NURS FPX 6212 Assessment 3
Capella University
NURS FPX 6212
Professor Name
27 March, 2024
Outcome Measure, Issues, and Opportunities
Outcome metrics are indicators that assess how well an intervention achieves its objectives. These have proven crucial in helping Vila Health Hospital address concerns related to quality and safety. For example, Vila Health had personnel shortages. Overworked and exhausted employees are more inclined to quit, which increases resource strain and creates a revolving door. Staff morale suffers and work satisfaction declines when they feel undervalued and unable to deliver high-quality treatment. The likelihood of pharmaceutical mistakes brought on by haste or exhaustion rises sharply when there is a shortage of personnel. In addition, understaffing may result in hurried encounters with healthcare professionals, higher wait times, and perhaps worse patient care. Vila Health measured the effects of understaffing by putting in place outcome measures that monitor data including staff turnover rates, patient satisfaction ratings, and prescription mistake reports (Perry et al., 2023). Their ability to provide a data-driven argument for higher staffing levels was facilitated by the data, which painted a clear picture of the issue and its effects. This is but one illustration of how outcome metrics might be used to healthcare quality and safety issues. Implementing a patient acuity or workload management system is a technological intervention that can be used to combat the negative effects of understaffing in healthcare.
These systems leverage data analytics and algorithms to determine the level of care required for each patient, considering factors like their diagnosis, illness severity, and necessary treatments. This data-driven approach empowers healthcare facilities to make informed decisions about staffing allocation. Understaffing issues can be addressed by patient acuity systems in several ways. First of all, they guarantee that staff members are allocated to patients who require their particular skill set and degree of care by accurately analyzing patient requirements.
This keeps highly qualified nurses from being overburdened with mundane work while less urgent patients are left waiting. Second, staffing shortages during particular shifts or throughout the day can be shown by using real-time data on patient acuity. This makes it possible to make modifications to fit the demands of the patients at hand, such as bringing in more staff or reassigning employees from less busy locations. Lastly, some acuity systems go one step further and forecast future patient volumes and acuity levels based on trend analysis and historical data. By taking a proactive stance, healthcare institutions may plan for staffing requirements and make appropriate scheduling decisions, preventing scenarios where they are caught off guard during unanticipated spikes in demand. Research supports the efficacy of patient acuity systems. According to a 2021 research that was published in the Journal of Nursing Administration (JONA), hospitals that put these systems in place saw a 10% drop in medication mistakes and a 15% decrease in nurse burnout. The study also showed a noteworthy improvement in patient satisfaction ratings. These results show that patient acuity systems can effectively mitigate the negative effects of understaffing and advance a more secure and effective healthcare setting (Melbye et al., 2023).
Analyzing Organizational Functions, Processes, and Behaviors in High-Performing Organizations
To enable veterans to take an active role in their healthcare decisions, research looked into how primary care clinics run by the Veterans Health Administration might enhance patient involvement. Data from a national survey of VHA clinicians (physicians, nurses, and associates) conducted in 2016 was examined by researchers. Organizing and establishing goals to develop individualized health programs that take veterans’ beliefs and health objectives into account. With the use of open-ended questions and thoughtful listening, the motivational interviewing approach assists veterans in adopting healthier lifestyle choices. Veterans are given the skills they need to maintain their health through the use of organizational strategies for self-management, which include instructional materials, internet resources, group visits, and health coaching programs. The goal of the study was to pinpoint the organizational characteristics linked to clinics that thrive in patient engagement. Responses from the top 25% of performing clinics were compared to those from the bottom 25% of performing clinics by the researchers. Regular staff meetings with an emphasis on performance development encouraged cooperation and teamwork.
They were able to exchange best practices for patient involvement as a result. Patient-centered care was demonstrated by committed leadership that oversaw the Patient-Aligned Care Teams (PACT) program. Clinics with enough personnel on their PACT teams—at least three clinicians per team—may be able to better engage veterans by offering more thorough and individualized treatment. the role that organizational elements have in encouraging patient involvement. The study contends that improving leadership, staffing numbers, role clarification, and cooperation in VHA primary care clinics may greatly improve patient engagement procedures (Katz et al., 2020). Consider a clinic where employees don’t often get together to talk about issues or find solutions. Roles and duties may not be clear, which might result in inefficiencies. Veterans using this clinic may have a feeling of being moved about from one session to another with no chance for them to provide feedback or a clear strategy. Conversely, contemplate a clinic that employs another methodology.
