NURS 6053 Discussion Review of Current Healthcare Issues
Walden University NURS 6053 Discussion Review of Current Healthcare Issues-Step-By-Step Guide
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Whether one passes or fails an academic assignment such as the Walden University NURS 6053 Discussion Review of Current Healthcare Issues depends on the preparation done beforehand. The first thing to do once you receive an assignment is to quickly skim through the requirements. Once that is done, start going through the instructions one by one to clearly understand what the instructor wants. The most important thing here is to understand the required format—whether it is APA, MLA, Chicago, etc.
After understanding the requirements of the paper, the next phase is to gather relevant materials. The first place to start the research process is the weekly resources. Go through the resources provided in the instructions to determine which ones fit the assignment. After reviewing the provided resources, use the university library to search for additional resources. After gathering sufficient and necessary resources, you are now ready to start drafting your paper.
How to Write the Introduction for NURS 6053 Discussion Review of Current Healthcare Issues
The introduction for the Walden University NURS 6053 Discussion Review of Current Healthcare Issues is where you tell the instructor what your paper will encompass. In three to four statements, highlight the important points that will form the basis of your paper. Here, you can include statistics to show the importance of the topic you will be discussing. At the end of the introduction, write a clear purpose statement outlining what exactly will be contained in the paper. This statement will start with “The purpose of this paper…” and then proceed to outline the various sections of the instructions.
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After the introduction, move into the main part of the NURS 6053 Discussion Review of Current Healthcare Issues assignment, which is the body. Given that the paper you will be writing is not experimental, the way you organize the headings and subheadings of your paper is critically important. In some cases, you might have to use more subheadings to properly organize the assignment. The organization will depend on the rubric provided. Carefully examine the rubric, as it will contain all the detailed requirements of the assignment. Sometimes, the rubric will have information that the normal instructions lack.
Another important factor to consider at this point is how to do citations. In-text citations are fundamental as they support the arguments and points you make in the paper. At this point, the resources gathered at the beginning will come in handy. Integrating the ideas of the authors with your own will ensure that you produce a comprehensive paper. Also, follow the given citation format. In most cases, APA 7 is the preferred format for nursing assignments.
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After completing the main sections, write the conclusion of your paper. The conclusion is a summary of the main points you made in your paper. However, you need to rewrite the points and not simply copy and paste them. By restating the points from each subheading, you will provide a nuanced overview of the assignment to the reader.
How to Format the References List for NURS 6053 Discussion Review of Current Healthcare Issues
The very last part of your paper involves listing the sources used in your paper. These sources should be listed in alphabetical order and double-spaced. Additionally, use a hanging indent for each source that appears in this list. Lastly, only the sources cited within the body of the paper should appear here.
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NURS 6053 Discussion Review of Current Healthcare Issues
The healthcare issue selected for analysis is the increasing prevalence of chronic diseases, such as diabetes and heart disease, and their impact on the healthcare system. Chronic diseases are long-term conditions that require ongoing medical attention and often lead to disability and premature death if not properly managed (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2020).
In my work setting, this healthcare issue can have significant impacts.As a healthcare provider, the increasing prevalence of chronic diseases puts a strain on resources and personnel in our work setting. We need to allocate more time and attention to managing patients with chronic conditions, which can result in longer waiting times for appointments and increased workload for healthcare professionals. This may also contribute to potential burnout among staff members (Auerbach, Staiger, & Buerhaus, 2018).
Social Determinants: Various social determinants of health influence the prevalence of chronic diseases. These determinants include socioeconomic status, education, access to healthcare services, and community support systems (Dahlgren & Whitehead, 2020). For instance, individuals with lower socioeconomic status may have limited access to healthy food options and face barriers to healthcare services, increasing their risk of developing chronic conditions like diabetes and heart disease. Additionally, lack of education regarding healthy lifestyle choices and limited community resources for physical activity may contribute to the rising prevalence of these diseases.
Response of the Health System Work Setting: Healthcare work settings have implemented several changes to address the increasing prevalence of chronic diseases. These changes aim to enhance prevention, early detection, management, and education related to chronic conditions. Here are a few examples: Work settings have established comprehensive programs that focus on the management and prevention of chronic diseases. These programs may involve regular screenings, health assessments, and targeted interventions for individuals at risk or already diagnosed with chronic conditions (CDC, 2020).Healthcare work settings have prioritized patient education to improve self-management skills and promote healthier lifestyle choices. This includes providing resources, educational materials, and support groups to empower patients in managing their chronic conditions effectively (Jacobs, McGovern, Heinmiller, & Drenkard, 2018). Work settings have formed partnerships with community organizations, such as local fitness centers, nutritionists, and support groups, to create a supportive environment for individuals with chronic diseases. These collaborations aim to increase access to resources and promote community-wide health initiatives (CDC, 2020).
Health system work settings have integrated technology solutions, such as electronic health records, remote monitoring devices, and telehealth services, to improve chronic disease management. These technological advancements facilitate better communication, enhance care coordination, and provide more convenient access to healthcare services for patients (Auerbach et al., 2018).
The increasing prevalence of chronic diseases, such as diabetes and heart disease, presents significant challenges to healthcare work settings. Social determinants of health, such as socioeconomic status and access to healthcare, play a crucial role in driving these conditions. However, health system work settings have responded proactively by implementing chronic disease management programs, emphasizing patient education, collaborating with community organizations, and integrating technology solutions. These initiatives aim to enhance prevention, management, and overall outcomes for individuals with chronic diseases.
References
Auerbach, D. I., Staiger, D. O., & Buerhaus, P. I. (2018). Growing ranks of advanced practice clinicians – Implications for the physician workforce. The New England Journal of Medicine, 378(25), 2358-2360.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2020). Social determinants of health. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/socialdeterminants/index.htm
Dahlgren, G., & Whitehead, M. (2020). Policies and strategies to promote social equity in health. In S. S. O’Campo & R. F. Dunn (Eds.), Rethinking social epidemiology: Towards a science of change (pp. 137-160). Springer.
Jacobs, B., McGovern, J., Heinmiller, J., & Drenkard, K. (2018). The case for an essential role for professional nursing in the future of health care. Nursing Outlook, 66(6), 644-651.
NURS 6053 Discussion Review of Current Healthcare Issues
A national healthcare issue of concern is the perennial nursing shortage. Statistics at national and international levels show that the shortage of healthcare worker (HCWs) is profound and affects effective and quality service delivery. The World Health Organization (WHO) projects that nursing shortage could hit 12.9 million by 2035 (Marc et al., 2018). Nursing shortage creates unsafe working environment and increases fatigue, high turnover rates, and make nurses susceptible to medication administration errors. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the situation as the demand for healthcare services has increased, leading to more strain and burden on nurses, especially those working in critical care settings and others with elderly patient populations with chronic and terminal conditions.
Nursing shortage has impacted my work setting negatively as we enhance efforts to provide care to a patient diversity coming to the facility. Low staff retention, reduced levels of patient’s satisfaction, and a rise in hospital acquired infections are some of the negative effects of nursing shortage in our facility. When patient workload exceeds the available shift nurses, patients experience low levels of satisfaction. Unsafe staffing ratios contribute to burnout and high turnover rates (Alenezi et al., 2018). Further, increased length of stay happens due to higher nurse-to-patient ratios lead to more complications and a rise of hospital acquired infections.
Many healthcare settings are struggling in responding to nursing shortage because of the few options available (Marshall & Broome, 2017). Our facility is now leveraging technologies like telehealth to enhance access and quality for patients with chronic conditions like diabetes and hypertension who require constant monitoring. While studies show that nursing supply may exceed demand in the near future, using technologies and innovative models like increased training and flexibility can help organizations mitigate the adverse effects of nursing shortage.
