Defining Ideal Environment
It is no secret that nursing is a challenging profession, but a positive work atmosphere may go a long way. Nurses would flourish in an environment with enough individuals working to address each patient’s requirements immediately. This is an ideal environment where nurses must also be able to help one another. Nurses have a strong foundation, with managers and superiors who understand the job’s needs and can easily and quickly accommodate them.
Gaps
Burn Out
Burnout, a type of professional stress marked by emotional exhaustion, cynicism, and a lack of efficacy in one’s interaction with one’s employer, coworkers, and clients, is common in most healthcare organizations. According to studies, between 35% and 45% of the United States (US) nursing workforce is burnt out (Schlak et al., 2021). Burnout is linked to a poorly organized work environment, including how work is structured, distributed, and managed. The Covid-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on my organization.
One of the consequences has been an increase in burnout due to high turnover and a shortage of competent staff. Employee burnout has also been exacerbated by management errors such as firing employees without proper cause or warning. Nurses would not be required to work long hours in an ideal work environment. They should be given tasks and responsibilities appropriate to their abilities and brief rest periods. Additionally, they should not have to work somewhere they are afraid of making a mistake for fear of being fired immediately. They must feel safe and secure in their surroundings to do their best work and advance in their field.
Underpaying
The second problem experienced in my organization is the underpaying of nurses. Most nurses work in settings with below-average pay (Clayton-Hathway et al., 2020). Due to this stereotype, nursing and other care professions are frequently underestimated, underpaid, or unpaid. Because the COVID-19 outbreak has made working conditions more difficult, competitive pay is significant for recruiting and retaining nurses. My organization is the lowest paying in Virginia, paying significantly less than competitors such as Sentara, Virginia Hospital Center, and Kaiser. Given the stress caused by the high turnover rate, nurses may feel undervalued when paid low. Nurses are well compensated to demonstrate appreciation for their work in an ideal environment. As a result, they are motivated to keep learning and offer improved patient services. Our organization is still behind in achieving an environment that values nurses’ contributions.
Frustration with Administration
A third issue is a disparity in nursing salaries within the organization. My company’s nurses are dissatisfied since the corporation pays and spends more on traveling nurses than organizational workers, which is frustrating. Traveling nurses, in particular, do not put in the same amount of time or effort as organizational nurses. An ideal work environment requires fair compensation for work or services done. According to the Nurses Bill of Rights, nurses’ pay should reflect their education, experience, and professional responsibilities (Nurses Bill of Rights, n.d). Organizations that do not provide this environment risk having dissatisfied employees who are more inclined to depart.
Unsafe Environment
Fourth, nurses here have been apprehensive during the last year because of the changing work environment. The move results from a nurse shortage, which has increased the number of patients per nurse. Consider the situation of a single nurse in charge of the care of multiple severely ill patients. As a neuroscience nurse, I care for clients who are critically ill, confused, having seizures, or requiring brain surgery. Nurses spend less time actively caring for patients and more time worrying about paperwork, while this unit has major issues with falls and safety.
Ideally, the problem would be solved if there was an appropriate nurse-to-patient ratio. The nursing field requires no more than one registered nurse per every four patients in an emergency room and one nurse per every two patients in an intensive care unit (Andel et al., 2022). These are the features of an ideal environment under this topic. In this environment, the nurses can focus their attention on a smaller number of patients, leading to Improved quality of service. Nurses are also less overwhelmed and confused because they have less to deal with, unlike the case in my organization.
Under-supported Nurses
Finally, the nurses in my organization feel unsupported at work. For example, when our team is short on nurses, management occasionally withdraws nurses from our team to cover other units. The management appears unconcerned about the pressure their actions put on the team. As a result, while there is a growing sense of urgency to care for patients, there is also a growing sense of feeling unappreciated or discouraged. Nurses perform at their best when treated with dignity and appreciation at work.
According to Wei et al. (2019), when nurses have a sense of admiration, esteem, and worth, they are more likely to stay in their jobs. Managers play an important role in creating a work environment where nurses feel valued and appreciated by fostering meaningful relationships with their coworkers. Nurse managers must be aware of the warning signs of low morale to keep their teams and themselves motivated. Because the climate can change quickly, it’s critical to stay informed. The manager’s top priority should be the team’s happiness, so they should keep everyone informed when making difficult decisions. For example, if there is an increase in patient care needs, nurses may be required to work longer hours.
Barriers
Several barriers are standing in the way of achieving the ideal work environment in my organization. These include poor employee management, lack of management support, leadership, and poor communication. As discussed above, the ideal environment will require enough staff to bring the nurse-patient ratio to the recommended levels. When this is achieved, nurses will feel less overwhelmed and stressed, leading to improved satisfaction and reduced turnover. Management and leadership are other barriers preventing the improvement of the work environment. It must show appreciation for the nurses and value their well-being, including compensating them fairly like other departments.
Finally, open communication is lacking, making nurses frustrated with the management. Lack of communication leaves nurses confused and worried about the current problems within the organization (Raeissi et al., 2022). An improvement in these areas will keep nurses informed, even when challenges arise. Nurses will understand the problems and know they are only temporary, just like the Covid-19 pandemic has.
Solution
References
Andel, S. A., Tedone, A. M., Shen, W., & Arvan, M. L. (2022). Safety implications of different forms of understaffing among nurses during the COVID‐19 pandemic. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 78(1), 121-130.
Clayton-Hathway, K., Humbert, A. L., Schutz, S., McIlroy, R., & Griffiths, H. (2020). Gender and nursing as a profession: Valuing nurses and paying them their worth. London: Royal College of Nursing.
Connor, J. A., Ziniel, S. I., Porter, C., Doherty, D., Moonan, M., Dwyer, P.,… & Hickey, P. A. (2018). Interprofessional use and validation of the AACN healthy work environment assessment tool. American Journal of Critical Care, 27(5), 363-371.
Nurses bill of rights. (n.d). American Nurses Association. Web.
Raeissi, P., Zandian, H., Mirzarahimy, T., Delavari, S., Moghadam, T. Z., & Rahimi, G. (2022). Relationship between communication skills and emotional intelligence among nurses. Nursing Management, 29(4).
Schlak, A. E., Aiken, L. H., Chittams, J., Poghosyan, L., & McHugh, M. (2021). Leveraging the work environment to minimize the negative impact of nurse burnout on patient outcomes. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(2), 610.
Wei, H., Roberts, P., Strickler, J., & Corbett, R. W. (2019). Nurse leaders’ strategies to foster nurse resilience. Journal of Nursing Management, 27(4), 681-687.