Journal Entry #2

Question

Your Response

• Identify a professional nursing-related issue and how you initially experienced this personally in the work environment.
• Describe how the situation unfolded including the key players and their roles (no names used to protect confidentiality). Identify the type of issue reflected in the situation.
• Describe the conclusion of the situation and whether it was a satisfactory ending.
• Share what impact the situation continues to have on you.

Many nursing issues have been facing the healthcare system. The healthcare system aims at improving the quality of life of the people in a community. However, the problems affecting the delivery of quality of care affect nursing practices. For instance, I was working in a Community Healthcare Facility which was faced with the problem of nursing staffing. Nursing staffing is considered as the ratio of nurses to the number of patients in the facility. The problem of nursing staffing tends to affect the overall outcomes of healthcare services in a medical facility and could cause severe damages to the patients and the stakeholders (Harrington & Edelman, 2018). For instance, my experience at the medical facility portrayed the problems that face the nurses as they offer their services to the communities.

Some of the problems that accompanied the issue of nursing short-staffing included the increased rate of patient mortality, decrease in patient satisfaction, strained team dynamics, nurses being burned out, increased risks of neglect, risks of abuse, high rates of turnover, and increased costs in the medical facility. My experience in the medical facility was faced with the problem of short staffing which affected our efforts in delivering quality of care services (Courtney, 2017). For instance, I was responsible for covering a large portion of the wards. I was given the task of catering to the needs of a large population of patients. The management complained about my slow services forgetting that we were all under-staffed and could not cover all the available wards and patients’ needs. The problem led to a decrease in the quality of the healthcare service delivery which led to a decrease in the rate of patients in the facility. Working long hours to cater to the patients’ requirements was also a problem which led to fatigue, increased rates of injuries, sleep deprivation, burnout, errors in medication, and the issue of obtaining other diseases (Harrington & Edelman, 2018). The risks of short staffing affected my overall experience in my first job in the organization which led to demoralization in my nursing career.

Short staffing in the nursing department can have adverse effects on the healthcare system. The collaboration of nurses, healthcare facility management, and policymakers is essential in the process of avoiding short staffing in the nursing department. Nurses’ short staffing can be improved based on the implementation of various strategies. For instance, the management of a medical facility requires implementing practices that would be effective in fighting nursing short staffing. The incidence at the healthcare facility was unsatisfactory as it reduced my morale as a nurse and in the process of helping the community as well as the patients in the attainment of quality health services (Courtney, 2017). Short staffing also affected the working condition in the medical facility. Every nurse was working hastily and in a rush which caused several injuries and collisions. Most of the accidents were caused by the hasty whereby nurses tended to rush to attend to patients. The problems escalated whereby some of the patients developed problems that were not initially in their diagnosed reports. Patients also complained about the quality of services and neglect by the nurses. The working environment was also not safe for the nurses as some of the nurses left syringes unsafe which were a risk to an outbreak of hygienic infections. Short staffing was reported to the medical facilities’ management which raised questions on the nature of operations the facility was running (Min & Hong, 2019). The management recorded procedures that were aimed at improving the situation. For example, the first step was based on organizing the nurses to overcome the problem. Nurses were assigned a leader in various groups which was aimed at improving the performance of the medical teams. Also, the nursing leaders were tasked with the responsibility of organizing the workload of the nurses in their teams. The element provided the basis and direction for organizational performance. Recruitment of new talents was also a consideration in the health facility. The recruits helped in reducing the effects of short staffing as well as inhibiting the issues of nurses working in long hours. Other strategies that were improved included effective communication, the involvement of nursing administration, and employee motivation. The motivation helped us, the nurses in enhancing job performance through job satisfaction (Min & Hong, 2019). The procedures and the collaboration with the management helped in improving organizational performance.

The problem of short staffing in the nursing practice had affected the overall performance of the healthcare facility. The institution was faced with the problem of enhancing patient satisfaction and maintaining the quality of care of the patients. The collaboration with the nursing managers and the healthcare facility stakeholders helped in shaping the future of the institution (Simpson, Lyndon, & Ruhl, 2016). I was at first tired of the medical facility based on the problem caused by short staffing and exhaustion which was caused by working for long hours in the institution. I had developed hate in my nursing career. However, short staffing was described as a solvable situation and the new strategies helped in promoting the working environment. For example, short staffing is caused by the aging workforce, unemployment rates, lack of enough skills and competence, lack of employee management strategies, lack of planning, transparency in management, and ineffectiveness of the communication strategies (Simpson, Lyndon, & Ruhl, 2016). The effects of better planning also helped in reducing the risks of short staffing. Therefore, the issue of short staffing affecting the nursing practice was solved and its impacts felt in the development and the success of the medical institution.

Short staffing is deemed to be a major problem that affects the performance and the success of a medical facility based on the issues linked to the problem facing the nurses. The recommendations and the strategies of minimizing the nursing issue of short staffing have diverse positive impacts on the lives of nursing practitioners (Mitchell et al., 2017). For instance, the learning of the need for proper planning and communication helped in promoting the understanding of the practices that would help in enhancing patient satisfaction. Communication also helps in reducing the medical errors that would increase the rates of mortality, hospital readmissions, and the risks of being diagnosed with other diseases (Mitchell et al., 2017). Therefore, the practices in the medical facility have helped my nursing career as it has improved the element of collaboration and an understanding of the problems linked with short staffing and working for long hours.