References
Alenezi, A. M., Aboshaiqah, A., & Baker, O. (2018). Work‐related stress among nursing staff
working in government hospitals and primary health care centers. International Journal of Nursing Practice, 24(5). doi: 10.1111/ijn.12676
Marc, M., Bartosiewicz, A., Burzynska, J., Chmiel, Z., & Januszewicz, P. (2018). A
nursing shortage – a prospect of global and local policies. International Nursing Review, 66(1), 9-16. DOI: 10.1111/inr.12473.
Marshall, E. S., & Broome, M. E. (2017). Transformational leadership in nursing: From expert
clinician to influential leader (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Springer
Nurses work in different settings with varying work demands, support mechanisms, and
approaches to work. Regardless of these differences, healthcare stressors are part of everyday work. These stressors are usually workplace challenges widespread in the United States that hamper nurses’ ability to deliver timely and effective care (Rose et al., 2021). The nursing shortage is a prevalent national stressor with far-reaching effects on patient care. It is characterized by higher demand for nurses than the current supply.
The effects of the nursing shortage witnessed in other organizations may be experienced in my work setting. As Shah et al. (2021) explained, the nursing shortage is a leading cause of burnout among nurses. It increases the nurse-patient ratio implying that nurses are overworked and may lack time for self-care and other activities that enhance commitment to work. Shah et al. (2021) further observed that nurses experiencing burnout are more likely to commit medical errors than nurses working within the standard nurse-patient ratios. Errors risk patient safety and damage patients’ trust in healthcare providers. Burnout triggers turnover and increases an organization’s management costs since replacing nurses is costly.
To avert the damaging effects of the nursing shortage, healthcare organizations should implement robust strategies, both staff-centered and organization-wide. My healthcare setting has responded to the nursing shortage through continuous supervision of staff, motivation programs, and formulating policies that prevent work overload. As Lee and Lee (2022) noted, nurse motivation is critical to creating a positive work atmosphere and retaining nurses. The same perspective guides the management when developing and implementing motivation programs. Regarding the changes that may have been implemented, nurses need mental strength to cope with the increasing workload. As a result, the management should invest more in coping programs and organize appropriate training initiatives to improve nurses’ resilience.
References
Lee, J. Y., & Lee, M. H. (2022). Structural model of retention intention of nurses in small-and medium-sized hospitals: Based on Herzberg’s Motivation-Hygiene theory. Healthcare, 10(3), 502. https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare10030502
Rose, S., Hartnett, J., & Pillai, S. (2021). Healthcare worker’s emotions, perceived stressors and coping mechanisms during the COVID-19 pandemic. PLoS One, 16(7), e0254252. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0254252
Shah, M. K., Gandrakota, N., Cimiotti, J. P., Ghose, N., Moore, M., & Ali, M. K. (2021). Prevalence of and factors associated with nurse burnout in the US. JAMA Network Open, 4(2), e2036469-e2036469. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2020.36469
Staffing Shortages as a National Health are Issue/Stressor
Staffing shortages in the health care industry has become a significant issue and stressor all over the nation. Nurses work extremely hard and that is not a secret. With imminent staffing shortages in the health care profession and an increase in the volume of patients seeking care services, patient loads are increasing rapidly, thus making it difficult for nurses already short staff to manage all patient care needs effectively and efficiently (Bakhamis et al.,2019).
The United States has a massive nursing shortage, and the problem is only set to grow. Due to an influx of patients into our health system, the retirement of baby boomers, and educational bottlenecks, nursing positions are not being filled fast enough to keep up with demand (Xue et al., 2016 are millions of registered and licensed practical nurses in the United States. Most of these n). Nurses overworked and understaffed on the front lines. There urses, however, are not happy and comfortable in their work, they are stress, overworked, underappreciated, and underutilized leading to significant impact on the delivery of care.
Impact on Work Setting
Staffing shortages can have a significant impact on the quality of work, on productivity, creativity, competitiveness, nursing care outcomes, and on ensuring patients’ safety (Norful et al., 2018). At my health care organization due to staffing shortage, nurses sometimes work long hours because other nurses calling in sick, running one to four hours late from working under very stressful conditions resulting in burnout, injury, fatigue, and job dissatisfaction. Nurses suffering in my health care facility delay treatments and make other mistakes due to the relationship of the nurse-to-patient ratio (Xue et al., 2016). An unfortunate outcome is that patient quality of care suffers, resulting in a variety of complications including emergency room overcrowding and delay of treatment.
Organizational Response and Changes Implemented
A range of solutions has been offered as a way to solve the nursing shortage in my health care organization from subsidized funding, hiring new nurses, wage increases, and contracting with nursing agencies for nurses to fill in periodically. My health care organization provides tuition for nurses seeking to advance their degree. In addition, resources have been allocated towards increasing wages which has affected recruitment as well as retention of Registered Nurses already in the facility.
Another important strategy to further address the nursing shortage is that, nurses are allowed scheduling flexibility and coverage. This has help nurses to juggle their busy work schedule with home life and educational opportunities, and also allows room for decompressing between stressful, emotionally demanding shifts and days of work.
Health care of the nation, and patients, in particular will benefit the most from adequate staffing and a healthy and well rested nurse because efficiency and productivity will increase, the number of work-related mistakes at the same time will reduce, sick leaves are going to be rare, shorter, and burnout will not occur often (Norful et al., 2018). By introducing said strategies, we would not only increase staffing in health care but equally, reduce the stress-related illness rate among nurses and would also significantly raise the quality of healthcare and patient outcomes.
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Discussion: Review of Current Healthcare Issues
If you were to ask 10 people what they believe to be the most significant issue facing healthcare today, you might get 10 different answers. Escalating costs? Regulation? Technology disruption?
These and many other topics are worthy of discussion. Not surprisingly, much has been said in the research, within the profession, and in the news about these topics. Whether they are issues of finance, quality, workload, or outcomes, there is no shortage of changes to be addressed.
In this Discussion, you examine a national healthcare issue and consider how that issue may impact your work setting. You also analyze how your organization has responded to this issue.
To Prepare:
- Review the Resources and select one current national healthcare issue/stressor to focus on.
- Reflect on the current national healthcare issue/stressor you selected and think about how this issue/stressor may be addressed in your work setting.
By Day 3 of Week 1
Post a description of the national healthcare issue/stressor you selected for analysis, and explain how the healthcare issue/stressor may impact your work setting. Then, describe how your health system work setting has responded to the healthcare issue/stressor, including a description of what changes may have been implemented. Be specific and provide examples.
The national healthcare issue chosen is the shortage of qualified healthcare professionals. The COVID-19 pandemic and other disasters made managing patient surges difficult due to a lack of staff. According to Norful et al. (2018), In the face of impending staffing shortages within the healthcare industry and the growing influx of patients seeking primary care services, the task of effectively and efficiently managing all patient care needs can present itself as quite a challenging endeavor for a lone primary care professional. The lack of experts at my workplace can increase the workload and stress on the current personnel. Because fewer healthcare professionals are accessible, there is a greater likelihood that each person will have a heavier task and experience burnout and tiredness. This could impact the standard of treatment given to patients and the results for those patients.
The lack of trained educators is one of the social determinants that significantly affects this health problem. In their study, Marć et al. (2019) shed light on a pressing challenge facing the education of upcoming nursing professionals—a scarcity of faculty positions coupled with a shortage of highly skilled educators. The capacity to train and educate an adequate number of nursing students is hampered by this teacher shortage, exacerbating the scarcity of healthcare professionals. According to Prakash et al. (2018), the rising commercialization of healthcare and the lack of supervisors to oversee students’ clinical practice are also significant barriers to nursing education. My place of employment has made several changes in response to this healthcare concern. Actively seeking out and keeping qualified nursing personnel is one strategy. By embracing a culture of fairness, we encourage growth by offering competitive pay and benefits while fostering a healthy workplace that promotes achievement. Additionally, my workplace has put in place efforts to boost nurse retention and worker happiness. These include introducing flexible scheduling alternatives, providing new nurses with mentoring and support programs, and prioritizing work-life balance efforts.
