Analyzing Nursing Staffing Policy for Improved Patient Outcomes

This essay analyzes the impact of nursing staffing policies, particularly focusing on California's legislation, on patient care and safety. It examines how these policies address staffing requirements by aiming for an optimal nurse-to-patient ratio to reduce nurse burnout and improve the quality of care. Research indicates that lower nurse-to-patient ratios correlate with reduced patient mortality, increased patient satisfaction, and better evaluations of work environments for nurses. The paper also explores the role of nurses in maintaining quality and safety standards within these policies, emphasizing the shared responsibility of institutions and nurses in meeting required standards. It advocates for the enactment of nurse staffing policies at both state and national levels, supported by adequate resources, to improve healthcare outcomes and reduce nurse burnout. The essay also relates the policy to IHI Triple Aim initiatives.

Running head: ADVOCACY THROUGH HEALTH CARE POLICY 1
Advocacy Through Health Care Policy
Student’s Name
University

ADVOCACY THROUGH HEALTH CARE POLICY 2
Advocacy Through Health Care Policy
Introduction
Nursing staffing policy is an ideal approach to assist in the increase of quality care to
patients. The ratio of one nurse for every five patients ensures that each patient is accorded
enough medical attention. Fagin (2001) contributes to the fact that nurses can detect early signs
and symptoms of illnesses affecting the patient due to lessened work-load. In the case of two
intensive care patients, regular monitoring of their progress contributes to their quick recovery.
How the policy addresses staffing requirements
The policy sets the requirements of one nurse to six patients which create the conditions
for the nurse to balance energy resources towards the number of patients without burnout. Such
requirements allow hospital to distribute nurses within the facility according to the workload of
each station (Aiken et al., 2010). Aiken et al. (2010) suggests that the study focused on
addressing the link between nurse challenges to the quality of work that they perform on patients.
The study was based on 168 hospitals in Pennsylvania where it was discovered that the chances
of patient mortality increased with the additional workload that nurses encountered. Further,
Coffman (2002) reported that additional patients to every nurse created a workload with
increased burnout on the nurses of 23% and affected the level of patient satisfaction within the
facility. These results indicate the need to reduce the nurse-patient ratio and set the minimum to
achieve the required levels. Therefore, the role of the policy is to achieve required patient nurse
ratio to increase quality of care from nurses and reduce nurse burnout.
How the policy does an effective job in addressing staffing requirements

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Research by Sochalski et al. (2008) used the data in hospitals before the minimum
ratio for patients was set to the minimum requirement. The outcome of staffing requirements is
reduced mortality increased quality of care since nurses were able to allocate more time to
patients. Hospitals that had the worst staffing rations in the past reaped these benefits since they
realized an increased number of customer satisfaction levels and reduced mortalities as a result
of improved quality of care. The legislation led to the best results within the medical care facility
since hospitals were reaping the intended benefits of staffing ratios.
Poor staffing leads to errors and omissions by nurses due to the massive workload. It may
be compromising to patients in areas like surveillance, follow-ups and general care in cases of
delicate situations. From a study done on California nurses where the staffing policy was
implemented in comparison to other states, Aiken et al. (2010) found out that lower workloads in
California translate into better evaluations of their work environments. This rendered favorable
nurse to patient outcomes in hospitals where the ratio was applied. Nurses in hospitals that were
understaffed seemed at discomfort with their work places and were on constant lookout for other
hospitals that provided better work environments.
Role of nurses in addressing quality and safety standards in the staffing policy
Staffing policies seek to ensure a balance between the nurse and patients within a
healthcare system. The role of the nurse is to meet all the requirements and qualifications that a
profession should have. When staffing policies are put in place, the burden is not only on the
institution or government that are interested in meeting the standards but rather the burden that
every nurse receives in taking care of patients. Cordova (2017) states that when policies are put
in place, they set requirements for both parties that are affected. This policy also places a burden
on every nurse to ensure that they meet all the required standards.

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The position to take in my Position Paper
Although research has not adequately pointed to the impact of nursing staffing ratio, it s
worth noting that it has many positive impacts attributed to both the patient, practitioner and
hospital facility (Kalisch & Lee, 2010). Through research strategies like direct observation,
identifying problems affecting patients, and working on strategies to put proper intervention
mechanisms in place, the results of the policy can easily be realized. The need to staff nurses
properly has a direct impact on patient outcome since they play a larger role of ensuring quality
of care with patients suffering from heart problems. Through participatory methods, institutions
can reap the best outcome from nurse staffing and quality control mechanisms within the
healthcare system. Therefore, policies on nurse staffing create greater impacts in the outcome of
patients and reduction of mortality. States and the national government should enact these
policies and ensure that enough resources are channeled towards this course of action to achieve
the intended results. This will allow healthcare system to reap the intended demands of
increasing the quality of healthcare outcomes and reducing nurse burn outs.

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References
Aiken, L.H., Sloane, D.M, Cimiotti, J.P., Clarke, S.P., Flynn, L., Seago, J.A.,…Smith, H.L.
(2010) .Implications of the California Nurse Staffing Mandate for other States. Health
Services Research. 45(4):904–953.
Cordova, P. B. (2017). Staffing and nurse-perceived quality of care. Evidence Based Nursing , 16
(60), 263-271.
Coffman J.M., Seago J., A, Spetz J. (2002). Minimum Nurse-to-Patient Ratios in Acute Care
Hospitals in California. Health Affairs. ; 21(5):53–64.
Fagin C., (2001).When Care Becomes a Burden: Diminishing Access to Adequate Nursing. New
York, NY: Milbank Memorial Fund.
Kalisch B., & Lee K. (2010). The Impact of Teamwork on Missed Nursing Care.Nursing
Outlook.58 (5):233–247.
Sochalski J., Konetzka RT., Zhu J., Volpp K. (2008) Will Mandated Minimum Nurse Staffing
Ratios Lead to Better Patient Outcomes? Medical Care. ; 46(6):606–13.