Nursing Rhetorical Analysis - Essay Example

"Nursing Rhetorical Analysis" is an outstanding example of a paper on care. The structural element of nurse staffing is connected to patient outcomes. The problem of nurse shortages can have serious effects on patients in the hospital environment. In hospitals where nurses work in medical facilities that have high numbers of nurses catering to patients, patient outcomes tend to be more positive. This is particularly beneficial for patients in critical care who are entirely dependent on nurses for the correct performance of every body function. Most hospitals in industrialized nations try to ensure that in their critical care unit departments there is a registered nurse for every two patients.

Causes of Skewed Nurse-Patient Ratios in the ICU

Patients in the critical care unit are usually in need of extensive nursing care. Within the ICU, critically ill patients have to be monitored by specialized groups of medical practitioners such as physiotherapists, consultants, nurses, and dieticians. While the doctors all have skills that allow them to diagnose and recommend the correct treatment for the patients, it is the nurses who are tasked with administering that treatment while also taking care of the basic bodily functions of the patients (Stafseth, Solms and Bredal, 2011). The intensive care unit department in any hospital is usually comprised of expertly trained nurses who are tasked with round-the-clock care monitoring. Many private hospitals tend to assign a specific nurse to each patient so as to ensure that the needs of every critically ill patient are well taken care of.

Responsibilities of ICU Nurses

There are different responsibilities that fall to ICU nurses. Critically ill patients have their blood tests often done and have to be manually assisted to ingest their medicine when recommended by doctors. These are tasks that are performed by nurses. ICU nurses also take their patients’ oxygen levels, blood pressure, and heart rate. In the ICU, nurses also have the responsibility of suctioning excess mucus and phlegm from patients’ airways, constantly turning the immobile patients so as to prevent the materialization of bedsores, and changing their patients’ surgical coverings in order not to curb or impede circulation. In as far as bodily functions are concerned ICU nurses are tasked with brushing patient’s teeth and keeping their oral cavity’s moistened, changing soiled sheets, bathing patients, and using eye drops on their patients’ eyes in order to make it possible for them to blink.   

The Issue of Nursing Ratios

Usually, staffing ratios are subject to the standards that are decided upon by federal or policies. Staffing levels, though, are also dependent on the organizational structure and financial capacity of hospitals. Many hospitals seek to be cost-effective. This, though, goes contrary to the policy of hiring enough nurses to ensure that each critically ill patient has one who is exclusively dedicated to his or her welfare. According to Stafseth, Solms, and Bredal (2011) hospitals have had to burden healthcare workers with more responsibilities as demands grow for better care even as they seek to be more cost-effective.

It is not just financial incentives that cause hospitals to strain their workers with additional responsibilities in an effort to meet demands while also being cost-effective. Staffing issues or concerns can be caused by the aging and subsequent retirement of specialized nurses, nursing shortages, and rival priorities for healthcare capital. There are actual states in nations such as America that ratified legislation that is meant to standardize staffing figures. According to research documented by Mefford and Alligood (2011), this may not be the best way to deal with staffing shortages because authorizing a minimum ratio of nurse/patient can result in the decrease of hospital revenue because of the increased cost of hiring additional nursing personnel, thus causing financial strain within the organization.

Moreover, unsafe ratios of a nurse to the patient also have extensive implications for budgeting within the healthcare sector. According to McKiernan and McCarthy (2010), hospitals can collaborate with organizations based in the healthcare sector in order to find more cost-effective ways of achieving patient care values. Forcing a short number of available nurses to deal with the increased expectations of achieving better healthcare can result in work-induced stress as well as physical and emotional burnout which could lead to them absenting themselves from their workplace (Gelinas, Arbour, Michaud, Vaillant and Desjardins, 2011).

Even though the skill level of nurses as well as patient awareness are factors that are often taken into consideration in many hospitals when shift assignments are being decided upon and allocated, there could easily be unforeseen situations that arise and have to be dealt with. The best way to ensure that each patient in the ICU has a nurse is by employing more qualified registered nurses and not burdening the few nurses who already have a lot of work with additional duties (Brodsky-Israeli and DeKeyser, 2011). When nurses are burdened with too much responsibility, they are more inclined to make mistakes. For instance, they may neglect to perform personal duties such as linen changes, or even baths for their ICU patients.

Conclusion

In reality, hospital ICU units can greatly benefit from increased numbers of critical care nurses. It has been proven that ICU nurses have the ability to encourage patient recovery by utilizing patient-centered healthcare practices and constant vigilance. This could also be affected by implementing pro-active management and offering emotional support to the patients and their families. Patients in the ICU who have specialized care given by attentive nurses are more likely to experience the slowly decreased need for sedation, quicker incidence of withdrawal from ventilation support, psychological support, and quicker results from physical rehabilitation. It is important for hospital authorities to seek to ensure that achieving the correct staffing ratios is not effected at the cost of overburdened nurses.

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