Staffing Shortages as a National Health are Issue/Stressor
Staffing shortages in the health care industry has become a significant issue and stressor all over the nation. Nurses work extremely hard and that is not a secret. With imminent staffing shortages in the health care profession and an increase in the volume of patients seeking care services, patient loads are increasing rapidly, thus making it difficult for nurses already short staff to manage all patient care needs effectively and efficiently (Bakhamis et al.,2019). The United States has a massive nursing shortage, and the problem is only set to grow. Due to an influx of patients into our health system, the retirement of baby boomers, and educational bottlenecks, nursing positions are not being filled fast enough to keep up with demand (Xue et al., 2016). Nurses overworked and understaffed on the front lines. There are millions of registered and licensed practical nurses in the United States. Most of these nurses, however, are not happy and comfortable in their work, they are stress, overworked, underappreciated, and underutilized leading to significant impact on the delivery of care.
Impact on Work Setting
Staffing shortages can have a significant impact on the quality of work, on productivity, creativity, competitiveness, nursing care outcomes, and on ensuring patients’ safety (Norful et al., 2018). At my health care organization due to staffing shortage, nurses sometimes work long hours because other nurses calling in sick, running one to four hours late from working under very stressful conditions resulting in burnout, injury, fatigue, and job dissatisfaction. Nurses suffering in my health care facility delay treatments and make other mistakes due to the relationship of the nurse-to-patient ratio (Xue et al., 2016). An unfortunate outcome is that patient quality of care suffers, resulting in a variety of complications including emergency room overcrowding and delay of treatment.
Organizational Response and Changes Implemented
A range of solutions has been offered as a way to solve the nursing shortage in my health care organization from subsidized funding, hiring new nurses, wage increases, and contracting with nursing agencies for nurses to fill in periodically. My health care organization provides tuition for nurses seeking to advance their degree. In addition, resources have been allocated towards increasing wages which has affected recruitment as well as retention of Registered Nurses already in the facility.
Another important strategy to further address the nursing shortage is that, nurses are allowed scheduling flexibility and coverage. This has help nurses to juggle their busy work schedule with home life and educational opportunities, and also allows room for decompressing between stressful, emotionally demanding shifts and days of work.
Health care of the nation, and patients, in particular will benefit the most from adequate staffing and a healthy and well rested nurse because efficiency and productivity will increase, the number of work-related mistakes at the same time will reduce, sick leaves are going to be rare, shorter, and burnout will not occur often (Norful et al., 2018). By introducing said strategies, we would not only increase staffing in health care but equally, reduce the stress-related illness rate among nurses and would also significantly raise the quality of healthcare and patient outcomes.
References
Bakhamis, L., Paul, D.P., Smith, H., & Coustasse, A. (2019). Still an Epidemic: The Burnout
Syndrome in Hospital Registered Nurses. Health Care Manag (Frederick); 38(1):3-10
Norful, A. A., de Jacq, K., Carlino, R., & Poghosyan, L. (2018). Nurse practitioner-physician
comanagement: A theoretical model to alleviate primary care strain. Annals of Family
Xue, Y., Ye, Z., Brewer, C., & Spetz, J. (2016). Impact of state nurse practitioner scope-of-
practice regulation on health care delivery: a systematic review. Nurs Outlook;
64(1):71-85.
By Day 6 of Week 1
Respond to at least two of your colleagues on two different days who chose a different national healthcare issue/stressor than you selected. Explain how their chosen national healthcare issue/stressor may also impact your work setting and what (if anything) is being done to address the national healthcare issue/stressor.
Review of Current Healthcare Issues
The resiliency of providers working in primary care is a significant issue facing healthcare, with provider burnout to the lack of new providers entering the workforce. With new Medicare, Medicaid, and Commercial insurance, primary care providers are shifting from quantity to quality in healthcare-based payment. The new quality metrics are causing stress on an already overwhelming patient load in primary care and contributing to provider burnout. (Adler et al., 2018)
Working as an RN Clinical Supervisor in primary care, the workforce’s resiliency has decreased as providers strive to meet quality performance but also see and treat acute illness during a pandemic. In the last year, four providers have either left to treat only acute patients in Urgent Care Centers, or others have moved to specialty care as Advance Practice Nurses (APNs). The strain and resilience of the impacts of retention with shortages in nurses in primary care and lack of certified medical assistants (CMAs). (Marshall & Broome, 2021, p. 69) Along with restraints placed on APNs practicing with their autonomy instead of regulations of an overseeing physician. In North Carolina, Nurse Practitioners can only practice under contract with a Medical Doctor. These cause provider resiliency and workforce shortages and impact recruitment and the workforce. (Marshall & Broome, 2021)
Leaders within my organization are using tools to mitigate provider burnout by teaching how to effectively use the electronic health record EHR to improve the quality of care and document the interventions being used. A CMA academy has been designed within the organization to increase the workforce within primary care and to train CMAs to start provider notes and to practice to the top of their certifications. At the same time, nurses are allowed to practice at the top of their license.
Incentives are in place for Bachelor prepared nurses to return to school with tuition reimbursement incentives to further education to allow them to broaden their practice. Growing the ranks of advanced practice nurses and allowing them to practice side by side as partners with providers can enable the implications to help the physicians in the process and relieve strain and burnout. (Auerbach et al., 2018) This year within our organization, an extra forty hours of paid time off was given to help reduce burnout. Free counseling is offered to employees experiencing any strain, stress, or behavioral health issues.
Quality of care improves when resiliency in the workforce improves, productivity improves, effectiveness and safety, and patient outcomes.
References
Adler, R. N., Hamdan, S., Scanlon, C., & Altman, W. (2018). Quality measures: How to get them right. Family Practice Management, 25(4), 23–28.
Auerbach, D. I., Staiger, D. O., & Buerhaus, P. I. (2018). Growing ranks of advanced practice clinicians — implications for the physician workforce. New England Journal of Medicine, 378(25), 2358–2360. https://doi.org/10.1056/nejmp1801869
Marshall, E. S., & Broome, M. (2021). Transformational leadership in nursing (3rd ed.). Springer Publishing Company LLC.
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Submission and Grading Information
Grading Criteria
To access your rubric:
Week 1 Discussion Rubric
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Post by Day 3 and Respond by Day 6 of Week 1
To participate in this Discussion:
Week 1 Discussion
Module 1: Healthcare Environment (Weeks 1-2)
Laureate Education (Producer). (2018). The Healthcare Environment [Video file]. Baltimore, MD: Author.
Learning Objectives
Students will:
- Analyze current national healthcare issues/stressors
- Analyze the impact of national healthcare issues/stressors on healthcare organizations
- Analyze strategies for addressing national healthcare issues/stressors
| Due By | Assignment |
| Week 1, Days 1–2 | Read the Learning Resources. Compose your initial Discussion post. |
| Week 1, Day 3 | Post your initial Discussion post. Begin to compose your Assignment. |
| Week 1, Days 4-5 | Review peer Discussion posts. Compose your peer Discussion responses. Continue to compose your Assignment. |
| Week 1, Day 6 | Post two peer Discussion responses. |
| Week 2, Days 1–6 | Continue to compose your Assignment. |
| Week 2, Day 7 | Deadline to submit your Assignment. |
Learning Resources
Required Readings
Broome, M., & Marshall, E. S. (2021). Transformational leadership in nursing: From expert clinician to influential leader (3rd ed.). New York, NY: Springer.