Regular team meetings are very important here. Workers from various disciplines get together to talk about performance enhancement, exchange best practices, and make sure everyone agrees. There is strong leadership dedicated to putting into practice a patient-centered care approach, and roles are well-defined. This kind of facility probably can give veterans more thorough and individualized care. They may give veterans the resources and skills they need to manage their health, assist them in making good health changes using motivational interviewing approaches, and include them in planning and goal-setting. The study essentially shows that a clinic’s ability to work as a team may greatly increase patient involvement. Clinics may enable veterans to actively participate in their healthcare journey by fostering a well-organized and collaborative atmosphere, which may improve overall health results (Hickmann et al., 2022).
Examining How Organizational Functions, Processes, and Behaviors Impact Outcome Measures
Like many other organizations, Vila Health is struggling with the effects of understaffing. The firm may experience a cascade of issues as a result of this shortfall. When there aren’t enough personnel to meet demand, workers are overworked and find it difficult to carry out their jobs well. This may result in a drop in worker morale generally, productivity, and the standard of care given. Inadequate personnel may also make it more difficult for Vila Health to adopt new technology. Employees might not have the time or resources to acquire the necessary training on new technology breakthroughs if there are fewer resources available. This may hinder the company’s ability to take full advantage of technology’s ability to boost productivity and effectiveness. High-performing companies are better able to manage changes in workforce numbers and sustain peak performance when these policies are put into place.
This enables them to outperform their rivals who could be experiencing understaffing in terms of providing top-notch treatment, keeping motivated staff, and running more smoothly. By planning, they can effectively allocate resources and ensure they have the right number of staff with the necessary skills on hand to meet those needs. For example, if Vila Health anticipates a surge in patient volume due to the flu season, strong workforce planning can help them predict the additional staff they’ll require. With this information, they can take steps to fill those positions well in advance. This might involve utilizing temporary staffing agencies, hiring part-time employees, or offering overtime opportunities to existing staff. Understaffing can also negatively impact collaboration and teamwork. Strained communication and a lack of collaboration between team members are frequent consequences.
This can lead to wasted efforts as team members unknowingly duplicate each other’s work, missed opportunities, and a decline in the overall effectiveness of teamwork. High-performing organizations, however, have developed strategies to address staffing challenges. Unlike Vila Health, they don’t wait for staffing issues to arise before taking action. Instead, they have robust workforce planning systems in place. This proactive approach allows them to anticipate future staffing needs based on various factors, including patient volume, service demand, and industry trends. With an emphasis on sportsmen and military people, researchers in the Netherlands carried out a study to enhance knowledge and treatment of exertional heat stroke (EHS) and exertional rhabdomyolysis (ERM). The study sought to determine common characteristics of the illnesses, the usual pre-hospital care given to patients, and the long-term consequences, including mental health. They also looked into how effectively patients are assisted in returning to physical activity following an episode of EHS or ERM. The overall objective was to raise patient follow-up treatment and increase organizational and individual readiness for heat-related disorders. Sixty individuals who have encountered EHS/ERM between 2010 and 2020 were enrolled in the research. The group was almost equally divided between individuals with diagnoses, with 70% of the participants being men (Vijayapriya & Tamarana, 2023).
Identifying Common Quality and Safety Outcomes and Associated Measures
When evaluating children during an emergency, paramedics use vital signs as a critical tool. Unfortunately, many children with ostensibly abnormal vital signs do not require significant measures since the existing recommendations for aberrant vital signs in paediatrics are wide. By examining data from around a million pediatric emergency medical service (EMS) calls in 2022, this study sought to improve these recommendations. Four essential vital indicators were studied by the researchers: oxygen saturation, systolic blood pressure, heart rate, and respiratory rate. They converted the findings into age-specific scores since they knew that normal vital signs differ depending on age. Then, they examined the relationship between these modified vital signs and the requirement for life-saving measures like CPR, medicine, or breathing support during transport. According to the study, a child’s requirement for crucial treatments was correlated with age-adjusted vital signs. Remarkably, a U-shaped association was found, meaning that values that were extremely high or low were more likely to point to the need for treatments. Every vital sign had a set of ranges that the study determined might be used to classify youngsters as either more or less likely to require treatments. These ranges provided an excellent compromise between precision and preventing false alarms.
