EBP Implementation
Why is understanding the health care system at the local level important to consider when planning an EBP implementation? Conduct research and solicit anecdotal evidence from the course preceptor that you will take into consideration for your own change project.
Capstone Project is Staffing Shortage in Long term acute care
Sample Paper
EBP Implementation
Understanding the Healthcare System at the Local Level
Understanding the healthcare system at the local level is critical because it gives an insight into the community demographics, resources, and expectations. In addition, one understands the different aspects of culture, norms, and policies at the local level that define the healthcare system. Culture is an essential element in implementing evidence-based practice (EBP), and its consideration will positively influence the project. Understanding the healthcare system at the local level also increases the effectiveness of the EBP in standardizing the nursing practice through safe patient care, thus promoting positive health outcomes (Yoo et al., 2019). Understanding the healthcare system at the local level thus ensures that EBP is implemented by considering the shared beliefs and values of the local members and nurses.
Considerations in the Change Project
In my change project, I will be dealing with a staffing shortage, one of the main problems faced in long-term acute care. Some of the considerations that I will make include the causes of nursing shortage at the local levels, the role of community and healthcare leadership in addressing staffing shortage, and the impacts of the nursing shortage on the quality of care. Staffing shortage has resulted from the increasing rate of the aging population, lack of adequate educators, retirements, and inequitable workforce distribution (Nantsupawat et al., 2017). Community and healthcare leaders have a critical role in addressing the nursing shortage. They must create awareness to the government and the public on the need to increase the number of educators who will help address the staffing shortage. More students should be encouraged to pursue nursing and medicine degrees to prepare them for increasing job opportunities. Geriatric-based training should also be encouraged to increase staff’s competence on age-related psychological changes, team-based care, and a holistic approach to managing the health of elderly patients (Flaherty & Bartels, 2019). Government should regularly replace retiring staff members and employ more healthcare professionals to minimize the shortage. Staffing shortage in the long term acute care has adversely affected the quality of care. It has led to job dissatisfaction, fatigue, and stress among professionals, which has increased cases of preventable mistakes. In addition, patients are not receiving the expected attention from healthcare professionals due to the shortages experienced.
References
Flaherty, E., & Bartels, S. J. (2019). Addressing the community‐based geriatric healthcare workforce shortage by leveraging the potential of interprofessional teams. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 67(S2), S400-S408. https://doi.org/10.1111/jgs.15924
Nantsupawat, A., Kunaviktikul, W., Nantsupawat, R., Wichaikhum, O. A., Thienthong, H., & Poghosyan, L. (2017). Effects of nurse work environment on job dissatisfaction, burnout, intention to leave. International nursing review, 64(1), 91-98. https://doi.org/10.1111/inr.12342
Yoo, J. Y., Kim, J. H., Kim, J. S., Kim, H. L., & Ki, J. S. (2019). Clinical nurses’ beliefs, knowledge, organizational readiness and level of implementation of evidence-based practice: The first step to creating an evidence-based practice culture. PloS one, 14(12), e0226742. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0226742