- Chapter 2, “Transformational Leadership: Complexity, Change, and Strategic Planning” (pp. 34–62)
- Chapter 3, “Current Challenges in Complex Health Care Organizations and the Quadruple Aim” (pp. 66–97)
Read any TWO of the following (plus TWO additional readings on your selected issue):
https://human-resources-health.biomedcentral.com/track/pdf/10.1186/s12960-016-0154-3
Required Media
Laureate Education (Producer). (2015). Leading in Healthcare Organizations of the Future [Video file]. Baltimore, MD: Author.
The national healthcare issue that I want to bring to attention is nursing shortages. Nursing shortages have been around for a long time, but they have now reached critical levels in many countries including the US. Nursing shortages have been affecting the whole country, there are currently 7.3 million nurse shortages globally. The 2020 State of the World’s Nursing report by the World Health Organization evidenced that, by 2030, there will be a critical global shortage of 5.7 million nurses. To help all countries deal with nursing shortages by 2030, the WHO estimates that 8% more nurses need to graduate annually and be supported to be employed and retained in the profession (Marc, 2021). Many nurses are burnt out and exhausted by their work, and the threat of greater attrition is real because of the pandemic.
Nursing shortages lead to errors, higher morbidity, and mortality rates. In hospitals with high patient-to-nurse ratios, nurses experience burnout, and dissatisfaction and the patients experienced higher mortality and failure-to-rescue rates than in facilities with lower patient-to-nurse ratios (Heinz, 2018). shortage of nurses leads to an increase in the workload of the existing workforce, which results in a predictable increase in medication errors. Close to half of all nurses employed have admitted to committing a medication error in the past year.
Errors may range from infusing medicines at the wrong rate (most common) to giving the wrong medicine or mixing up medicines between patients, which easily can result in fatal consequences (Ghafoor et al., 2021). I work in a behavioral health facility, and we are faced with staff shortages daily leaving the whole team with an extra workload, leaving the house supervisor to multitask pretty much doing two people’s work. This causes a delay in medication administration, delays in sending patients to lunch on time, delays in activity, and group which affects all the units in the hospital.
Our hospital changed the shift schedule, we used to have 12 hours shift now the facility is offering eight hours and 12 hours shifts making it durable for nurses and aims to reduce burnout. The organization is also offering bonuses to those individuals who sign on to become nurses and to pick up shifts in case of shortages. Major investment in nursing by governments needs to occur to enable millions more nurses to graduate and to ensure positions for them are established and sustained. Nurses around the world need to collaborate and work closely across borders and regions to gather evidence about the profession to inform policy and investment decisions.
Nursing leaders and educators have key roles to play to help overcome nursing shortages. Many nursing organizations, scholars, and leaders have recognized the ongoing and deleterious effects of nursing shortages on positive patient outcomes and health service provision, as well as the potential to further exacerbate shortfalls in the profession (Bourgault, 2022). Quite simply, if nurses must work in situations of nursing shortages, they are more likely to be overworked, exhausted and leave nursing.
References
Bourgault, A. M. (2022). The Nursing Shortage and Work Expectations Are in Critical Condition: Is Anyone Listening? Critical Care Nurse, 42(2), 8–11. https://doi.org/10.4037/ccn2022909
Ghafoor, Y., Yaqoob, M. A., Bilal, M. A., & Ghafoor, M. S. (2021). Impact of nurse shortage on patient care. Saudi J Nurs Heal Care, 4(4), 114-9. https:// 10.36348/sjnhc.2021.v04i04.003114-9. https:// 10.36348/sjnhc.2021.v04i04.003
Heinz, D. (2018). Hospital nurse staffing and patient outcomes: a review of current literature. Dimensions of Critical Care Nursing, 23(1), 44-50. Retrieved from https://search-ebscohost-com.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/login.aspx?direct=true&db=rzh&AN=106723823&site=ehost-live&scope=site
Marc, M., Bartosiewicz, A., Burzynska, J., Chmiel, Z., & Januszewicz, P. (2021). A nursing shortage – a prospect of global and local policies. International Nursing Review, 66(1), 9 16. Retrieved from http://dx.doi.org/http://dx.doi.org.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/10.1111/inr.12473
The value of nursing care has a direct relationship with quality and safety outcomes. The nursing shortage is a persistent national health issue affecting the ability of nurses to provide effective nursing care to patients; thus, undermining the safety and quality of care. The effects of the nursing shortage in healthcare are multifaceted impacting nurses, patients, and healthcare organizations. Nursing shortage leads to work overload, resulting in burnout and stress for nurses.
According to studies, burnout and stress has multiple negative outcomes, including medication errors, adverse events, high rates of infections, patient safety issues, poor nurse performance, high turnover rates, increased length of hospital stay, and negative patient experience(Dall’Ora et al., 2020). These factors have quality and safety implications as hospitals struggle to enhance the patient experience, reduce infection, adverse events, length of hospital stay, and other quality indicators and improve overall population health. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the effects of the nursing shortage at my organization and identify possible strategies for remedying the healthcare stressor from scholarly sources.
National Healthcare Issue/Stressor and Its Impact on the Organization
A recent quality assessment and audit at my organization revealed several issues negatively impacting quality and safety outcomes. First, the review noted a higher rate of hospital-acquired infections (HAI) than the value of last year’s review. Secondly, the assessment also pointed out that some patients had a longer hospital stay (LOS) than necessary. Thirdly, the review revealed significant cases of medication errors and adverse events such as avoidable patient falls. A separate assessment investigating the experience of nurses and patients with work and care, respectively, also showed that nurses are stressed because of the high workload. A significant portion of the patient population surveyed reported a low level of satisfaction with the services and care experience. Equally, nurses reported high workload, stress, and low job satisfaction.
Summary of Two Articles
The article, A nursing shortage – a prospect of global and local policies, examines the factors driving nursing shortage around the world, primarily, the rising population of senior citizens. According to the article, the nursing shortage has no single cause but multiple interrelated factors. Some of the contributors tothe nursing shortage include ineffective planning and utilization of nursing resources, demographic changes, and poor recruitment practices (Marć et al., 2018). The authors provide strategies for addressing the nursing shortage from policies point of view.
Similarly, the article, Discuss Reasons for Acute and Chronic Problems with The Crisis of Nursing, acknowledges that recruitment and retention of nurses remains a crisis in countries worldwide. The author argues that one of the causes of the perennial nursing shortage is the nursing education structure, which dwells on theory and allocates less time for practical experience (Wada, 2020). As such, nurses enter the profession with less practical experience, giving them anxiety and a high tendency to quit. Additionally, the article notes that time constraints and high workloads limit the nurses’ ability to deliver ideal care(Wada, 2020).
Recognizing the negative implications of the nursing shortage, organizations have come up with strategies attempting to address the issue and enhance patient outcomes. One of the strategies implemented in other organizations is an onboarding program to reduce new nurses’ turnover rates. A recent RN Staffing report reveals that the turnover rate for novice nurses is 18.7%, a 2.8% increase from the 2020 survey (NSI Nursing Solutions, 2021). Novice nurses are likely to resign because of poor organizational culture, bullying, challenging clinical environment, and feelings of isolation. Onboarding programs help new nurses feel welcomed, supported, and part of the community. The second strategy used in other organizations is long-term training and development of nurses. Studies link training and development to motivation, staff engagement, better performance, and staff satisfaction, reducing turnover rates (Zahoor & Mustafa, 2020).
Summary of Strategies Used To Address the Organizational Impact of Nursing Shortage
The articles selected provide various strategies for addressing nurse shortages. According to Wada (2020),higher wages attract and retain nurses leading to a low turnover rate. Additionally, improving the relationship between nurses and physicians and other healthcare workers is essential as nurses want recognition and respect, enhancing motivation. An additional strategy is to identify and address the negative factors affecting the work environment, such as hard shifts and heavy workload. Similarly, managerial support and the adoption of information technology to eliminate manual work are also strategies for improving nurse retention rates (Wada, 2020).