These age-adjusted ranges may help paramedics evaluate kids in emergencies more effectively when used in conjunction with other evaluation techniques. Better choices about the child’s care, transportation, and final resting place may result from this (Aiken et al., 2023). There is a problem in hospitals due to a scarcity of staff and high turnover rates. In addition to impairing patient care and safety, this also increases physician fatigue and attrition from the profession. Researchers employed a deeper comprehension of the variables associated with professional well-being, turnover, and ultimately patient safety to address this intricate problem. Finding therapies that benefit clinicians themselves is a crucial component of the problem. Present health and attrition rates: They will evaluate the clinicians’ present level of well-being as well as the frequency with which employees quit their positions at the hospital. Causes that can be implemented:
The research will identify particular variables that have a strong correlation with unfavourable outcomes for doctors and patient safety. These elements may have to do with the amount of labour, the workplace, or other elements of the job. There is still no known treatment for dementia, which is a serious worldwide health problem. By 2050, there will likely be a startling 50 million dementia sufferers globally, a threefold increase from the current figure. Scholars are presently engaged in exploring methods to anticipate and maybe avert dementia. Using prognostic models is one potential strategy. These models evaluate a person’s future probability of getting dementia by combining several variables, or predictors. Modifiable lifestyle behaviours or health problems, such as diabetes, exercise habits, and food, make up some of these predictors. Doctors may be able to lower the chance of dementia in high-risk individuals by identifying them and taking early action with lifestyle modifications or medicines.
Outcome Measure, Issues, and Opportunities
The multi-domain prognostic models that were particularly created for middle-aged people (45–65 years old) were the subject of this investigation. Finding models to predict dementia or cognitive decline that took into account a range of characteristics, including modifiable ones, was the aim. After searching many large medical databases, researchers found 20 pertinent studies. Various prognostic models were developed and validated in these investigations. The following are some important conclusions: Fourteen distinct prognostic models were found, seven of which are undergoing validation tests and the other seven of which are still in the development phases. With a median of nine, the models’ total number of predictors varied from six to thirty-four. Modifiable lifestyle variables and health problems were especially well-represented, appearing in each model with a median of 5. Employees who work in a collaborative workplace are more likely to feel that they have a shared purpose and duty. This encourages everyone to cooperate to accomplish shared objectives, such as providing patients with top-notch treatment. In this situation, effective communication becomes essential. Members of a team can communicate honestly, work through obstacles, and successfully coordinate their activities. This lessens the likelihood of misinterpretations and miscommunication that frequently occur when employees are overworked. Supporting one another and exchanging knowledge: Staff members may rely on one another in a network of support created via collaboration. Employees with less experience might gain information and skills from their more seasoned peers, and a common pool of expertise can be advantageous to everyone. This can be particularly beneficial when coping with understaffing. The capacity to share knowledge and tasks becomes even more important when fewer individuals are accessible. When employees collaborate, they may pool their viewpoints and come up with solutions for issues that can develop from understaffing.
When people work together, they may come up with more original and practical answers than they could when they worked alone. Decreased tension and Boosted Morale: Some of the tension related to understaffing can be mitigated when employees feel dependable and supported by their coworkers. Positive work environments and increased morale may be produced by fostering a sense of shared responsibility and collaboration. Consequently, there may be a decrease in employee turnover and an increase in work satisfaction. Through the promotion of cooperation and teamwork, businesses can lessen the adverse consequences of understaffing. Employees are more capable of managing heavier workloads, coming up with innovative solutions to issues, and maintaining the standard of service. Better patient outcomes, less stress and burnout among employees, and maybe even the ability to draw in and keep skilled workers are all possible results of this. An illustration would be a busy emergency department that is understaffed. It may be difficult for nurses to meet patients’ requirements. Working together, a nurse with triage experience can evaluate new patients quickly, while a different nurse, more used to a particular technique, can be ready for patients who require urgent care. To make sure they are giving the greatest treatment possible, a less seasoned nurse could also feel better at ease asking a colleague for assistance. Working together guarantees the effective use of scarce resources, which eventually improves patient care. In conclusion, a collaborative and team-oriented culture enables employees to collaborate well even under trying circumstances, such as understaffing. By strengthening communication, information sharing, problem-solving, and organizational morale, this collaborative method may greatly enhance staffing outcomes (Sriram Ramgopal et al., 2023).
