffs for Patient’s Safety When RN encounters with inadequate staffing, one must notify to direct supervisor because unsafe staffing is an important factor that threatens patient’s well-being. Management becomes accountable to provide adequate staffing for the nurses and the patients. Hospital faces the challenge to reconcile between their own needs and patient’s safety by providing enough nursing staffs. It would be easier...

Words: 602 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

Nursing Theory Essay

...Applying the Jean Watson's Caring Theory to the Nurse Staffing Ratio in Practice Chamberlain College of Nursing NUR501: Theoretical Basis Advance Nursing December 05, 2015 Introduction Nursing theory impacts the practice of nursing in many different ways that can have a great influence. Theory provides a structure to support and shape nursing practice, encourage quality of patient care, and can be utilized in practice situations to give solutions to problems in nursing practice. Utilizing theories to solve nursing obstacles can be used in educational settings, research environment, direct patient care, informatics, as well as in administration and management of nursing care services. The advantages of applying theory to resolve a challenge in nursing practice can be demonstrated by applying Jean Watson’s theory of human caring. Jean Watson’s theory of human caring is a grand theory that provides to the empirical stand point of nursing. It emphasizes on genuine caring about the human being as whole; meaning caring about the human’s mind, body and spirit in order for the healing process to sustain at highest level. Her theory is portrayed as a model of caring which art and science are both included; presenting a framework that involves and divides art, science, humanities, spirituality, mind-body-spirit in medicine, and nursing (Watson, 2000). Nursing practice today is impacted by Watson’s caring theory. It does not only enable nurses to improve care...

Words: 2218 - Pages: 9

Premium Essay

Business

...Credit value: Business Resources D/502/5409 BTEC National 10 Guided learning hours: 60 Aim and purpose The aim of this unit is to develop learner knowledge of the range of human, physical, technological and financial resources required in an organisation, and how the management of these resources can impact on business performance. Unit introduction At the core of every organisation are the human, physical, technological and financial resources that enable it to function. This unit will give learners a broad understanding of the importance organisations place on managing their resources efficiently in order to achieve their objectives. It is important that learners are able to relate their understanding of resource management to a real organisation. This will provide an essential link between theory and practice. Understanding how these resources are managed is one of the keys to assessing how well the organisation is performing. The first part of this unit explores the range of human, physical and technological resources for a selected organisation. Learners will investigate the importance of managing these resources efficiently. The contribution that recruiting and retaining suitable staff can make to the organisation’s performance is examined. The importance of managing the organisation’s physical and technological resources efficiently is also explored. For an organisation to survive its finances need to be sound and secure. The second part of the unit explores...

Words: 4156 - Pages: 17

Premium Essay

Project Management

...PROJECT PLANNING AND MANAGEMENT (Project Planning / Project Formulation / Project Implementation / Preparation of Project Proposal) Compiled by S.Rengasamy, Madurai Institute of Social Sciences One Of the most important administrative developments in the developed as well as in developing countries has been the initiation and growth of a large number of new programs projects in every field like Since the 1950s the development agenda has been agriculture, irrigation, industry, community characterized by projects and programs aimed at improving the quality of life of beneficiary communities, development and social welfare etc.. The principle be it in physical or qualitative terms. Despite significant aims and objectives of all these programs have been inputs of human and financial resources, many fell short to bring about overall changes in the existing socio- of expectations. Projects failed to meet the priority economic structure in the country providing thereby needs of communities; stated outputs were not achieved dignified way of life to a citizen as a unit and socio- or, if achieved, not sustained; target groups did not benefit in the manner intended; project costs escalated economic up liftment of the society. So most of the administrators are directly concerned with the program / project administration than other activities. The capability of administrative system to formulate and implement, relevant and in able programs effectively constitutes a crucial element in...

Words: 15109 - Pages: 61

Premium Essay

Nursing

...Application of Theory Neukenya Jokines Chamberlain College of Nursing Application of Theory The future of nursing is dependent upon nursing leadership that adheres to the professional standards in regards to education, research and practice. On a daily basis decisions are made by nurses that directly affect the lives of others. Nursing theory is a guide that has been set in place in order for nurses to look upon when it comes to daily healthcare decisions. It was stated by Cody (2003), that “one learns to practice nursing by studying nursing theories” (pg. 226). This statement can be applied to the problems of nursing leadership, problem solving and decision making. Cody (2003), also states that “nursing practice will be transformed to the betterment of humankind when all nursing practice is fully autonomous and guided predominantly by nursing theory” (pg. 230). For many years nursing practice has found its foundations from nursing theories. Understanding how nursing knowledge within healthcare organizations influence patient and organizational outcomes are discussed in the middle range theory of nursing intellectual capital (Covell, 2008). Intellectual capital is defined as the combination of collective knowledge of individuals and structures in an organization or society. The theory consists of two concepts of nursing which includes human capital and nursing structural capital. According to (Covell & Sidani, 2013) “Intellectual capital theory defines human capital...

Words: 1758 - Pages: 8