Heavy Workload Affecting Nursing Care and Quality - Essay Example

Heavy Workload Affecting Nursing Care and Quality Name Institution Date Heavy Workload Affecting Nursing Care and Quality Introduction In the field of nursing, the safety and quality of work by nurses has been affected by various factors. This includes the heavy workload that the nurses are exposed to. The heavy workload has negative impacts on the quality and safety of the patient. However, it is also important to note that changes have taken place and have positively influenced the nursing practices. The changes have occurred in relation to a particular context and this has changed the way issues are handled by the nurses. The changes that have occurred have also played an essential role in ensuring that the nurses are able to make informed decisions during their operations. The informed decisions are also for the benefit of the patients. Mortality rates have been reduced due to the changes that have taken place in the field of nursing. This is considering that some mortalities rates have been contributed by the heavy workload that is usually experienced by the nurses. Most of the changes have not occurred as a result of a good idea but have been brought about by certain contexts. The changes also have several implications on the practice. The paper thus discusses the changes and development that have taken place and the implications on the practice. Discussion Medication Errors The human error during medication has been one of the main causes of medication errors. The heavy workload among the nurses has greatly contributed to the medication errors. Due to the heavy workload, the nurses may fail to concentrate and hence resulting to the medication errors (Roughead, 2011). It is essential to note that the heavy workload may force the nurses to respond to other situations and hence delaying the medication of the other patients. Some changes have been made in Australia which has impacted positively on the reduction of medication errors. The use of technology is being embraced for carrying out the medication process. This plays an essential role in reducing the medication errors. The administration of the medication through the use of robots ensures that patients receive the right medication at the right time despite the workload of the nurses. This is beneficial to the patients as it improves on the quality of their treatment. The empowerment programs of the patients have also been introduced in most of the hospitals. This allows the patients to know the type of medication they are receiving that their impacts. Through the empowerment of the patients, the incidences of medication errors have been reduced as the patients may question the healthcare practitioners regarding the type of medication they are receiving (Redley, 2013). This eliminates the common mistakes that contribute to the errors during medication. The process reduction in the medication errors as well as the heavy workload of the nurse is a positive implication. Nosocomial infections The nosocomial infections among the nurses have been witnessed in some occasions and it has been contributed to the heavy workload which does not allow the nurses to carry out some safety precaution measures (Doyle, 2011). In Australia, the washing of hands and putting on gloves is mandatory when handling the patients. It is mandatory for the nurses to clean their hands using the alcohol based water free skin cleansers. This is for the purposes of disinfection and it prevents the nosocomial infections. The gloves must be worn by the burses at any time they are in contact with the body fluid of the patients. It is also a must for the nurses to wear gloves in both hands regardless of the workload that they are experiencing. The gloves must also be discarded immediately it is punctured. On leaving the patients room, the gloves must also be discarded. The nurses should not take phone calls of use the computers while wearing the gloves after handling the patients. This is because the germs may be transferred to the surfaces and lead to infections. The medical examination gloves and sterile gloves are recommended for the nurses when handling the patients. The protective eyewear and masks should also be worn by the nurses incase the procedures being performed may lead to splashing of blood or any other fluid from the body (Crookes, 2013). The policies have played an essential role in ensuring that the nurses are safe when handling the patients and hence reducing the nosocomial infections. The hospitals in Australia are also supposed to ensure that the equipment is available to the nurses in order to prevent the nosocomial infections. On the other hand, the supervisors always ensure that the nurses put on the protective gears when handling the patients (Tan, 2013). The nurses who fail to do so are usually subjected to disciplinary actions by the management. The hospital must also asses the nurses from time to time incase they have any signs of cough or any other infections that may have been acquired during their operations. The hospital must ensure that the nurses who are infected are treated immediately for free. However, the nurses must ensure that the take adequate precautions to ensure that they do not suffer from nosocomial infections. The nurses are supposed to take precautionary measures when handling the sharp objects. The sharp objects should not be handled with the hands during the transportation process. This has happened in some cases when the nurses are tired due to the heavy duties and hence overlooking some of the safety precautions. It is thus recommended that any sharp object should be transported using a tray. In the past, the nurses poorly handled the reusable medical equipment. However, it is recommended that the reusable medical equipment should be thoroughly disinfected (Aydon, 2011). This is regardless of the workload