Identifying Performance Issues and Opportunities Linked to Organizational Functions, Processes, and Behaviors and Their Impact on Quality and Safety Outcomes
Patient care and employee well-being are directly impacted by an organization’s staffing strategy in the healthcare industry. Healthcare organizations that plan well for human resources can predict staffing shortages before they occur. They can take proactive measures, such as targeted recruiting or training programs, to fill any personnel shortfalls by projecting future demands. By doing this, the detrimental impacts of understaffing on patient care such as lengthier wait times or possible safety hazards are reduced. Effective human resource planning might lessen the possibility of unfavourable outcomes related to understaffing in healthcare institutions. Technology may be an effective management tool for staff resources that are restricted. For instance, telehealth enables medical professionals to consult with patients from a distance, improving patient access to care without adding more employees to the location. Additionally, mundane chores may be automated by artificial intelligence, which helps frontline personnel and frees up their time to focus on more complicated patient demands. Staffing results can be positively impacted by organizations that place a high priority on employee engagement and retention. Healthcare providers may lower staff turnover and keep a more stable workforce by providing chances for growth and development together with a supportive work environment. All things considered, a healthcare organization’s ability to staff effectively is a key factor in its success.
Healthcare companies may reduce the problems associated with understaffing and provide higher-quality treatment by making smart use of technology, investing in their people, and planning. Adequate personnel is essential in the healthcare industry to prevent even little errors from having major repercussions. But for many firms, personnel shortages are a never-ending problem. This is where encouraging a collaborative and team-oriented culture may make a difference. A common feeling of purpose and duty is fostered via collaboration. Everyone collaborates to achieve shared objectives, such as providing patients with top-notch treatment (Yu et al., 2020). Effective communication becomes essential. Employees can communicate honestly, talk about difficulties, and successfully coordinate activities. This lessens the possibility of misunderstandings when employees are overworked. Employees that work together build a support system where they can rely on one another. Employees with less experience can gain expertise from more seasoned coworkers, and a pool of shared knowledge is advantageous to everybody. It is especially useful when there is a shortage of workers. The capacity to share labour and expertise becomes increasingly more crucial when fewer individuals are available: When employees collaborate, they may exchange ideas and come up with solutions for issues related to understaffing. A more recent medical graduate may offer a different viewpoint, yet a registered nurse may have vast expertise in managing patients’ requirements. Together, they can come up with more original and practical answers than any one person could on their own. Stress related to understaffing can be reduced when employees feel trusted and supported by their peers. A feeling of shared accountability and teamwork can improve morale.
Numerous workplace culture studies have shown that this can result in higher job satisfaction and perhaps decreased worker turnover. Through the promotion of cooperation and teamwork, businesses can lessen the adverse consequences of understaffing. To demonstrate the influence, consider the following facts: All things considered, a collaborative and team-oriented culture enables employees to collaborate well, especially under difficult circumstances such as understaffing. By improving communication, information sharing, problem-solving, and general morale inside the healthcare organization, this collaborative approach may greatly enhance staffing results. This will eventually lead to improved patient care and a more favourable work environment for staff members (Rossi et al., 2022).
Developing a Comprehensive Strategy for Measuring All Aspects of Patient Care and Sharing Knowledge with Staff
Even in situations when staffing levels are low, a plan may be developed to guarantee thorough patient care assessment and knowledge exchange amongst personnel. We may take on this task piecemeal by piece using Lewin’s Change Management Model. Notifying the staff of the need for change is the first step. Publications, staff meetings, and presentations should stress the need for change to overcome employee opposition. Here, pay particular attention to how low staffing numbers affect the effectiveness and quality of patient treatment. Research has demonstrated a direct correlation between low staffing levels and higher incidence of medication mistakes, hospital-acquired infections, and patient death. Bringing attention to these realities can aid in overcoming opposition and promote candid conversation. Employee meetings can serve as a forum for gathering grievances and recommendations, encouraging a cooperative work atmosphere in which employees feel empowered to contribute to problem-solving. This cooperative strategy is essential for success since staffing constraints make interprofessional knowledge exchange even more critical. The new practices implementation is the main goal of the second stage. All facets of patient care must be measured and shared to do this. There will be a structure developed for data collection and reporting. Monitoring prescription mistakes, patient satisfaction surveys, and other clinical outcomes are a few examples of this.
