Nursing Sensitive Indicators - Essay Example

? Nursing Sensitive Indicators Number Nursing sensitive indicators Nursing sensitive indicators are efforts geared towards describing and classifying the quality of nursing performance. One of the most identified indicators is under staffing of nurses as well as displeasure and discontentment among nurses in practice. These issues are directly associated with increased death rates as this affects the quality of nursing care. According to available sources, the tern nursing sensitive indicators was coined in to depict the constituents of care given to sick individuals that are openly impinged on by the implementation of various nursing plans of actions. It is important to elucidate the fact that these indicators are a reveals certain features and characteristics of nursing care such as organization, procedure, and results of nursing care. Nursing sensitive indicators are classified or categorized into three i.e. organizational, procedural, and results based indicators. Organizational indicators include issues such as inadequate personnel, level of abilities, talents, and expertise of nursing personnel, and level of edification, qualifications, and official recognition. Procedural indicators assess the procedures used in identification of disease, intercession, and contentment of nursing personnel. Result based indicators focuses on the value and magnitude of the nursing care (Marquis & Huston, 2011). This paper focuses on the supply of nursing personnel as a sensitive indicator. Staffing level To understand what makes the supply of adequate amounts of personnel in nursing a nursing sensitive issue, it is important to posit that many countries have imposed compulsory nursing staffing levels. Staffing level is nursing sensitive as it is a major determinant of nursing outcome. Results from studies done in the past have elucidated the importance of having adequate levels of staff in nursing practice. First, adequate levels of personnel in nursing have a positive impact on the overall effect of nursing care. For instance, it has been proved to reduce the number of deaths. Adequate amounts of staff or personnel also ensures that sick individuals receive quality care, and also boosts competence and ensures good organization of nursing practice. Secondly there is a high chance or probability of nursing care in institutions with limited personnel to be unsuccessful as compared to institutions with adequate levels of staff (Montalvo, 2007). Previous methodical investigations and studies have shown the direct relationship between adequate supply of nurses as well as other medical personnel providing nursing care and enhanced or better results from nursing care, enhanced staffing levels and maintenance and preservation of nursing personnel, and monetary gains to managers as well as to the society in general. This is what makes staffing levels in nursing a sensitive issue. The level of nursing care is affected by inadequate amounts of nursing personnel. Research has shown that institutions that give accounts to the impingement on nursing care have been proved to be overwhelmed by the high levels of patients seeking medical attention as a result of inadequate staffing. Adequate staffing in nursing care leads to contentment in both patients and nursing personnel. Adequate staffing also boosts motivation among nurses as well as other personnel involved in nursing care as the nurses are dealing with the amount of work within their abilities (Nakrem et-al, 2009). Understaffing leads to pressure as the nurses are dealing with much work than they can handle. Workers who lack motivation may resign and go in search of other opportunities. Offering high quality care will consequently lead to financial gains as more patients will seek treatment in a health institution offering specialized and high quality care. Measurement of staffing level Staffing level is measure through assessing and computing the fraction of overall hours presented by each of the nurses in practice in a particular institution. Other factors used in computing the level of staffing includes evaluating the quantity of beds in a health institution, the technology available, and the total number of nurses in an institution. The total number of nurses is divided with the total number of beds to find out the number of patients per nurse. An institution where nurses put in a lot of hours than necessary per day is definitely understaffed. Considering the technology available is important as a nurse can comfortably handle more patients per day in institutions using advanced technology. The quantity of nurses is also compared with the total number of services being offered by a particular health institution (Marquis & Huston, 2011). In essence, institutions where a nurse is attending to patients I more that department is obviously understaffed. These measures are not accurate in my area. This is attributed to the fact that computing and assessing staff level based on work done i.e. hours put in per day by each nurse is not accurate many institutions have used this method to assess whether their quantity of nursing staff is adequate. Out of the many hours put in by a nurse, only a few of them may be industrious. Therefore, putting in many hours does not necessarily mean a lot of work has been done. Determining whether quantity of nursing staff is adequate based on the number of patients per nurse may not necessarily be accurate. This