Introduction
The study deals with the worldwide problem of a medical personnel shortage and the negative consequences of this phenomenon on the level of care provided. The shortage of nurses is caused by an increased demand for medical personnel, a low level of motivation on the part of clinics, and local cases of discrimination. PICOT: In chronically ill patients (P), does an adequate number of nurses visiting patients in patient care settings (I), compared to a shortage of nurses (C), reduce the rate of medical errors (O), over a period of 12 years? (T)
Outcomes Comparison
Anticipated Outcomes
It was expected that studies addressing the shortage of medical personnel would show a significant improvement in the situation in the case of a more complete staffing. The shortage of medical workers is a global problem, the consequences of which can be seen in any hospital setting (Shin, Park & Bae, 2019). The articles were supposed to show specific indicators that would be negatively affected by professional burnout and a significant workload. It was expected to see an increased number of medical errors in understaffed hospitals.
Articles Outcomes Comparison
All four studies were conducted in relation to different categories of patients and revealed a direct relationship between the increased workload of medical staff and the quality of care provided. Regardless of the method used, research must be ethical and confidential for validity (Grant et al., 2018). Research of the shortage of nurses to provide palliative care to children found that parents face a lack of care almost 24 hours a week (Weaver et al., 2018). Muabbar & Alsharqi prove that occupational burnout significantly impairs the quality of care for bedridden patients (2021). Zhu et al. demonstrate the problem with nursing care in China (2018). Staff are selected based on the number of beds, while the actual number of staff becomes too small, provoking poor quality of care (Zhu et al., 2018). Dietermann et al. conclude that the lack of staff is a public problem and leads to a deterioration in the quality of care (2021). The results of the study are in full agreement with expectations and demonstrate the global impact of medical staff shortage.
Proposed Evidence-Based Practice Change
Linking the PICOT Question, Articles and Practice Problem
The main issue of the study was to identify the relationship between the shortage of medical personnel and the deterioration in the quality of care provided. All four articles proved the global nature of the problem, as well as the negative impact of staff shortages on patients and workers themselves. The practical problem of nursing practice has been explored in different settings. In the case of the therapeutic department, home care and general research of the hospital, a severe shortage of staff was proved.
Proposed Change
The solution to change the problem of shortage of nurses can be competent personnel management and improvement of working conditions. Firstly, the system of additional motivation will allow to reduce the number of staff leaving. It is necessary to conduct psychological counseling for medical workers to avoid burnout. Finally, it is worth taking into account the incorrectness of the recruitment policy. It is essential to hire staff by taking into account the time spent on patients and the workload of the department.
Conclusion
The problem of shortage of medical personnel is proved by quantitative and qualitative studies. Nurses face heavy workloads, lack of motivation, burnout and local discrimination. Professional burnout and lack of time negatively affect the health of patients and medical staff themselves. To solve the existing problem, it is necessary to improve working conditions, increase the motivation of employees, eliminate burnout and revise the hiring policy.
References
Dietermann, K., Winter Season, V., Schneider, U., & Schreyögg, J. (2021). A multilevel regression approach consequences nurse staffing levels on nursing sensitive customer end results. The European Journal of Health Business Economics, 22(5), 833-846.
Grant, M. J., Driscoll, A., Carroll, D., Dalton, S., Deaton, C., Jones, I., & Astin, F. (2018). The effect of nurse-to-patient ratios on nurse-sensitive patient outcomes in acute specialist units: a systematic review and meta-analysis. European Journal of Cardiovascular Nursing, 17(1), 6-22.
Muabbar, H. Y., & Alsharqi, O. Z. (2021). The impact of short-term solutions of nursing shortage on nursing outcome, nurse perceived quality of care, and patient safety. American Journal of Nursing Research, 9(2), 35-44.
Shin, S., Park, J. H., & Bae, S. H. (2019). Nurse staffing and hospital‐acquired conditions: A systematic review. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 28(23-24), 4264-4275.
Weaver, M. S., Wichman, B., Bace, S., Schroeder, D., Vail, C., Wichman, C., & Macfadyen, A. (2018). Measuring the impact of the home health nursing shortage on family caregivers of children receiving palliative care. Journal of Hospice and Palliative Nursing, 20(3), 260–265.
Zhu, J. H., Rodgers, S., & Melia, K. M. (2018). Understanding human resource wastage in the nursing shortage: lessons learned from Chinese nurses leaving nursing practice. Athens J Health, 5(3), 195-211.