Strategies for Nurse Staffing Ratios: Leadership and Management Report

This report delves into the critical issue of nurse staffing ratios within healthcare settings, examining the impact of inadequate staffing on patient safety and the nursing profession. It explores the problem of insufficient nurse-to-patient ratios, particularly in intensive care units, and its consequences on nurses' ability to provide adequate care and build patient relationships. The report analyzes professional standards of practice and suggests improvements, such as increased nurse recruitment and adherence to a 1:2 nurse-to-patient ratio. It further differentiates between the roles and approaches of nursing leaders and managers, highlighting various leadership styles like democratic, transformational, autocratic, and situational leadership. The report emphasizes the importance of teamwork and professionalism within diverse healthcare settings. It concludes by advocating for leadership strategies that foster a positive work environment and support for nurses, including training and motivation. The report references the legal model of the American Nurses Association and recommends the implementation of staffing plans designed to improve patient care and nurse accountability.

Running head: NURSE STAFFING RATIO 1
EFFECTIVE APPROACHES IN LEADERSHIP AND
MANAGEMENT

Running head: NURSE STAFFING RATIO 2
Contents
Introduction:....................................................................................................................................4
Selected Issue, Setting, and Impact on Patient Safety:....................................................................4
Professional Standards of Practice to Rectify Issue or Maintain Professional Conduct:................5
Differing Roles and Approaches of Nursing Leaders and Nursing Managers:...............................5
Ensuring Professionalism through Diverse Health Care Settings:..................................................7
Leadership Style to Address Issue:..................................................................................................8
Conclusion:......................................................................................................................................8
Reference list:..................................................................................................................................9

Running head: NURSE STAFFING RATIO 3
Introduction:
The nurse staffing ratio is the number of nurses to the number of patients in a health care
unit. Now-a-days this Nurse staffing ratio issue is a major problem in health care unit as the
nurses have to take care of multiple patients at the same time. Patient's condition is also
considered as one of those major factors. For example, when a patient is admitted to an ICU he
or she needs special care, observation, and treatment, and more than one nurse should be allotted
for a single patient.
Selected Issue, Setting, and Impact on Patient Safety:
Most of the healthcare unit has faced the same problem due to the shortage of nursing
staffs, especially in the ICU. Even 90% of nurses of our country admits that they cannot get
much time to attain a patient properly and also they are unable to create a bond with their patient
due to lack of time (Olley, Edwards, Avery & Cooper, 2019). For an ICU patient, there are more
than one nurse are needed but in most of the health care unit a nurse has to attain two to three
patients at the same time. Nursing job is a very difficult job and full of responsibilities.
According to this situation patient's safety comes at a stake due to the lack of care, help, medical
and mental support due to the shortage of this nursing staffs (Cho, Chin, Kim & Hong, 2016).

Running head: NURSE STAFFING RATIO 4
Professional Standards of Practice to Rectify Issue or Maintain Professional
Conduct:
To improve the patient's safety the health care industries in the USA need to make some
changes in their nursing professional standards (Cho et al., 2015). Nursing is considered as a
very noble profession and most of the diseases can get cured with proper care and support given
by these nurses. Considering the situation, concerned government need to take some necessary
actions to rectify these challenges or issues. Most of the health care units are currently facing
nurse staffing ratios issue. To improve this situation a health care unit should recruit more
nurses. The amount must be dependent on the average number of patient's are admitted in that
hospital. The ratio of the patient and nurses must be 1:2. This way every patient can have at least
two nurses for providing them 24*7 hours support care and help (Bridges, Griffiths, Oliver &
Pickering, 2019). Apart from that, the nurses need to very professional, skillful and dedicated to
their works, responsibilities and their patients also (Martin, 2015).
Differing Roles and Approaches of Nursing Leaders and Nursing Managers:
Nursing occupation requires lots of attention, dedication, empathy, and teamwork as well.
An experienced professional nurse will always considered as much efficient as an experienced
doctor. But this is not an end for a nurse. The nurse should be very career conscious about their
better prospects and opportunities (Cummings et al., 2018). A nurse needs to handle their roles
and responsibilities properly but they also need to inhibit some leadership qualities inside them
for their better future which are as follows:
 Democratic leadership:

Running head: NURSE STAFFING RATIO 5
This kind of leadership procedure helps the leaders building a good relationship
and trust to their subordinate team members. In such leadership, the feedbacks and
opinions of the subordinates are very important though the leader has the ultimate power
to take decisions.
 Transformational leadership:
With the help of such leadership technique mangers can boost the confidence of
their subordinates and also can encourage them to give their best to their allotted work
(Fischer, 2016).
 Autocratic leadership:
The autocratic leaders are considered as a typical boss. Here they are the ultimate
one and they have zero tolerance of any kind of mistakes which are made by their
subordinates. They like to give orders to their subordinates and they will take all kind of
decisions without any discussion.
 Situational leadership:
These types of leaders are very flexible and cooperative in nature. In such a case,
the leader needs to evaluate the situation and need to take decisions accordingly. The
subordinates can also modify those decisions according to the situation demands.
Ensuring Professionalism through Diverse Health Care Settings:
Healthcare industry is not like the usual industry. Any individual health care unit will
gain their desired position and reputation in the market by the eligible and qualified doctors and
their supporting staffs. Teamwork is an important tool for a successful health care system. With

Running head: NURSE STAFFING RATIO 6
the help of this teamwork, nurses can build a good relationship with not only themselves but with
their family also. To become professional a nurse needs an adequate amount of support from
their respective health care unit.
 In the case of the health care unit, a team must be made up of more than
one experienced nurses, some specialists, some physicians, and support staffs. With the
help of this team, nurses can provide a regular update to the patient and their family about
their health condition. When more than one nurse is allotted for a single patient that time
the patient gets satisfactory care and his or her health status also improve gradually.
 The nursing job requires a more professional attitude rather than another
profession. This profession has no proper working hours. Nurses facing various kinds of
challenges every day and sometimes they need to take actions according to that situation.
Thus having a peaceful mind is the primary requirement for this job. As per this
researches when a healthcare unit not having properly experienced nurse in their unit that
unit will face various accident s and troubles (Manojlovich & Ketefian, 2016).
Leadership Style to Address Issue:
We have already discussed a different kind of leadership style in this nursing industry.
Being a leader it is a basic responsibility of a nurse to building good rapport and communication
within her team members and always creating a positive atmosphere in their respective wards
(Asamani, Naab & Ofei, 2016). The main issue a health care unit currently facing is the
inefficiency of her subordinates. The inefficiency creates a huge impact not only their work
atmosphere also on the health condition of their patients. To improve this scenario the new
interns need proper training and motivation. For this, they need the maximum amount of support

Running head: NURSE STAFFING RATIO 7
and encouragement from their respective leaders (Spano-Szekely, Griffin, Clavelle &
Fitzpatrick, 2016).
Conclusion:
According to the legal model of the American nurses association, nurses should have the
power to design staff planning to the specific wards and units. With the help of this model health
care units can evaluate the demands and needs of the new staffs, efficiency of their existing
staffs, etc. This law also helps us to evaluate the professionalism of that particular nurse and its
accountability. The patient and nurse ratio must be at least 1:2 in every ward of a health care
unit.
Reference list:
Asamani, J. A., Naab, F., & Ofei, A. M. A. (2016). Leadership styles in nursing management:
implications for staff outcomes. Journal of Health Sciences.
Bridges, J., Griffiths, P., Oliver, E., & Pickering, R. M. (2019). Hospital nurse staffing and staff–
patient interactions: an observational study. BMJ Qual Saf, bmjqs-2018.

Running head: NURSE STAFFING RATIO 8
Cho, E., Chin, D. L., Kim, S., & Hong, O. (2016). The relationships of nurse staffing level and
work environment with patient adverse events. Journal of Nursing Scholarship, 48(1),
74-82.
Cho, E., Sloane, D. M., Kim, E. Y., Kim, S., Choi, M., Yoo, I. Y., ... & Aiken, L. H. (2015).
Effects of nurse staffing, work environments, and education on patient mortality: an
observational study. International journal of nursing studies, 52(2), 535-542.
Cummings, G. G., Tate, K., Lee, S., Wong, C. A., Paananen, T., Micaroni, S. P., & Chatterjee,
G. E. (2018). Leadership styles and outcome patterns for the nursing workforce and work
environment: A systematic review. International Journal of Nursing Studies, 85, 19-60.
Fischer, S. A. (2016). Transformational leadership in nursing: a concept analysis. Journal of
Advanced Nursing, 72(11), 2644-2653.
Manojlovich, M., & Ketefian, S. (2016). The effects of organizational culture on nursing
professionalism: Implications for health resource planning. Canadian Journal of Nursing
Research Archive, 33(4).
Martin, C. J. (2015). The effects of nurse staffing on quality of care. MedSurg Nursing, 24(2),
S4-S4.
Olley, R., Edwards, I., Avery, M., & Cooper, H. (2019). Systematic review of the evidence
related to mandated nurse staffing ratios in acute hospitals. Australian Health
Review, 43(3), 288-293.
Spano-Szekely, L., Griffin, M. T. Q., Clavelle, J., & Fitzpatrick, J. J. (2016). Emotional
intelligence and transformational leadership in nurse managers. JONA: The Journal of
Nursing Administration, 46(2), 101-108.