Nurse Assessment
The overall health care profession is undergoing fundamental change due in part to new laws and regulations. These laws and regulations, although well intended may result in unintended consequences for the nursing profession overall. Turnover, in particular is a critical aspect of the health care profession. Turnover creates added costs to the firm, while also sacrificing both care and service. In the future, the role of a nurse will be fundamentally altered. For one, regulation such as the Affordable Care Act will result in an entire population of insured patients needing care. As such, the role of a nurse will ultimately be predicated on a more individualized basis with specialization in certain aspects. Reducing turnover therefore will now become paramount to overall viability of the healthcare firm. The population at risk, due in part to regulation, is now society as a whole. Nurses due in part to this shift are more valuable with respect to the series they provide to patients. By reducing turnover, and improving overall nurse satisfaction, the entire patient experience will be enhances. This enhanced quality of care will ultimately provide a better environment for which patients and nurses can operate.
To effectively...
This staffing matrix will provide the
framework to reduce nurse turnover, improve
job satisfaction, and improve the overall quality of care within the firm. Chart 1 below indicates both the methods and variables that will be used to help evaluate the effectiveness of the staffing matrix.
Methods
Variables
Survey of staff attitudes and contributors to job satisfaction and dissatisfaction before and after initiating change
Staff attitudes and perceptions.
Obtain turnover rates before and after initiating change.
Patient attitudes and perceptions.
Compare patient discharge surveys before change and after initiation of change.
Rate of nursing staff turnover.
The first method that will be utilized is a survey of staff attitudes and overall job satisfaction. This survey is particularly useful as it will provide
management with a foundation by which to make informed and prudent policy decisions. Staff attitude is vital to the overall
culture of the firm. Nursing professions are unique in that they have constant interactions with both customer and perspective customers. How they feel regarding their job will often times be reflecting in their interactions with customers both directly and indirectly. A survey will allow the entire nursing team to
place those daily feelings in writing, in an anonymous manner, for management to see. This survey is important as the interaction between varying levels of a firm can be blurred. The top level management may have a sense of what is needed that may…