Strategies reported by Marć et al. (2018) include salary regulation to ensure fair compensation, creating a positive work environment, implementing information technology, and introducing lifelong learning for professional development. My organization can benefit from these strategies to improve staff retention. For example, introducing an onboarding program for novice nurses is a good idea, as most face challenges acclimatizing with the organizational culture, work environment, and challenging shifts, causing them frustrations that lead to turnover. Nevertheless, the organization will face challenges implementing some of these strategies; for example, salary increase and training and development require resources, yet, the organization’s financial resources are already strained.
Conclusion
Nurse shortage is a profound health stressor that undermines quality and safe care services to patients and populations. Scholarly articles provide several strategies to address the problem, promote nurse retention, and improve the quality and safety of care. One strategy is increasing wages to ensure fair compensation for the challenging nursing work and enhance motivation. The second strategy is introducing training and development to help nurses learn new skills and knowledge and attain professional development. Other techniques are creating a positive work environment, implementing an onboarding program for new nurses, effective management, and implementing information technology to reduce workload.
References
Dall’Ora, C., Ball, J., Reinius, M., & Griffiths, P. (2020). Burnout in nursing: a theoretical review. Hum Resour Health, 18, 41. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12960-020-00469-9.
Marć, M., Bartosiewicz, R., Burzyńska, J., Chmiel, Z., & Januszewicz, P. (2018). A nursing shortage – a prospect of global and local policies. International Nursing Review, 9-16. https://doi.org/10.1111/inr.12473.
NSI Nursing Solutions. (2021). 2021 NSI National Health Care Retention & RN Staffing Report. NSI Nursing Solutions, Inc.
Wada, Y. (2020). Discuss reasons for acute and chronic problems with the crisis of nursing shortage in relation to nursing education and review The Strategies and. Nursing & Primary Care, 4(4), 1-4. https://www.scivisionpub.com/pdfs/discuss-reasons-for-acute-and-chronic-problems-with-the-crisis-of-nursing-shortage-in-relation-to-nursing-education-and-review-the-1337.pdf.
Zahoor, H., & Mustafa, N. (2020). Training and development and health workers’ motivation and performance. Intraders.
Nurses work in different settings with varying work demands, support mechanisms, and approaches to work. Regardless of these differences, healthcare stressors are part of everyday work. These stressors are usually workplace challenges widespread in the United States that hamper nurses’ ability to deliver timely and effective care (Rose et al., 2021). The nursing shortage is a prevalent national stressor with far-reaching effects on patient care. It is characterized by higher demand for nurses than the current supply.
The effects of the nursing shortage witnessed in other organizations may be experienced in my work setting. As Shah et al. (2021) explained, the nursing shortage is a leading cause of burnout among nurses. It increases the nurse-patient ratio implying that nurses are overworked and may lack time for self-care and other activities that enhance commitment to work. Shah et al. (2021) further observed that nurses experiencing burnout are more likely to commit medical errors than nurses working within the standard nurse-patient ratios. Errors risk patient safety and damage patients’ trust in healthcare providers. Burnout triggers turnover and increases an organization’s management costs since replacing nurses is costly.
To avert the damaging effects of the nursing shortage, healthcare organizations should implement robust strategies, both staff-centered and organization-wide. My healthcare setting has responded to the nursing shortage through continuous supervision of staff, motivation programs, and formulating policies that prevent work overload. As Lee and Lee (2022) noted, nurse motivation is critical to creating a positive work atmosphere and retaining nurses. The same perspective guides the management when developing and implementing motivation programs. Regarding the changes that may have been implemented, nurses need mental strength to cope with the increasing workload. As a result, the management should invest more in coping programs and organize appropriate training initiatives to improve nurses’ resilience.
References
Lee, J. Y., & Lee, M. H. (2022). Structural model of retention intention of nurses in small-and medium-sized hospitals: Based on Herzberg’s Motivation-Hygiene theory. Healthcare, 10(3), 502. https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare10030502
Rose, S., Hartnett, J., & Pillai, S. (2021). Healthcare worker’s emotions, perceived stressors and coping mechanisms during the COVID-19 pandemic. PLoS One, 16(7), e0254252. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0254252
Shah, M. K., Gandrakota, N., Cimiotti, J. P., Ghose, N., Moore, M., & Ali, M. K. (2021). Prevalence of and factors associated with nurse burnout in the US. JAMA Network Open, 4(2), e2036469-e2036469. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2020.36469
Current Healthcare Issues: Discussion
The selected national healthcare issue or stressor is the rising cost of care for millions of Americans that makes it difficult for them to access quality and affordable care. Despite the federal government’s efforts to lower the cost of care through the enactment of the Affordable Care Act in 2010 and other related healthcare reforms, the cost of care remains prohibitively high for different health populations and individuals across different states in the country (Park et al., 2018). According to Montero et al. (2022), Americans continue experiencing challenges with the cost of care which increases the healthcare burden for families and the decisions to have coverage as well as seek care for different condition. Close to half of adults in the country opine that they have challenges affording care costs. The cost of care also prevents them from getting the required care or filling prescriptions. The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated the issue of healthcare costs (Jacobs et al., 2018). Many attribute the rise in cost of care to different issues that include the increase in the price of medical and health care spending, an aging population that places more demands on the care system, and deployment of health technology that requires more investment in equipment and training of personnel.
The issue impacts the work setting since it means that more patients cannot have access to services because they cannot afford them and the facility loses revenue as a result of low volumes in patients. Secondly, the increased cost of care implies that many patients postpone or ignore critical medical and healthcare procedures since they lack medical insurance or out-of-pocket funds to cater to their treatment and other routine procedures and reviews (Whitman et al., 2022). Again, the issue affects the quality of care delivered to patients since they may not afford other procedures due to cost constraints.
Social determinants of health denote nonmedical factors that have significant effect on one’s overall health and health outcomes. These factors include one’s level of education, income, neighborhood and other social conditions where they are born and raised or live. These determinants affect one’s access to healthcare. For instance, income levels, and education are critical factors that may affect one’s ability to access healthcare and address the cost of care issues (Daniel et al., 2018). While the Affordable Care led to increased enrollment of individuals in health insurance schemes based on its conditions at state level, millions of Americans, especially from low-income households lack health insurance and this affects their ability to access care and reduce the overall cost.
Organizations, like the current work setting, have responded to this issue through increased education of patients and encouraging them to have healthcare coverage. Healthcare costs are a huge challenge to low-income individuals who cannot afford the payment of insurance premiums to have medical coverage. The out-of-pocket payment is costly and this implores the organization as well as its nursing staff to advocate patients’ need to take health insurance coverage (Marshall et al., 2019). The implication is that through patient education and awareness the organization implores patients and their families to consider taking health insurance coverage to reduce the cost of care and enable them access quality care. Again, as patient advocates, nurses develop innovative means to deliver care that is cost-effective to patients, especially those with chronic conditions who require close monitoring. Through these strategies, the organization tackles the issue of rising cost of care that prohibits patients from access better services.
References
Marshall, E., & Broome, M. (2019). Transformational leadership in nursing: From expert
clinician to influential leader (3rd ed.). New York, NY: Springer.
