Staff Shortage
Many of you have experience in complex adaptive systems whether you realize it or not. Thinking about your current or future practice area, identify an issue or concern. In your initial response, please describe the concern. Does the concern primarily occur at the micro, meso, or macro level? How would you address this issue? What impact might your solution have on the other levels of the system? In what ways could interprofessional collaboration be used to resolve the issue?
Sample Paper
Staff Shortage
Description of the Concern
Staff shortage is a significant area of concern in my practice area. There is an increasing demand for healthcare services which is expected to continue rising based on the current trends in the emergency of diseases and the aging population (Haddad et al., 2020). The shortage experienced is due to inadequate educators, inequitable workforce distribution, and high turnover. Staff shortage led to increased cases of job dissatisfaction and burnout, which has lowered the quality of care (Nantsupawat et al., 2017). In addition, the available staff members find it challenging to meet the unique needs of their patients, which has led to lengthy-time of hospitalization and reduced collaboration of the patients throughout the care plan.
Occurrence of the Problem
Staff shortage occurs at the macro level being a primary healthcare problem globally. The United States Bureau of Labor Statistics states that there is a need to employ 11 million nurse professionals to fill the current gap in the profession (Haddad et al., 2020). In addition, Healthcare is now being strained with the aging population. As a result, there is increased pressure on the current staff to provide quality care services to these patients creating stressful working conditions. Healthcare institutions and nursing organizations are striving to develop systems and processes that will improve workplace satisfaction and safety (Nantsupawat et al., 2017). The American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN), for instance, is working collaboratively with instructions, nursing organizations, policymakers, and the media to increase awareness on staff shortage.
Addressing the Issue and the Impact
Staff shortage can be addressed by increasing awareness to the government and healthcare administration team on the need to employ more staff members. Popularizing healthcare informatics may also help address staff shortages (Haddad et al., 2020). This will reduce the need for patients to visit healthcare organizations, especially for minor appointments. Telehealth and telemedicine, for instance, can help in reducing the clinical visits, which will reduce nursing workload (Haddad et al., 2020). Finally, promoting career development will increase workplace flexibility and allow nurses to provide quality healthcare services in different areas of competence.
These solutions will increase the cost of care since new healthcare professionals will have to be employed. It will also mean there is a need for advanced technological systems and professionals to facilitate the healthcare informatics programs. The solutions will also demand the diversification of the education system so that the professionals are trained on the different competencies for increased independence in care provision.
Interprofessional Collaboration
The interprofessional collaboration will promote scheduling flexibility which will allow staff members to juggle through the busy work schedule with education opportunities and home life. Through the interprofessional partnership, the organization will address patient safety and staffing issues by optimizing the quality of care and health outcome (Tang et al., 2018). In addition, the collaboration will create a framework through which the professionals can decompress between stressful and emotionally demanding shifts. This will enable the professionals to provide quality services enthusiastically regardless of the current shortages.
References
Haddad, L. M., Annamaraju, P., & Toney-Butler, T. J. (2020). Nursing shortage. StatPearls [Internet]. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK493175/
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
Tang, C. J., Zhou, W. T., Chan, S. W. C., & Liaw, S. Y. (2018). Interprofessional collaboration between junior doctors and nurses in the general ward setting: A qualitative exploratory study. Journal of nursing management, 26(1), 11-18. https://doi.org/10.1111/jonm.12503
