Topic 2 DQ 1. During your practicum, determine what clinical problem or issue the organization is facing. Discuss two implications for nursing.
ANSWER:
In the emergency department, there is a lot of activity going on from people who need immediate medical intervention to stabilize them all the way down to someone with the sniffles. A clinical issue that the organization is facing is a nursing shortage. The emergency department rarely has a charge nurse and their nurses are usually out of ratio. Adequate staffing is vital to patient safety and quality health outcomes for patients (Department for Professional Employees, 2016). Adequate staffing is also imperative to creating a positive work environment that retains nurses and increases job satisfaction. The shortage of nurses leaves employees burned out from working extra hours and trying to cover shifts which increases their stress load. Not only does poor staffing lead to decreased job satisfaction but it leads to decreased health for nurses. Inadequate staffing increases the risk of musculoskeletal injuries and leads to poor patient outcomes. Poor staffing is associated with increased medical errors, increased infections and increased preventable death or injury. The job dissatisfaction leads to a high turn-over rate, thus perpetuating the problem (Department of Professional Employees, 2016).
Reference:
Department of Professional Employees. (2016). Safe-Staffing Ratios: Benefiting Nurses and Patients. Retrieved from https://dpeaflcio.org/programs-publications/issue-fact-sheets/safe-staffing-ratios-benefiting-nurses-and-patients/. September 22, 2019.