Jacobs, B., McGovern, J., Heinmiller, J., & Drenkard, K. (2018). Engaging employees in well-
being: Moving from the Triple Aim to the Quadruple Aim. Nursing Administration Quarterly, 42(3), 231–245. doi:10.1097/NAQ.0000000000000303
Park, B., Gold, S. B., Bazemore, A., & Liaw, W. (2018). How evolving United States payment
models influence primary care and its impact on the Quadruple Aim. Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine, 31(4), 588–604. doi:10.3122/jabfm.2018.04.170388
Montero, A., Kearney, A., Hamel, L. & Brodie, M. (2022 July 14). Americans’ Challenges with
Health Care Costs. https://www.kff.org/health-costs/issue-brief/americans-challenges-with-health-care-costs/
Daniel, H., Bornstein, S. S., Kane, G. C., & Health and Public Policy Committee of the
American College of Physicians (2018). Addressing social determinants to improve patient care and promote health equity: An American College of Physicians position paper. Annals of internal medicine, 168(8), 577-578. https://doi.org/10.7326/M17-2441
Whitman, A., De Lew, N., Chappel, A., Aysola, V., Zuckerman, R., & Sommers, B. D. (2022).
Addressing social determinants of health: Examples of successful evidence-based strategies and current federal efforts. Washington, DC: US Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Health Policy. https://aspe.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/documents/e2b650cd64cf84aae8ff0fae7474af82/SDOH-Evidence-Review
There are many healthcare issues all worth discussing. The healthcare issue I will be analyzing is cost of healthcare. In 2020, 31.6 million (9.7%) of Americans were without insurance (Cha & Cohen, 2022). Because the cost of healthcare is so expensive, those that are uninsured find healthcare services almost unattainable. Over the years the cost of healthcare has rose due to aging populations and medical technologies, but patient outcomes have not improved despite the increased costs (Kaplan, et al, 2017).
Impact on Work Setting
Rising healthcare costs impacts just about every department in the hospital. A lot of uninsured American’s avoid healthcare at almost all costs. This means they are not retrieving preventative care and they are not taking their prescription medications. When the hospital is their last and only option, they come. These patients tend to not come to the hospital or retrieve any type of care until their symptoms are severe. This causes hospitals and hospital staff to become overwhelmed.
Social Determinants of Health
There are many social determinants of health that affect healthcare costs. These include affordable housing, access to nutritious food, quality education, and opportunities for employment (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid, 2021). All of these challenges can lead to higher healthcare costs and poor health outcomes. Ways these challenges can be overcome is by providing housing support, transportation, meals delivered to homes, employment support, and educational support (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid, 2021).
Work Setting Response
As healthcare costs rise, the hospital I work at make it a priority to talk to patients about health insurance to help their costs lower. It is important to learn why patients do not have health insurance. Some may not because they do not have a job or they cannot afford other basic needs such as food or housing. After finding out why they do not have insurance, we get them support to fix the underlying cause. For example, a young women came into the emergency department with a wound on her foot that had gotten infected. She said she did not come sooner due to lack of insurance. It was explored why she did not have insurance. It was found that she could not afford basic needs such as nutritious foods and had no job. A social worker got involved with her case and gave her the support she needed in order to get health insurance.
Conclusion
Increasing healthcare costs causes many problems in the healthcare setting. Uninsured Americans wait until they are severely sick before retrieving treatment and they do not receive preventative care. If costs where not so high and more Americans were insured, hospitals would see patients well before they were severe. This, in turn, would decrease costs both for the patient and for the hospital. Clinical practice guidelines are needed to focus on value assessments and cost-effectiveness (Broome & Marshall, 2021). Regardless of cost of care, the quality of care must be measured.
High Cost of Care
The National Healthcare Issue I will be discussing is High Cost of Care
Description of National Health Issue (High Cost of Care)
U.S healthcare cost is the highest globally, although the U.S is rated high regarding patient-centered care. The continuous upward cost of U.S healthcare costs has created economic hardship for some families in America (Lyford & Lash, 2019). Many quality issues are noted within the healthcare system. For example, medical errors have been attributed to several thousands of leaks per year in America, lack of transparency leading to fraud is noticeable in the U.S healthcare system, coding system has caused clashes between healthcare providers and insurance companies, and the policyholders have become the bargaining chips.
Up code is a way providers extort money from insurance companies, and insurance companies, on the other hand, may introduce higher premiums to the employers. There are also challenges in getting competent Doctors; health consumers need access to information about doctors’ credentials and accomplishments, making it difficult to make an informed decision. In America, the high cost of healthcare is linked to new technology, and money is pumped into training and managing new Electronic Health Records and Electronic Medical records. Most of these expenses come from the operational and staff cost required to be in charge of these new systems. In America, prescription drugs and diagnostic tests are so exorbitant. Increasing transparency is synonymous with reducing costs. For example, Drug companies never affix any price to their product when advertising it on TV. A significant way to facilitate transparency is by asking drug makers to disclose the cost of their products in media advertisements (Garness, 2019).
Various steps the government has taken to reduce the cost of healthcare have proven futile. Providing healthcare consumers with necessary and adequate information to better their health and teaching consumers about preventive screenings will reduce the risk of preventable conditions and save the cost of healthcare services.
When consumers are well educated about their health, it brings down demands for health services, potentially lowering healthcare service prices. Healthcare professionals are restructuring care to facilitate positive patient outcomes in combating the high cost of healthcare services. Healthcare professionals face the problem of creating new ways to restructure care and create systems that make providers liable for standard, cost, and patient care outcomes (Ricketts & Fraher, 2013).
How High Costs of Care May Impact My Work Settings
I work in a hospital. Many people in America either delayed or did not get healthcare services for cost reasons. Costs of healthcare services are the most debilitating factor to healthcare access. People with lower income and uninsured have difficulties affording healthcare costs. The rich and those with healthcare insurance also pay a very high price for healthcare services. The high price of healthcare can either make the patient skip or delay pursuing healthcare services.
The increase in the cost of healthcare services is linked to the quantity, not quality, of services. The advent of new technologies is driving the cost upward. There needs to be more information regarding medical services, and cost implication is also responsible for high costs. Doctors are scared of malpractice lawsuits and engage in defensive medicine; this leads to the prescription of irrelevant tests, and this practice drives up the cost. Some studies have shown that some patients spent more on healthcare services than their income could support.
In my hospital, patients are suspending care services because of healthcare costs. Most canceled healthcare appointments or procedures are traceable to the high cost, and appointments get canceled when patients receive high estimates. Even though patients know that untreated medical condition can aggravate, resulting in worsening symptoms, when a patient postpones care, cancel, or delay, it causes workflow disruptions. Revenue is lost, necessary clinician time is wasted, and it leads to a lack of inefficient care delivery.
The patient is shopping for providers that guarantee a positive patient payment experience. Without any doubt, when patients receive surprise bills, they will be tempted to search for different providers. This is a nightmare for healthcare providers. When patients switch providers, such providers will lose revenue and may be unable to meet their financial obligations. For a healthcare provider to maintain a competitive edge, such must offer a better payment experience. The increase in healthcare services costs is affecting healthcare organizations’ revenue generation. For providers to stay afloat, they must provide the best financial experience.
My hospital cuts jobs and reduces services in my workplace due to increasing costs and strain budgets. As the execution of the U.S Affordable Care Act moves, several healthcare systems seek considerable changes in how the healthcare workforce is sorted out (Pittman & Scilly-Russ, 2016). Also, the COVID-19 pandemic has put a strain on the hospital budget. Our hospital is paying high wages to healthcare workers due to shortages, and this is driving the cost of healthcare upward.
As a result of this shortage, my organization scaled back services. In the hospital I worked, we have been experiencing low procedure volumes and supply chain issues post-pandemic. Hospital payroll has gone above the ceiling. The cost of healthcare delivery had made my healthcare organization cut executive compensation and readjusted workloads. Contract workers were switched to full-time employees, and existing staff were retained at a minimum wage increase. Some patient do not mind travelling for healthcare services to reduce the cost. As a way of increasing profitability, my workplace has resulted in reducing nurse staffing. The nursing staffing ratio directly relates to the quality of patient care outcomes. Reducing staffing has contributed to nurse burnout as nurses ended up working long, and nurse’s burnout has been the cause of high nurse turnover. Increased nursing turnover has been the source of an increase in overtime pay. Nurse burnout affects staff morale and productivity, as nurse turnover affects the nurse-patient ratio.