that the nurses may be having. The process plays an essential role in reducing the nosocomial infections. The practices that are currently taking place are due to the previous mistakes by the nurses and it has impacted positively on the safety procedures. On the other hand, it is also important to note that reduction in nosocomial infections enhances the confidence of the nurses. Mortality rates The quality and standards of services provided to the patients determines the ability of the hospital to lower the mortality rates. The heavy workload by the nurses contributes to negligence which leads to an increase in the mortality rates. In Australia, the policy makers are concerned about the mortality arête in the hospitals. This has led to some measures being put in place to reduce the mortality rates. The ministry of health has endorsed the hospital standardized mortality ration. This concept has been successful in other OECD countries where it has been implemented (Geelhoed, 2011). Through the use of the concepts, the observed number of deaths is compared to the expected number of deaths in the different states. Higher than expected rates indicates that the mortality rates are high. The nurses are usually advised to ensure that the patients receive the highest quality of health. Thus is usually achieved through the close monitoring of the patients in critical conditions. Due to the heavy workload, this may be difficult and the introduction of unlicensed workers to assist the nurses has a positive impact on the process. This is because it relieves the nurses of the heavy workload which gives them more time to dedicate their efforts on the care of the patients with critical conditions. However, it is also important to note that the mobility rates do not necessarily reflect the quality of healthcare services in the hospital. This is because 5-10% of the patients who are admitted in hospitals usually die regardless of the quality of the treatment (Harris, et al, 2011). The policies are thus for the purpose of dealing with preventable cases. Burnout/stress The nurses who have heavy workloads usually end up with professional burnouts. This impacts negatively on their operations as it lowers their productivity. The low levels of productivity may lead to poor treatment of the patients. The hospitals in Australia have put in place measures to ensure that the stress among the nurses is reduced (Couper, 2014). This is for the benefits of the patients, the hospitals and the nurses themselves. Counseling sessions for nurses are available. Assessments are usually carried out to determine whether the nurses require counseling. On the other hand, it is also important to note that the nurses are usually encouraged to attend the sessions in order to obtain professional advice that helps them to cope with the burnout. However, it is also important to note that the nurses who experience high level of stress due to the heavy workload are usually given some time off. Thos is for the purposes of enabling them to rest and hence reducing the amount of stress. It is also important to note that the recruitment of the unlicensed health care workers to assist the nurses plays an essential role in solving the problem. This is because it ensures that the heavy workload for the nurses is reduced. The reduction the workload is important in reducing the stress among the nurses (Bonner, 2013). On the other hand, the policies that have been put in place plays an essential role in ensuring that the professional burnout among the nurses is reduced. Patient ratios The nurse to patient ration in Australia had a negative impact on the treatment process of the patents. This is because the ration of the nurse to patients was quite huge and it contributed to the heavy workload of the patients. The nurses were required to attend to a high number of patients and hence leading to heavy workload. On the other hand, the nurses also had to work for long hours in order to meet the demands of the patients (Needleman, et al, 2013). It is also important to note that the nurses in the past could work on long shifts on a daily basis throughout the week. This left them with little time to rest. This contributed to the resignation of most nurses who could not cope with the situation. Professional burnout among the nurses was also contributed to the low number of nurses serving a huge number of patients. Since 2001, policies regarding the nurse to patient ratio were made. This was for the purpose of addressing the shortage. A ration of 5:20 in acute medical surgery wards was put in place. This ratio was for the purposes of ensuring that the gap between the nurses and the patients is bridged. On the other hand, it is also important to note that the ratio between the patients and the nurses determine the quality of care. The introduction of 5:20 ration has impacted positively on the nurses and the patients (Twigg, 2011). This is because the heavy workload by the nurses has been greatly reduced. The introduction of the minimum nurse to patient ratio has impacted positively on the care that the patients receive. The quality of the care offered to the patients has improved since the nurse have adequate timed to care of the patients. The decrease in the workload has also played an essential role in ensuring that the nurses can work without much stress. The number of infections has also reduced due to the minimum nurse to patient ratio (Aisbett, et al, 2011). On the other hand, it is also important to note that most of the infections occurred since the nurses had huge workloads and had to work without considering most of procedures. Adverse patient outcomes such as saving lives and reducing infections have also been achieved through the introduction of the minimum nurse to patient ration. On the other hand, the working hours of the nurses has been improved. This has seen the reduction in nurse working