Nursing Assessment Report: Health and Safety in Hospitals

This nursing assessment report addresses the critical issue of unsafe work environments for nurses in hospitals, particularly highlighting the lack of modern infrastructure and its impact on nurse health and wellbeing. The report discusses the problems stemming from inadequate division of labor, long working hours, and exposure to health hazards. It presents a proposal to establish health centers in every hospital to mitigate work-related diseases and promote nurse safety. The assessment draws upon interviews with nurses, identifies the health impediments they face, and references relevant literature, including 'Lewis’s Medical-Surgical Nursing: Assessment and Management of Clinical Problems'. The report also examines past proposals, such as the Nurses’ Bill of Rights, and analyzes the economic and legislative factors influencing healthcare. It recommends large-scale investment, hospital revamping, and strong legislative backing to improve the work environment and reduce health risks for nurses, emphasizing the need for modern equipment and digitalization of healthcare records to support nurse safety and efficiency.

Running head: NURSING ASSESSMENT
Nursing Assessment
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1NURSING ASSESSMENT
SITUATION
The problem: Nurses are made to work in unsafe work environments in hospitals lacking
modern infrastructure
Proposal: The proposal is to build up a Health Centre in every hospital to help remove work-
related disease and promote nurses’ health and safety.
BACKGROUND-
Due to lack of division of labour, nurses have to do over time, working in late night shifts
which have a direct impact on their health and well being. Due to the increase in number of
hospitals and growing globalization, there has been an increase in the number of patients in the
United States. This has lead to an increase in the demand for modern technology. More patients
mean more requirements for round the clock attention by nurses. Conducting interviews on
nurses have brought to light the health related impediments that nurses face arising from anxiety,
stress and depression. Handling diseases need more sanitation and hygiene protection which the
low cost hospitals lack as a result of which nurses face diseases like Repetitive Strain Injury
(RSI). Nurses fall ill while dealing with severe contagious diseases as these hospitals lack
modern technology to combat such risks. Lewis’ Medical-Surgical Nursing: Assessment and
Management of Clinical Problems has talked about the risks that befall the nurses and the
clinical depression they face working in high risk conditions (Brown et al. 2017)
Similar proposals in the Past: The Nurses’ Bill of Rights was adopted by the American
Nurses Association which said that nurses have the right to work in a safe environment and give
full protection to the health of patients. This Bill did not receive proper assent and did not
become a Bill.

2NURSING ASSESSMENT
ASSESSMENT
United States being a economy dense territory, the revenue generated from hospitals in
immense. The low cost hospitals need the protection of the legislature and the state to promote
modern technology to combat health related risks. There needs to be a legislature that regulates
work hours equitably and set up Health Centers in every hospital to register complaints of nurses
and work towards resolving them (Jones, Brener and Bergren 2015).
The United States put enormous efforts to regulate and optimize health care. The way to
attract the attention of stakeholders is to build a strong case for stakeholders that will be
financially robust. The stakeholders need to be told about the vision and how to go about turning
that vision into reality by using proper plans (Shamian et al 2016). Technology is the driving
force behind healthcare and stakeholders need to be told about digitalization of health care
records that will save the time of nurses and healthcare professionals and they will be able to
divert their attention towards a safer and work conducive environment.
The constant work pressure and the occupational hazard of getting infected with disease
poses a great amount of risk to the health care professionals (Ross et al 2018). The proposal of
building modern equipment might pose a threat to the hospital authorities as these require large
scale investment which the hospital authorities might not want to bear.
RECOMMENDATION

3NURSING ASSESSMENT
To make the work environment better, there is need for large scale investment. To reduce
the health risk, there is an immediate need for revamping the hospitals and for this there needs to
be a strong legislative backing.

4NURSING ASSESSMENT
References
Brown, D., Edwards, H., Seaton, L. and Buckley, T., 2017. Lewis's Medical-Surgical Nursing:
Assessment and Management of Clinical Problems. Elsevier Health Sciences.
Jones, S.E., Brener, N.D. and Bergren, M.D., 2015. Association between school district policies
that address chronic health conditions of students and professional development for school
nurses on such policies. The Journal of School Nursing, 31(3), pp.163-166.
Ross, A., Brooks, A.T., Yang, L., Touchton-Leonard, K., Raju, S. and Bevans, M., 2018. Results
of a national survey of certified nurse coaches with implications for advanced practice
nurses. Journal of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners.
Shamian, J., Kerr, M.S., Laschinger, H.K.S. and Thomson, D., 2016. A hospital-level analysis of
the work environment and workforce health indicators for registered nurses in Ontario's acute-
care hospitals. Canadian Journal of Nursing Research Archive, 33(4).