NURS-6053 Assignment Developing Organizational Policies and Practices

College of Nursing, Walden University

NURS 6053: Interprofessional Organization and System Leadership

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Description of the Healthcare Stressor

Increased workload leading to burnout has had a detrimental impact on healthcare organizations. Burnout from increased workloads can lead to decreased morale, increased stress, and depression among healthcare workers, which leads to decreased efficiency and quality of care. Increased workloads also lead to exhaustion, fatigue, and lack of focus, which could lead to medical errors and decreased patient satisfaction. White et al. (2020) cited that burnout from increased workloads can lead to reduced productivity, increased absenteeism, and higher turnover rates. This paper aims to discuss the effects of burnout on nurses and identify effective ways to improve the situation.

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Supporting Data

Organizational data has shown that burnout from increased workloads has a significant impact on healthcare organizations. For example, a study by the International Journal of Health Services found that medical errors due to burnout cost an estimated $17.1 billion annually in the United States alone. Another study by the American Journal of Health Promotion found that healthcare organizations experience an 11% decrease in productivity and a 10% increase in absenteeism due to burnout. Furthermore, a study by the American Journal of Nursing found that burnout can result in a 25% increase in turnover rates.

Summary of the Articles

The Christianson et al. (2022) article examines the impact of COVID-19 on the intention of nurses to leave the profession. It explores the relationship between work-related burnout and compassion fatigue, stress-induced feelings of exhaustion and emotional depletion, and their impact on nurse intention to leave the profession. The study found that nurses with higher levels of burnout and compassion fatigue were likelier to report intentions to leave the profession. These intentions did not differ by race, gender, or years of experience. The results indicate that interventions should focus on reducing burnout and compassion fatigue to reduce nurses’ intention to leave the profession during the pandemic.

This article by Olaleye et al. (2022) inspects the issue of nurse burnout and resiliency in critical care nurses through a scoping review. The authors look at the prevalence of burnout and the factors that may contribute to it, such as work demands, workloads, working conditions, and job satisfaction. They also discuss the importance of resilience and its impact on burnout. They suggest that interventions are needed to reduce burnout, such as providing resources to nurses, improving communication, and offering support systems. They conclude that more research is needed to understand the factors contributing to burnout and resiliency in critical care nurses.

How Increased Workload and Nurse Burnout Stressors Are Being Addressed

Organizations in the healthcare field are taking proactive steps to address the issue of increased workload and nurse burnout. One approach is prioritizing nurse-patient ratios, often called safe staffing. By adding additional nurses, hospitals and other healthcare facilities can decrease nurse workloads and ensure that nurses can provide quality care to all patients. In addition, organizations are focusing on nurse retention by improving work culture, offering competitive pay and benefits, and creating flexible work schedules. These efforts are helping to create an environment where nurses feel supported and appreciated for their hard work. Employees’ well-being is closely related to their work engagement (Jacobs et al., 2018).

Furthermore, many organizations are investing in technology and resources that can automate certain aspects of care, such as electronic medical records, to streamline processes and save nurses’ time. Finally, organizations are providing nurses with additional training and education to keep them up-to-date on the latest healthcare trends and technologies. By taking these steps, healthcare organizations are helping to reduce nurse burnout and ensure better patient care.

Summary of Strategies

The strategies used to address nurse burnout stressors are increasing managerial support and communication; implementing stress management and self-care programs; creating a supportive work environment; offering flexible working hours, job sharing, and shift rotation; implementing workload balancing and task delegation; and providing mentorship, coaching, and education. Furthermore, providing resources such as counseling, peer support, employee assistance programs, and advocating for nurse wellness and safety can help reduce nurse burnout and stress.

Impact on the Organization

The strategies used to address the nurse burnout stressors presented in the scholarly resources may impact an organization positively by increasing job satisfaction, reducing stress and burnout, and improving the quality of patient care (Jun et al., 2021). Also, these strategies may help to increase nurses’ productivity and creativity, reduce absenteeism, and improve organizational morale. On the other hand, these strategies may also negatively impact an organization if they are not properly implemented or applied without considering the organization’s specific needs and challenges. For example, suppose an organization does not have the resources to provide flexible working hours, job sharing, or shift rotation. In that case, this may not be an effective strategy to address nurse burnout. Additionally, if an organization does not have the resources to provide mentorship, coaching, and education, this may not be an effective strategy either.