is attributed to the fact that nurses work in teams hence five nurses may be assigned to handle twenty patients. In such a case, these nurse may not necessarily deal with equal quantities of patients hence it is difficult to compute input. Some patients also spend less than twenty fours in a health institution. Since nurse to patient ratio is computed based on each patient for a span of twenty hours, this measure may not be 100% accurate. Factors in nursing care impacting on staffing levels There are a number of factors that contribute to understaffing in nursing practice. There might be unavailability of qualified nurses in a particular region and this could adversely have an effect on staffing level. The percentage of patients seeking treatment in a particular health institution will also affect staffing level. Results from past studies have shown that hospitals receiving a large percentage of patients have higher more nurses as compared to institutions with low patient turnout. The type of care given is a major determinant of staffing level. Studies done in the past have also elucidated the fact that hospitals with patients suffering from more severe conditions tend to have a higher quantity of nurses as compared to those tending to patients with less severe medical conditions. The financial level of a medical institution also largely affects staffing levels. Non-profit based health institutions tend to have higher staffing levels as their main focus is the quality of care. Non-profit institutions are not commercial, therefore hiring more staffs will elevate the quality of care availed to the needy in the community. Competition is a factor that contributes to level of staffing. Based on the fact that many medical institutions operate for profits, quality of care is of essence (Marquis & Huston, 2011). Therefore, hospitals in competitive regions will hire more nurses and other medical personnel contributing to nursing care in order to have a competitive advantage over the others. The above factors are considered in my area. Commercial hospitals located in less competitive regions tend to have fewer nursing personnel. This can be attributed to the notion that patients will not travel for long distances in search of medical care. Therefore, the quality offered is secondary to achieving higher income. Many non-profit hospitals have more staff since most of them are donor funded. To maintain the flow of funds from these donors, they must provide quality care to the most needy. This follows that they have to employ more nurses and other medical personnel giving nursing care to patients. According to Marquis & Huston (2011), some health institutions are considered in the nursing field as having better working conditions. It is the duty of individuals in the hospital management to ensure that plans of action are put into place to ensure that new employee with less experience are given the chance to learn. Holding regular trainings and motivational talks will go a long way in retaining its employees. This shows that hospitals that hold regular trainings and motivational talks for its employees have a higher probability to have a higher staffing level as it is more preferred by nurses. Such institutions have no shortage of nurses seeking to join them. Conclusion Nursing sensitive indicators are referred to as attempts aimed at describing and classifying the value and worth of nursing care. Some of the most significant indicators are inadequate personnel, displeasure and unhappiness among nurses in practice. Inadequate level of staffing leads to increased death rates as it affects the quality of nursing care. These indicators are divided into three groups namely; organizational, procedural, and results based indicators. Organizational indicators comprise of inadequate personnel, skills, talents, and expertise of nursing personnel, and level of education, qualifications, as well as certification. Procedural indicators on the other hand appraise the measures used in detection or recognition of ailments, intervention, and satisfaction of nursing personnel. Result based indicators spotlight on the significance and extent of nursing care. The main objective of having safe level of staffing is sustenance of quality health care. Level of staffing is mainly determined by computing nurse-to-patient ratio. Factors impacting on staffing level include availability of qualified nurses in a particular region, the percentage of patients seeking treatment in a particular health institution will also affect staffing level, the type of care given, working conditions or environment, level of competition, and financial level of a medical institution. Reference list Marquis, B. L., & Huston, C. J. (2011). Leadership Roles and Management Functions in Nursing: Theory and Application. Philadelpia, USA: Wolters Kluwer/Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. Montalvo, I. (2007). The National Database of Nursing Quality Indicators (NDNQI): A Scholarly Journal of the American Nurses Association. Retrieved from http://gm6.nursingworld.org/MainMenuCategories/ANAMarketplace/ANAPeriodicals/OJIN/TableofContents/Volume122007/No3Sept07/NursingQualityIndicators.aspx Nakrem, S., Vinsnes, A. G., Harkless, G. E., Paulsen, B., & Seim, A. (2009). Nursing sensitive quality indicators for nursing home care: International review of literature, policy, and practice. International Journal of Nursing Practice. Waltham, USA: Elsevier. Read More