Social Determinant that Most Affect High Cost of Care
Social determinant of health includes stigma, disparity, poverty, racism, and lack of education. Social determinant of health are the situations in the surrounding where people work or live, and social determinant plays a vital role in quality-of-life outcomes. Health disparities, education discrimination, literacy, etc., contribute to arrays of health disparities and inequities. Socioeconomic factors encircle many several social determinants of health. Poverty can inhibit access to quality healthcare. Social determinant of health is not a medical factor, but they impact health outcomes. In this case, poverty and lack of education are social determinants that most affect the high cost of care.
How My Health System Work Setting Has Responded to the High Cost of Health Services
Because there are intermediaries between healthcare providers and patients, many sick patients are paying a high price to get treated. My health system implemented cost containment, and this facility designs effective cost-containment strategies to alleviate the cost of care without compromising high-quality care. Cost containment has led to the creation of new payment models and revamped care delivery (Palumbo et al., 2017).
My health system work setting responded to the high cost of healthcare through cost containment. Promoting comprehension of organizational costs, encouraging engagement throughout the hospital, having frequent meetings with the stakeholders, stressing the correlation between labor costs and productivity, and making available powerful tools for data-directed decision-making.
Using generic medicines, and asking the patient to do a routine health screening, enables the detection of health problems early, and if diseases are treated early, it saves cost. To alleviate the cost on the side of the patient, patients are advised to use in-Network Health care providers to save money. The management first communicates the plan to implement cost containment around all hospital departments. Essential expenditure and revenue data are passed to all stakeholders, so they must learn the rationale behind cost containment.
The appropriate authority can translate data and expose clinicians to insights into the system’s financial operations. Stakeholders such as doctors and nurse practitioners were provided with adequate financial data to enable them to make appropriate adjustments as they could potentially drive-up costs. Exposing cost data to frontline decision-makers in the healthcare system is a difficult decision. The reason for high healthcare costs can be linked to advancements in medical technology, the aging population, and the cost of labor.
To lower the cost of healthcare services, our hospital utilizes Telehealth, which has brought meaningful saving substantial financial savings to the hospital. The patient is seen virtually by doctors. These strategies were initiated at the inception of the COVID-19 pandemic. These strategies help the hospital to save money, and the patient does not have to make unnecessary trips to the emergency department which can make the patient cough out thousands of dollars per visit. Hospitals throughout the nations are adapting to these changes using the theory of complex adaptive systems. Complex Adaptive Systems theory is considered one feature of complexity science that describes how an organization adapts to an ever-evolving environment (Marshall & Broome, 2021).
References
Garness, K. (2019). The Challenge of High Drug Prices in America: Cost Disclosure in Direct-to-Consumer Advertising May Offer a Solution. American Health & Drug Benefits, 12(5), 254–255.
Lyford, S., & Lash, T. A. (2019). America’s Healthcare Cost Crisis: As the costs of U.S. healthcare continue to escalate, three commonsense reforms could reverse this unsustainable trend. Generations, 7–12.
Marshall, E. S., & Broome, M. (2021). Transformational leadership in nursing (3rd ed.). Springer Publishing Company.
Palumbo, M., Rambur, B., & Hart, V. (2017). Is health care payment reform impacting nurses’ work settings, roles, and education preparation? Journal of Professional Nursing, 33(6), 400–404. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.profnurs.2016.11.005Links to an external site.
Pittman, P., & Scully-Russ, E. (2016). Workforce planning and development in times of delivery system transformation. Human Resources for Health, 14(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12960-016-0154-3Links to an external site.
Ricketts, T. C., & Fraher, E. P. (2013). Reconfiguring health workforce policy so that education, training, and actual delivery of care are closely connected. Health Affairs, 32(11). https://www.proquest.com/docview/1458313016?accountid=14872%26forcedol=trueLinks to an external site.
Discussion Response #1
Rising healthcare costs and the increasing number of Americans that cannot afford health insurance are national healthcare issues affecting our profession and the healthcare system. Not only does this issue affect those uninsured but also those insured as Montero et al. (2022) mention that “about one-third of insured adults worry about affording their monthly health insurance premium, and 44% worry about affording their deductible before health insurance kicks in” (para. 6). The alarming number of Americans facing anxiety over the cost of insurance and healthcare bills leads to another problem: not seeking care until the illness or disease is so severe it requires an emergency room visit or hospitalization.
While working in the inpatient department of a hospital makes it challenging to address uninsured patients before they are admitted for severe problems, we can make an effort to help them going forward. Social workers are a huge benefit to the healthcare system, as their communication with patients and community connections can drastically change patient outcomes during and after hospitalization. Nurses and social workers must work collaboratively to ensure the best options are offered to meet the patient’s home, medical, and financial needs. Social workers often must have difficult conversations with patients to better the patient’s health and lifestyle (GBMC Healthcare, 2022).
At my facility, the patient population is no different. We aim to ensure a social worker is assigned to assess every patient in the hospital. The social worker makes recommendations based on the patients’ needs and educates the patient on the importance of acquiring insurance, ensuring a safe home environment, and offering assistance for financial or transportation needs so that healthcare professionals can continue proper medical care. Maintaining quality interprofessional communication between the nurse and social worker could be the difference in patient outcomes and whether they seek preventative care in the future.
References
Greater Baltimore Medical Center (GBMC) Healthcare. (December 5, 2022). What Does a Hospital Social Worker Actually Do? https://www.gbmc.org/what-is-a-clinical-social-worker-tory
Montero, A., Kearney, A., Hamel, L., & Brodie, M. (July 14, 2022). Americans’ Challenges with Health Care Costs. Kaiser Family Foundation. https://www.kff.org/health-costs/issue-brief/americans-challenges-with-health-care-costs/
Rubric Detail
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Content
Name: NURS_6053_Module01_Week01_Discussion_Rubric
| Excellent | Good | Fair | Poor | ||
| Main Posting | Points Range: 45 (45%) – 50 (50%)Answers all parts of the discussion question(s) expectations with reflective critical analysis and synthesis of knowledge gained from the course readings for the module and current credible sources.Supported by at least three current, credible sources.Written clearly and concisely with no grammatical or spelling errors and fully adheres to current APA manual writing rules and style. | Points Range: 40 (40%) – 44 (44%)Responds to the discussion question(s) and is reflective with critical analysis and synthesis of knowledge gained from the course readings for the module.At least 75% of post has exceptional depth and breadth.Supported by at least three credible sources.Written clearly and concisely with one or no grammatical or spelling errors and fully adheres to current APA manual writing rules and style. | Points Range: 35 (35%) – 39 (39%)Responds to some of the discussion question(s).One or two criteria are not addressed or are superficially addressed.Is somewhat lacking reflection and critical analysis and synthesis.Somewhat represents knowledge gained from the course readings for the module.Post is cited with two credible sources.Written somewhat concisely; may contain more than two spelling or grammatical errors.
Contains some APA formatting errors. |
Points Range: 0 (0%) – 34 (34%)Does not respond to the discussion question(s) adequately.Lacks depth or superficially addresses criteria.Lacks reflection and critical analysis and synthesis.Does not represent knowledge gained from the course readings for the module.Contains only one or no credible sources.Not written clearly or concisely.