 Developing Organizational Policies and Practices

Nurses play an integral role in providing healthcare services, but they are increasingly facing workloads that exceed their capacity and ability to deliver effective quality care. The current policies and regulations fail to provide an adequate framework to protect nurses from excessive workloads’ stress, fatigue, and burnout. This has led to an urgent need for policy change that supports nurses and helps ensure they can provide the best care possible. This portion of the paper aims to explore the current state of nurse workloads, the effects of increased workloads on nurses, and to identify policy changes that can help reduce nurse stress and improve patient care.

Competing Needs

The two competing needs impacting the healthcare stressor of increased workload and nurse burnout are patient care and nurse well-being. Healthcare organizations are tasked with providing quality care to patients while ensuring their nurses’ well-being. This can lead to competing needs because organizations must balance providing quality care while preventing burnout among nurses (Milliken, 2018). For example, healthcare organizations may need to hire additional nurses to ensure quality care, but this may also lead to increased workloads and nurse burnout. To balance these competing needs, healthcare organizations must be proactive in providing resources and support to their nurses while ensuring they can provide quality patient care.

Relevant Policy in Organization

The relevant policy or practice in our organization that may influence the healthcare issue of increased workload and nurse burnout is our nurse-patient ratio policy. Our organization has implemented a nurse-patient ratio policy to ensure patient-quality care and reduce nurse burnout (Olaleye et al., 2022). The policy requires the correct number of nurses to provide safe, effective care for the number of patients in the facility are always available. This policy helps reduce nurse workloads and ensure that nurses can provide quality patient care. Additionally, the policy helps to reduce nurse burnout by providing nurses with the resources and support they need to be successful.

Critique of Policy

The nurse-patient ratio policy has several ethical considerations associated with it. Firstly, the policy has the potential to improve patient safety by ensuring that nurses can provide quality care to all patients. This is an ethical consideration because it ensures that patients receive the best care possible and that their rights are respected. Secondly, the policy has the potential to reduce nurse burnout, which is an ethical consideration because it ensures that nurses are not overworked and can take care of their well-being (Kelly & Porr, 2018). The policy’s strengths in promoting ethics are ensuring that patients receive quality care and that nurses are not overworked (Van der Heijden et al., 2019). The challenges are that the policy may only be feasible in some healthcare settings due to financial and resource constraints. It may only prevent nurse burnout if the organization provides additional resources and support to its nurses. Furthermore, the policy may be subject to changes in regulations and policies, which could impact its effectiveness.

Recommended Policy

One policy change that could be implemented to balance the competing needs of resources, workers, and patients is implementing a nurse wellness program (Belton, 2018). This program could provide nurses with resources, such as counseling and peer support, to help them manage their workload and stress levels (Christianson et al., 2022). In addition, the program could provide nurses with educational opportunities, such as webinars and seminars, to help them stay up to date on the latest healthcare trends and technologies (Raso, 2018). Furthermore, the program could give nurses incentives, such as additional vacation days, to recognize and reward them for their hard work. Finally, the program could provide nurses with flexible working hours, job sharing, and shift rotation to help them manage their workloads. By implementing this program, an organization could balance the competing needs of resources, workers, and patients, while also addressing any ethical shortcomings of the existing policies DEVELOPING ORGANIZATIONAL POLICIES AND PRACTICES NURS-6053 Assignment.

Conclusion

Nurse burnout is a serious issue affecting nurses and patient care quality. Implementing a nurse wellness program effectively balances the needs of resources, workers, and patients. This program would give nurses access to resources, educational opportunities, incentives, and flexible working hours. With such a program, healthcare organizations would ensure that their nurses are taken care of, and that patient care is not compromised. Ultimately, this policy change would enable healthcare organizations to provide better quality care while upholding their ethical standards.

