The modern healthcare sector faces a set of problems that should be solved to improve the quality of care and guarantee better outcomes for patients. Low medical caretaker staffing, which is also one of the complex questions, is one of the current issues deteriorating results in the USA. The scope of the problem evidences its significance for nursing practice. The given paper outlines populations affected by the given aspect and introduces the PICO question needed to improve the situation and achieve positive results.
Patient Care, Healthcare Agency, and Nursing Practice
The discussed clinical problem acquires the top priority for multiple medical units, especially with more than 200 beds and multiple patients with diverse needs. There is a practice of minimizing the number of medical caretakers to save money; however, low pay and poor working conditions also increase the attendant turnover, which creates a dangerous situation for patients (Pozo-Martin et al., 2017). Low staffing impacts health workers’ motivation, stress, burnout, and profession disappointment (Aiken et al., 2014). Additionally, it increases mortality rates among patients and contributes to the significant deterioration of results in various healthcare settings. The given tendency is considered unacceptable for the healthcare sector and should be improved by using effective solutions.
The scope of the problem is also evidenced by the fact that all patients can be affected by low attendant staffing. For instance, among patients in emergency units, it can precondition the appearance of undesired side effects, contaminations, readmissions, and increased mortality rates (Aiken et al., 2014). Considering the complexity of clients’ states and their specific and diverse needs, the discussed problem becomes topical for them, as it becomes a fundamental issue needed to provide an appropriate and high-quality care and promote individuals’ recovery.
In such a way, the provided information proves the significance of the selected issue and explains the rationale for its selection. The fact is that the impact of attendant staffing on healthcare unit’s work, care quality, caretakers, and patients’ states is fundamental. Resolution of this problem will lead to the increased effectiveness of the whole sphere, a higher level of client’s satisfaction, and significant improvement of outcomes, which is one of the major goals of the modern healthcare system (Pozo-Martin et al., 2017). It also affects the nursing practice by reducing or increasing the quality of provided care and contributing to positive results. For this reason, the investigation of this aspect becomes critical regarding the existing problems.
Evidence-Based Solution and Nursing Intervention
The following PICOT statement can be formulated:
Among patients in emergency units (P), how effective is the use of EVPs for medical attendants (I) if to compare with the traditional approach (C) in improving results and minimizing undesired outcomes (O) within their first two weeks of recovery (T)?
The given question covers all critical elements of the discussed theme and contributes to the creation of a possible solution. The proposed intervention is the use of employee value propositions (EVPs) to attract new health specialists and guarantee the high levels of their satisfaction, which can also be taken as the guarantee of the positive results’ achievement. There is a direct correlation between motivation and performance levels (Van den Heede et al., 2013). For this reason, EVPs can be taken as a possible solution to the problem.
Conclusion
Altogether, the problem of low staffing remains significant for the healthcare sector and nursing. It impacts outcomes and both patients and workers. For this reason, there is a need for intervention to improve the situation and achieve positive results by improving working conditions and increasing the level of interest and motivation among health attendants responsible for the provision of care.
References
Aiken, L. H., Sloane, D. M., Bruyneel, L., Van den Heede, K., Griffiths, P., Busse, R.,… Sermeus, W. (2014). Nurse staffing and education and hospital mortality in nine European countries: A retrospective observational study. The Lancet, 383(9931), 1824-1830.
Pozo-Martin, F., Nove, A., Lopes, S., Campbell, J., Buchan, J., Dussault, G., … Siyam, A. (2017). Health workforce metrics pre- and post-2015: A stimulus to public policy and planning. Human Resources for Health, 15, 14. Web.
Van den Heede, K., Florquin, M., Bruyneel, L., Aiken, L., Diya, L., Lesaffre, E., & Sermeus, W. (2013). Effective strategies for nurse retention in acute hospitals: A mixed method study. International Journal of Nursing Studies, 50(2), 185-194.