The Context of the Issue
Nurses are considered to be one of the main aspects of healthcare. Therefore, they make up the majority of the workforce active in the medical field (Maenhout & Vanhoucke, 2013). Taking that into account, one can realize the significance of the role played by nurses in the modern setting of Palmetto Hospital in Miami. The complexity of this environment presupposes that a staffing strategy is developed to mitigate the issues caused by understaffing and trigger critical changes in the nursing practice (Maenhout & Vanhoucke, 2013). The context of the problem of understaffing involves numerous professionals that are keen on learning and improving patient outcomes and overall satisfaction in terms of healthcare services. It presupposes that the models of adequate staffing are elaborated to coordinate nursing practice and minimize the costs of health care services without affecting the quality of the latter.
Description of the Problem
The problem of understaffing at the Palmetto Hospital consists of the conformity of the current staffing standards which presuppose the limited training of professionals that are hired by the administration (Rogowski et al., 2015). This does not allow healthcare professionals to build connections and trigger operative teamwork. Another serious problem that should be taken into account is the poor knowledge base of the majority of the healthcare professionals that work at the hospital. They are not conscious of the critically important collaborative healthcare patterns, and this may lead to negative patient outcomes (Rogowski et al., 2015). The absence of a sufficient number of healthcare professionals and collaboration between them adversely affect the probability of medical errors and drastically decrease patient safety. The teams that do not apply specific staffing strategies are usually experiencing high staff turnover rates and budget drains. The problem of the current staffing policy consists in the fact that it does not pay attention to several crucial factors. The quality of health care, patient outcomes, and their safety will not be improved unless the staffing practice highlights the benefits of hiring more experienced individuals.
The Impact and Significance of Understaffing
Understaffing majorly impacts the work setting, the quality of healthcare, and patient outcomes. The core aspect of correct staffing is the ability to hire knowledgeable personnel that complies with the vision of the hospital (Nantsupawat et al., 2016). The significance of the problem of understaffing can be explained by the presence of a barrier between the healthcare professionals who are not experienced enough and healthcare facilities that only require expert knowledge from their staff. The working experiences of the professionals are not smoothed because the work environment is affected by an insufficient number of employees (Nantsupawat et al., 2016). The practical experience is a major asset for all the parties involved in the process of resolving the problem of understaffing at the Palmetto Hospital. The quality of healthcare is contingent on understaffing as well. The provision of healthcare that is accompanied by an acceptable number of staff members should become the key principle of the Palmetto Hospital. The HR specialists at the hospital should be aware of one of the biggest implications of proper staffing which is represented by the limited number of opportunities available to the teams that consist of a limited number of employees (Nantsupawat et al., 2016).
Possible Solutions to Dispose of Understaffing
If the organizations expect to incorporate a new staffing strategy in their practice, they will have to attain and maintain a certain level of professionalism (Twigg, Gelder, & Myers, 2015). The HR managers should provide opportunities for young specialists and make sure that they will be a great asset to the existing team. The applicants should possess specific competencies including collaborative skills and the ability to work in demanding conditions. The administration of the Palmetto Hospital should concentrate their efforts on removing the barriers between the experienced and inexperienced workers. In perspective, this will allow us to develop teamwork and discard the existing limitations of the healthcare practice. The development of teamwork skills and the integration of novel collaboration competencies will positively affect the future of health services. It will also increase patient safety and make the services much more cost-effective (Twigg et al., 2013). The solutions proposed in this paper are based on the key idea of the mainstream staffing strategies that support the prospects of helping the unversed healthcare personnel to develop their professional competencies. Building trust within the team and hiring more young specialists should become a priority for the current hospital administration.
References
Maenhout, B., & Vanhoucke, M. (2013). An integrated nurse staffing and scheduling analysis for longer-term nursing staff allocation problems. Omega, 41(2), 485-499.
Nantsupawat, A., Kunaviktikul, W., Nantsupawat, R., Wichaikhum, O., Thienthong, H., & Poghosyan, L. (2016). Effects of nurse work environment on job dissatisfaction, burnout, intention to leave. International Nursing Review, 3(12), 343-356.
Rogowski, J. A., Staiger, D. O., Patrick, T. E., Horbar, J. D., Kenny, M. J., & Lake, E. T. (2015). Nurse Staffing in Neonatal Intensive Care Units in the United States. Research in Nursing & Health, 38(5), 333-341.
Twigg, D. E., Gelder, L., & Myers, H. (2015). The impact of understaffed shifts on nurse-sensitive outcomes. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 71(7), 1564-1572.