for long hours throughout the week without rest. The exploitation of the nurses by the hospitals has also been reduced through since the introduction of the ratio. This is because the nurses are no longer to work for long hours without pay. The nurse turnover has also been reduced by the introduction of the minimum patient to nurse ratio (Watts, 2014). This is considering that the turnover in most cases was contributed to the heavy workload. It is also important to note that the implications of the minimum nurse to patient ratio have impacted positively on the healthcare provision. Effect on new/ inexperienced staff members The heavy workload has impacted negatively on the new and inexperienced members of staff. The heavy workload does not give the new and inexperienced nurses adequate time for induction. This has contributed to the erroneous medication of the patients as they new nurses are not experienced and still require a lot of guidance (Hall, 2013). On the other hand, it is important to note that the lack of guidance for the inexperienced staff impacts negatively on the quality of the care. Most of the patients have ended up in more health problems in the hand of the inexperienced members of staff who have not received guidance from the experienced members of staff. The errors also cause a lot of psychological problems to the new employees since their actions may result to serious conditions. The patients in critical conditions have also ended up dying at the hands of the inexperienced members of staff. The inexperienced members of staff have also suffered from nosocomial infections which had also impacted negatively on their health. The policies that have been developed have seen the reduction of problems caused by the inexperienced members of staff. They are supposed to work with the experienced members of staff who are to give them directions and make decisions with regards to the care of the patients (Parry, 2011). This therefore plays an essential role in eliminating the poor judgment by the inexperienced members of staff. The reforms have led to positive implications on the new and inexperienced nurses. Quality of working life The heavy workload has impacted negatively on the quality of working life. This is because the heavy workload does not give the nurses adequate time to carry out their personal activities. This is considering that the heavy workload means that the nurses have to work for extra hours (Hayes, 2010). The working life of the employees is also impacted negatively as they have to spend most of the time working without rest. This contributes to the professional burnout among the nurses. The poor quality of working life also impacts negatively on the job satisfaction. Most of the nurses who work for long hours without rest are not satisfied with their jobs. This has led to high employee turnover rate in the field of nursing due to the lack of job satisfaction. On the other hand, other people have completely left the profession due to the lack of job satisfaction. The morale of the nurses who have a heavy workload is usually low. This affects the way they treat the patients. Most of the nurses are usually harsh to the patients and this has been brought about by the low levels of morale. The heavy workload also impacts negatively on the employees development as they do not find adequate time to engage in further training (While, 2012). The low levels of morale have forced most of the hospitals to put in place measure to improve the working life of the nurses. Employee motivation has been put in place to boost the morale of the employees. On the other hand, the working hours of the nurses has been adjusted for the purposes of reducing the heavy workload. This has led to improved performance of the nurse and it has also impacted positively on the quality of working life. Most of the nurses are currently enjoying their work due to the reduced workload. On the other hand, it is also important to note that the improvement in the quality of working life of the nurses has improved on the quality of care given to the patients (Reid, 2013). Conclusion In conclusion, it is evident that the heavy workload for the nurses impacts negatively on their operations. The medication errors are as result of the heavy workload among the nurses which contributes to negligence. However, the use of technology during the medication process impacts positively on the medication process. This relieves the nurse of the heavy workload and hence improving on the process. The nosocomial infections also have negative impacts on the health of the nurses. This is because they end up contracting disease while caring for the patients. However, the safety measures that have been put in place have positive implications. This is because it ensures that the nurses are adequately protected and treatment is offered to them incase they are infected. The heavy workload also contributes to mortality rates as it leads to negligence by the patients. However, it is evident that the policies that have been put in place ensure that the mortality rates are reduced. Heavy workload also results to professional burnout by the nurse which results to a lot of stress by the patient. The burnout also leads to frustration among the nurses and hence impacting negatively on the care offered to the patients. It is evident that the improvement of the nurse to patent ratio impacts positively on the treatment of the patient. On the other hand, it also ensures that the workload of the nurses is reduced. The heavy workload also impacts negatively on the new and inexperienced staff. This is because it does not give them time to learn more about the job before they can fully make their own decisions. On the other hand, it is also important to note that the quality of the working life is impacted negatively by the heavy workload. 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