References

Belton, S. (2018). Caring for the caregivers: Making the case for mindfulness-based wellness programming to support nurses and prevent staff turnover. Nursing economics, 36(4), 191-195. https://www.proquest.com/scholarly-journals/caring-caregivers-making-case-mindfulness-based/docview/2096472658/se-2

Christianson, J., Johnson, N., Nelson, A., & Singh, M. (2022). Work-Related Burnout, Compassion Fatigue, and Nurse Intention to Leave the Profession During COVID-19. Nurse Leader. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mnl.2022.06.007

Jacobs, B., McGovern, J., Heinmiller, J., & Drenkard, K. (2018). Engaging employees in well-being: Moving from the triple aim to the quadruple aim. Nursing Administration Quarterly, 42(3), 231–245. https://doi.org/10.1097/NAQ.0000000000000303

Jun, J., Ojemeni, M. M., Kalamani, R., Tong, J., & Crecelius, M. L. (2021). Relationship between nurse burnout, patient and organizational outcomes: Systematic review. International Journal of Nursing Studies, 119, 103933. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijnurstu.2021.103933

Kelly, P., & Porr, C. (2018). Ethical nursing care versus cost containment: Considerations to enhance RN practice. Online Journal of Issues in Nursing, 23(1). https://doi.org/10.3912/OJIN.Vol23No01Man06

Milliken, A. (2018). Ethical awareness: what it is and why it matters. OJIN: The Online Journal of Issues in Nursing, 23(1). https://doi.org/10.3912/OJIN.Vol23No01Man01

Olaleye, T. T., Christianson, T. M., & Hoot, T. J. (2022). Nurse burnout and resiliency in critical care nurses: a scoping review. International Journal of Africa Nursing Sciences, 17, 100461. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijans.2022.100461

Raso, R. (2018). The state of nurse leader wellness: Results of the nursing management wellness survey. Nursing Management, 49(2), 24-31 https://doi.org/10.1097/01.NUMA.0000529923.20634.fa

Van der Heijden, B., Brown Mahoney, C., & Xu, Y. (2019). Impact of job demands and resources on nurses’ burnout and occupational turnover intention towards an age-moderated mediation model for the nursing profession. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 16(11), 2011. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16112011

White, E. M., Aiken, L. H., Sloane, D. M., & McHugh, M. D. (2020). Nursing home work environment, care quality, registered nurse burnout and job dissatisfaction. Geriatric Nursing, 41(2), 158-164. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gerinurse.2019.08.007

DEVELOPING ORGANIZATIONAL POLICIES AND PRACTICES

Competing needs arise within any organization as employees seek to meet their targets and leaders seek to meet company goals. As a leader, successful management of these goals requires establishing priorities and allocating resources accordingly.

Within a healthcare setting, the needs of the workforce, resources, and patients are often in conflict. Mandatory overtime, implementation of staffing ratios, use of unlicensed assisting personnel, and employer reductions of education benefits are examples of practices that might lead to conflicting needs in practice DEVELOPING ORGANIZATIONAL POLICIES AND PRACTICES NURS-6053 Assignment.

Leaders can contribute to both the problem and the solution through policies, action, and inaction. In this Assignment, you will further develop the white paper you began work on in Module 1 by addressing competing needs within your organization.

To Prepare:

• Review the national healthcare issue/stressor you examined in your Assignment for Module 1, and review the analysis of the healthcare issue/stressor you selected.
• Identify and review two evidence-based scholarly resources that focus on proposed policies/practices to apply to your selected healthcare issue/stressor.
• Reflect on the feedback you received from your colleagues on your Discussion post regarding competing needs.

The Assignment (1-2 pages):

Developing Organizational Policies and Practices

Add a section to the 2-3 page paper you submitted in Module 1. The new section should address the following in 1-2 pages:

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• Identify and describe at least two competing needs impacting your selected healthcare issue/stressor.
• Describe a relevant policy or practice in your organization that may influence your selected healthcare issue/stressor.
• Critique the policy for ethical considerations, and explain the policy’s strengths and challenges in promoting ethics.
• Recommend one or more policy or practice changes designed to balance the competing needs of resources, workers, and patients, while addressing any ethical shortcomings of the existing policies. Be specific and provide examples.
• Cite evidence that informs the healthcare issue/stressor and/or the policies, and provide two scholarly resources in support of your policy or practice recommendations.
• Due to the nature of this assignment, your instructor may require more than 7 days to provide you with quality feedback. DEVELOPING ORGANIZATIONAL POLICIES AND PRACTICES NURS-6053 Assignment