The problem of a shortage of nurses who are in charge of elderly people in medical facilities has proven to be rather topical nowadays. It is faced worldwide and tends to cause problems to both patients and nurses. Therefore, it requires an effective and efficient solution. The project oriented to reducing the shortage of nurses should have a well-organized implementation plan. The purpose of this paper is to develop an implementation plan while discussing the implementation steps, project timeframe, project budget plan, resources, and tools.
Implementation Steps
In the course of Phase 2, a shortage of nurses who are in charge of taking care of elderly people has been revealed. Thus, it proves to be necessary to find out which role the nurse staffing plays so as to be able to reflect on steps to take in order to improve the situation. Besides, it appears to be reasonable to get to realize why the shortage of nurses happens to exist. In order to study the matter and respond the questions, the qualitative approach of study has been chosen, since it tends to provide profound informative results. Thus, it allows gathering, scrutinizing, and explaining the collected data, which enables to arrive at certain conclusions and provide guidance and suggestions. As for the variables which are supposed to be considered, they are as follows: the system of staffing organization at a particular facility, as well as nurses’ and patients’ attitude towards the issue of the nurse staffing in this facility. The research is aimed to show major trends and possible alterations in the matter in question (Dent 2015).
In the course of Phase 2, it has been decided to apply sampling methodology in order to concentrate on patients who are in their 60s or older. This method proves to be effective and efficient since it is expected to gather the respondent’s opinions and provide their evaluation of the situation. Based on the established principles, their participation in the project is supposed to be deliberate. The research does not aim to collect any personal data either in writing or any types of recording. Apart from that, it is necessary to explain to respondents the reasons and purposes of the survey before it is conducted. In order to prevent any mistakes connected with categorization, as well as guarantee neutrality and pertinence, it might be reasonable to work out a questionnaire based on the principle of simple random sampling (Dent 2015).
Hence, there are five steps in the project implementation. The first step is to develop a proper questionnaire. The second one is to conduct a survey. The third one is to process the received data using up-to-date software. The fourth step is to draw conclusions. Finally, the results are expected to be evaluated, and further recommendations are supposed to be provided (Yoder-Wise, 2014).
In order to develop a proper questionnaire, it is necessary to take into account the following aspects: the preliminary consideration, questionnaire construction, technology of formulating questions, and the testing of the questionnaire. As for the preliminary consideration, the following questions are supposed to be answered: 1. Which information is required? 2. Who is the target respondent? 3. Which methodology is expected to be used? Since replies to these questions are already available, it is possible to go on to discuss the next stage. In the course of questionnaire construction, it is necessary to determine its structure and to envisage possible mistakes to ensure their avoidance. When it comes to the technology of formulating questions, it is crucial to decide whether questions are supposed to be open or closed. It is critical to give a strict format of the answer. It is required to think of the aim which each question is expected to reach. Thus, the questions must be well-formulated. The suggested range of answers is not supposed to intersect in any way. Besides, no connotative words are expected to be used. It is important to avoid ambiguous questions. The suggested answers should have a single meaning and be clear. Apart from that, the questions must be real and should have an answer. Once the questionnaire is completed, it is reasonable to test it. First of all, it is important to analyze the whole questionnaire and approve of the sequence of questions. The preliminary testing should take place in the conditions and surroundings which are identical to the conditions and surroundings of the actual place of the survey. It is necessary to give prior instructive advice to those who are going to conduct the survey (Baugh & Bohan, 2017).
After the stage of the questionnaire development is completed, it is time to pass on to conducting the survey. During this stage, it is necessary to approach potential respondents, explain to them the aim and the procedure and to get their agreement on the participation. If respondents agree to take part in the survey, the questions are supposed to be asked to them. It is important to remember that no personal data is recorded during the survey. It is necessary to interrogate 600 people (in general, 20 people a day). The procedure is expected to take up to a month. Once the questionnaires are filled in by 600 respondents, the procedure of data processing starts. It is expected to take another four weeks. It implies using special software to analyze and interpret the results. Finally, the results are to be evaluated, and the recommendations are to be given (Park et al., 2015).
Project Timeframe
To complete the project, it is necessary to develop a plan for twelve weeks. The pre-implementation stage of the project is supposed to last three weeks. It includes the discussion and development of the questionnaire. Since it is necessary to interrogate 600 people, the survey will take four weeks, which implies participation of approximately twenty respondents a day, provided four interrogators are available. The collected data will be considered for another four weeks. Analyzing and interpreting is a time-consuming process. Besides, it requires using special computer programs. Finally, during the last week, the conclusions are expected to be drawn, and the results will be evaluated accordingly.
Project Timeframe
Project Budget Plan
The implementation plan is feasible since it was planned previously. For the researcher, costs are limited as there is no need for specific equipment to conduct the survey. Computer-related costs, including the use of hard copies, are presented in the table:
Budget Plan
Resources and Tools
As for the resources and tools, typed questionnaires are necessary to be handed out to elderly people to ensure they can see and understand the questions. Therefore, it is necessary to print out 600 questionnaires. The answers are supposed to be ticked in the questionnaire and to be digitally recorded, too. Thus, the interrogator needs some pens. Besides, for digital recording, it is possible to use a dictating machine, an MP3-player, or a smartphone for this. As for the interrogators, they should be well-informed about the procedure. They should be able to explain to the respondents the aim and the purpose of the survey. As for the number of interrogators, it is necessary to have 4 of them every day to ensure they ask questions to approximately 20 people. The information will be processed with special software which is normally used for surveys (Park et al., 2015).
Conclusion
The paper has provided the implementation plan developed to reduce the shortage of nurses who are in charge of elderly people in medical facilities. The plan includes information regarding implementation steps, project timeframe, resources, and tools. There are five implementation steps: 1) questionnaire development, 2) survey conduct, 3) data processing, 4) conclusions, and 5) recommendations. The plan implementation is supposed to take twelve weeks. It requires four interrogators a day and 600 respondents in all. Apart from this information, the work provides the data collection methods and comments regarding the budget.
References
Baugh C. B., & Bohan J. S. (2017) Staffing considerations. In Observation Medicine (pp. 33-36). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
Dent, B. (2015). Nine principles for improved nurse staffing. Nursing Economics, 33(1), 41-44.
Park, S. H., Blegen, M. A.., Spetz, J. Chapman, S., De Groot, H. A. Comparison of nurse staffing measurements in staffing-outcomes research. Medical Care, 53(1), pp. 1-8.
Yoder-Wise, P. S (2014). Leading and managing in nursing. St. Louis, MO: Elvesier Mosby. Social media and communication. New York, NY: Sage.