Contains more than two spelling or grammatical errors. Does not adhere to current APA manual writing rules and style. |
|
| Main Post: Timeliness | Points Range: 10 (10%) – 10 (10%)Posts main post by day 3. | Points Range: 0 (0%) – 0 (0%) | Points Range: 0 (0%) – 0 (0%) | Points Range: 0 (0%) – 0 (0%)Does not post by day 3. | |
| First Response | Points Range: 17 (17%) – 18 (18%)Response exhibits synthesis, critical thinking, and application to practice settings.Responds fully to questions posed by faculty.Provides clear, concise opinions and ideas that are supported by at least two scholarly sources.Demonstrates synthesis and understanding of learning objectives.Communication is professional and respectful to colleagues.Responses to faculty questions are fully answered, if posed.
Response is effectively written in standard, edited English. |
Points Range: 15 (15%) – 16 (16%)Response exhibits critical thinking and application to practice settings.Communication is professional and respectful to colleagues.Responses to faculty questions are answered, if posed.Provides clear, concise opinions and ideas that are supported by two or more credible sources.Response is effectively written in standard, edited English. | Points Range: 13 (13%) – 14 (14%)Response is on topic and may have some depth.Responses posted in the discussion may lack effective professional communication.Responses to faculty questions are somewhat answered, if posed.Response may lack clear, concise opinions and ideas, and a few or no credible sources are cited. | Points Range: 0 (0%) – 12 (12%)Response may not be on topic and lacks depth.Responses posted in the discussion lack effective professional communication.Responses to faculty questions are missing.No credible sources are cited. | |
| Second Response | Points Range: 16 (16%) – 17 (17%)Response exhibits synthesis, critical thinking, and application to practice settings.Responds fully to questions posed by faculty.Provides clear, concise opinions and ideas that are supported by at least two scholarly sources.Demonstrates synthesis and understanding of learning objectives.Communication is professional and respectful to colleagues.Responses to faculty questions are fully answered, if posed.
Response is effectively written in standard, edited English. |
Points Range: 14 (14%) – 15 (15%)Response exhibits critical thinking and application to practice settings.Communication is professional and respectful to colleagues.Responses to faculty questions are answered, if posed.Provides clear, concise opinions and ideas that are supported by two or more credible sources.Response is effectively written in standard, edited English. | Points Range: 12 (12%) – 13 (13%)Response is on topic and may have some depth.Responses posted in the discussion may lack effective professional communication.Responses to faculty questions are somewhat answered, if posed.Response may lack clear, concise opinions and ideas, and a few or no credible sources are cited. | Points Range: 0 (0%) – 11 (11%)Response may not be on topic and lacks depth.Responses posted in the discussion lack effective professional communication.Responses to faculty questions are missing.No credible sources are cited. | |
| Participation | Points Range: 5 (5%) – 5 (5%)Meets requirements for participation by posting on three different days. | Points Range: 0 (0%) – 0 (0%) | Points Range: 0 (0%) – 0 (0%) | Points Range: 0 (0%) – 0 (0%)Does not meet requirements for participation by posting on 3 different days. | |
| Total Points: 100 | |||||
Name: NURS_6053_Module01_Week01_Discussion_Rubric
Sample Answer for NURS 6053 Discussion Review of Current Healthcare Issues
One of the biggest issues in healthcare today is substance abuse. I work on a dual diagnosis inpatient psychiatric unit. If I have 10 patients, at least 5 of them will have problems with substance abuse. If a patient requires treatment, we will deal with that while taking care of their psychiatric crisis. This can be extremely difficult and frustrating at times. It seems as though we have a revolving door, many repeat patients. A patient that continues to be in active addiction is very hard to treat no matter how much medication or therapy we provide.
Work Setting
The facility I work for is very small, and the culture is close-minded and reluctant to change. I find myself very frustrated with this. A facility needs to not only survive, but thrive. A facility should have strategic planning with long term goals/visions for the whole organization to be successful (Broome & Marshall, 2020). We seem to do the same things over and over for our patients, even though with many it’s not working. There is minimal planning for patients, the doctor rarely shows up for treatment team and there are no consequences for him. When he does attend, he is often condescending and disrespectful to staff and patients.Work environments are very important to our well-being and job satisfaction. Employees with a hostile workplace will have a negative attitude and poor performance. So in this situation, everyone suffers (Jacobs et al., 2018), Our provider will not continue a patient’s medication assisted treatment (MAT) at times, just solely based on past behavior. If a patient is admitted on our unit and has a valid prescription for Suboxone, it should be continued just as any home medication would. I have often advocated for patients and complained to management about this issue.It always falls on deaf ears. We are not helping the patient by doing this, we are actually hurting them. The patient will be with us for a week or so, the Suboxone will be out of their system on discharge. So you can guess what happens when they leave the hospital, they will use drugs. It is just a matter of time until we see the patient again. This is just one example of bad decisions that cost the hospital and insurance company money. Substance abuse costs around $13 billion dollars per year. Hospitals have opportunities to engage and help high risk patients with proper treatment (Peterson et al., 2021).
Social Determinants of Health
In my area low socioeconomic status is a driver for substance abuse. This area is very rural with limited opportunities for employment and growth.Residents often have to travel far distances to find adequate employment, I drive 45 minutes to my job. There are no activities for kids, with the nearest movie theater an hour away, or bowling alley 30 minutes. Teenagers often end up drinking and doing drugs on the weekends. I often see people that come from generations of substance abuse. The patients I care for have grown up in households where the parents, and even grandparents use drugs.
Response
My workplace has not done anything to help combat this healthcare issue. The social workers will usually only make referrals to one substance abuse treatment company, even though it does not have a good reputation.Patients often come back to us with their horror stories. We also have a provider who does not seem to care about the patients and will “punish” them based on past behavior during prior admissions. Substance abuse is a serious problem world-wide, but my team should do their very best to make a difference even if only one patient succeeds.
References
Broome, M. E., & Marshall, E. (Eds.). (2020). Transformational leadership in nursing (M. E. Broome & E. Marshall, Eds.). Springer Publishing Company. https://doi.org/10.1891/9780826135056Links to an external site.
Jacobs, B., McGovern, J., Heinmiller, J., & Drenkard, K. (2018). Engaging employees in well-being. Nursing Administration Quarterly, 42(3), 231–245. https://doi.org/10.1097/naq.0000000000000303Links to an external site.
Peterson, C., Li, M., Xu, L., Mikosz, C. A., & Luo, F. (2021). Assessment of annual cost of substance use disorder in us hospitals. JAMA Network Open, 4(3), e210242. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2021.0242Links to an external site.
Sample Response for NURS 6053 Discussion Review of Current Healthcare Issues
Thanks for sharing Carrie,
Substance abuse is one of America’s major issue. According to American Addiction Center (Drugabuse.com, 2023), National Survey on Drug Use and Health, approximately 40.3 million people aged 12 or older had a substance use disorder (SUD) in 2020.
I do understand your frustration on your medical provider. Basing his treatment on past experience can be dangerous for the patient. The benefit of rehabilitation would not be realized if he is holding or not ordering the suboxone for a patient who is dependent and needed to be weaned slowly.
Sometimes, proper investigation should be carried out to find out the true reason for his behavior. He may may need help in managing those patients. Norful et al (2018) discussed about various models of care delivery that has been investigated to in order to meet the demands in primary care. One such model is comanagement on patient care. Depending on State regulation, a nurse practitioner can comanage with the physician to 1) decrease the work load on the physician, thereby, reducing the possibility of burnout and 2) give care that the patients deserves. Your provider might need help.
Reference
American Addiction Center (2023). Get the Facts on Substance Abuse. Retrieved from https://drugabuse.com/statistics-data/get-the-facts-substance-abuse/
Norful, A. A., de Jacq, K., Carlino, R., & Poghosyan, L. (2018). Nurse Practitioner-Physician Comanagement: A Theoretical Model to Alleviate Primary Care Strain. Annals of Family Medicine, 16(3), 250–256. https://doi.org/10.1370/afm.2230
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