Reference no: EM132301248
The Joint Commission’s staffing effectiveness standard requires that hospitals provide written reports annually on “all system or process failures, the number and type of sentinel event, information provided to families/patients about the events, and actions taken to improve patient safety.” These undesirable events must be examined relative to staffing; if negative staff trends are observed, a report must be filed with the organization’s leadership. Most healthcare organizations must meet this requirement to receive Joint Commission accreditation, and that accreditation is paramount to the ability of hospitals to operate and receive reimbursement.
Consider two patient care units at a local hospital, and the manager of each one. Answer the following questions:
How does each unit (and specify what type of unit) interpreted The Joint Commission’s staffing effectiveness standards?
How have unit operations changed as a result of this standard? Obtain specific information about the changes (i.e., has their nursing to patient ratio changed, budget implications, etc.)?
How has implementation affected the quality of care delivered to patients in the unit?
How has the nursing staff in each responded to this implementation?
Are the nurses unionized?
How have other units been affected and please get as specific as possible?
Has there been an impact for patients? What do the patient satisfaction surveys tell you? And what, if any, changes will be made?
Depending on the type of nursing unit, there could be a different nurse to patient ratio as an example.
Write a paper comparing the two units' approaches for meeting the required staffing effectiveness standards. Which approach would you defend and why? How will you use this experience of learning from the two units and incorporate information learned to develop your own nurse workload and staffing decisions in the future? Would that process of decision making in determining the nurse workload and staffing be drastically different in a medical practice management setting that operates Monday – Friday from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.? If so, how and why?