The measurement methodology, data gathering methods, and data interpretation will all be included in staff training. Knowledge exchange becomes essential through interdisciplinary rounds, case conferences, and clinical huddles. Staff members can discover areas for improvement and learn from one another’s experiences by exchanging feedback and patient care data through various channels. When individual time with patients is limited due to understaffing, this can be very beneficial. Making the improvements to the organization’s culture permanent is the main goal of the last phase. It is recommended that the reporting systems and measurement framework be included in the current company processes. This prevents misunderstanding and guarantees sustainability in the long run. Additionally, maintaining consistency requires giving new staff ongoing training on the measuring methodology. The desired habits are further reinforced when staff members get praise and rewards for their contributions to better patient care. This may encourage staff involvement and ongoing adoption of the new procedures. Even in the face of staffing constraints, healthcare organizations may implement a comprehensive strategy for assessing patient care, encouraging knowledge exchange, and eventually improving patient outcomes by following the stages defined in Lewin’s Change Management Model (Camara et al., 2024).
Conclusion
In healthcare, understaffing increases wait times, prescription mistakes, and infections, all of which have a detrimental effect on patient care. Additionally, it results in overworked and exhausted employees who are more prone to quit. Better staffing levels can be advocated for by using data on medication mistakes, patient satisfaction, and staff turnover to evaluate the effects of understaffing. Patient acuity systems that are technology-driven assess patient requirements and assign personnel appropriately, maximizing resources and enhancing patient outcomes. To lessen the impacts of understaffing, collaborative work cultures with open communication and information exchange are essential. Well-defined roles and strong leadership can improve teamwork. Healthcare businesses may implement changes using the framework offered by Lewin’s Change Management Model. It entails unfreezing—educating personnel about the necessity of change—changing—putting new procedures into place—and refreezing—ingraining the modifications into the culture. For instance, patient acuity systems and staff collaboration building might be beneficial for Vila Health, a hospital that is experiencing understaffing. Research indicates that cohesive teams in ERs may deliver superior treatment even in high-stress situations. Improved patient care quality and safety, less staff turnover and burnout, higher job satisfaction and morale, and better organizational efficiency and effectiveness are all results of good staffing and teamwork. The section ends with a recommendation for an all-encompassing approach that makes use of staff recognition, information exchange, and data collecting to improve patient care results despite staffing constraints. Understaffing generates a vicious cycle of personnel shortages by causing burnout, lower morale, and eventually greater turnover rates. Inadequate cooperation and communication can impede productivity and lead to mistakes, and inadequate training or ignorance of emerging technology can exacerbate these problems.
NURS FPX 6212 Assessment 3 Outcome Measure, Issues, and Opportunities
It is challenging to determine areas in need of improvement or to calculate how staffing levels affect patient outcomes without appropriate assessment (Ragavan et al., 2024). Decisions about patient treatment may be made incorrectly if there is missing or inaccurate data. A three-phase plan for adopting changes that solve workforce challenges and enhance patient care measurement is provided by Lewin’s Change Management Model. The first stage is informing employees about the drawbacks of understaffing and emphasising the necessity of change. Staff opposition should be addressed by calling meetings and asking for their opinions and concerns. The second stage is all about putting new procedures into action. This entails creating a system to monitor important indicators, educating employees on data gathering and analysis, and routinely providing staff with patient care data and feedback. By incorporating the reporting tools and measurement framework into standard operating procedures, the last stage seeks to permanently implement the improvements. This entails giving new personnel continual training as well as praising and rewarding employees for their contributions to better patient care. Despite staffing constraints, healthcare companies may use this strategy to promote cooperation, make data-driven choices, pinpoint opportunities for multidisciplinary collaboration, and ultimately improve patient care. To foster a culture of cooperation, data-driven decision-making, and continuous improvement that benefits both staff and patients, Lewin’s Change Management Model provides an organized method (Yoong et al., 202
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