<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The impact of nursing staffing on patient outcomes remains debatable. Most healthcare facilities strive to maximize patients&#8217; satisfaction and results. In 2007, the reimbursement system experienced some changes. The system currently requires healthcare facilities to publish their quality improvement and patient satisfaction data to increase payment. <br></p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Nurse staffing plays a vital role in patient care and outcomes. Nurses spend more time at the bedside compare to non-nursing staff and provide long hours of direct patient care. Evidence has shown a direct relation between Inadequate nurse staffing and patient outcomes. <br></p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">How does nurse staffing affect patient outcomes and quality of care? Nursing school does not prepare nurses to cope with the ongoing nursing shortage in the healthcare industry. As a new graduate nurse, I struggled with time management due to high patient ratio on a medical-surgical floor. </p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-nurse-staffing-and-patient-outcomes">Nurse Staffing And Patient Outcomes</h2>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">As a novice nurse, I was expected to care for six patients with complex medical needs every shift. I quickly realized that I was physically overwhelmed following my twelve-hour shift. I went to the bathroom on multiple occasions to cry due to work-related stress. <br></p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The physical requirement of the profession also affected me. How can healthcare facilities prevent adverse patient outcomes as a result of inadequate nurse staffing? Evidence has proven that inadequate nurse staffing can affect patient care. </p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph"><br>Patient dissatisfaction could result in readmissions, failure to rescue, patient safety events and more. I will discuss the correlation between inadequate nurse staffing and patient outcomes based on professional experience and literature. Adequate nurse staffing may positively affect patient outcomes and satisfaction. </p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Many studies have shown that patients respond to treatment better when there is sufficient nursing staff. According to Gordon West, MHA, “hospitals with lower proportions of RN have higher rates of death overall, death following complications (that is, failure to rescue) and other adverse events” </p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph"> Many healthcare facilities improved nurse staffing to increase patient outcomes and reimbursement. Nurses spend many hours providing direct patient care and can monitor and assess them for subtle changes. When overwhelmed, nurses have a higher chance of making adverse errors that could potentially affect <a href="http://www.ihi.org/Topics/PatientSafety/Pages/default.aspx">Patient Safety ;</a> </p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Nurses should perform care at their highest level to promote safer results. In the article, staffing matters-every shift, West, MHA reviewed findings from the Military Nursing Outcomes database to investigate the impact of nurse staffing on patient outcomes. </p>



<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="aligncenter size-large is-resized"><img src="https://i0.wp.com/nursesophiedebtfree.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/nurse-staffing.png?fit=678%2C454&;ssl=1" class="wp-image-2326" width="509" height="341"/></figure></div>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-nurse-staffing-and-evidence-based">Nurse Staffing And Evidence-Based</h2>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Gordon West reviewed data from annual surveys and patient factors, i.e., census, acuity, admissions, discharges, and transfers. The Military Nursing Outcomes Databases researchers “demonstrated that inadequate nurse staffing is associated with adverse events for patients and injuries to nurses” (West, 2012). <br></p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The researchers used logistic regression to demonstrate the probabilities of error type. ; ;Their analysis showed that “ a decrease in the number of RN’s working on a shift resulted in a decrease in the total nursing care hours per patient per shift, which in turn was associated with an increased probability that a fall would occur on the shift”. </p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-significance-of-nurse-staffing">The Significance Of Nurse Staffing</h2>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">In the Nurse Staffing article, Unruh, Ph.D., discussed the importance of adequate staffing and balance workloads to achieve positive outcomes. The author made ;recommendations based on evidence associating insufficient nurse staffing to poor patient outcomes and quality of care. <br></p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">According to her conceptual model, “inadequate nurse staffing and excessive workload contribute to a difficult work environment &#8211; such as tight time constraints, inadequate supervision of support staff and generally chaotic or stressful work environment”. Moreover, the model describes the relationship between financial outcomes, inadequate nurse staffing, and patient outcomes. </p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">According to her analysis, inadequate staffing leads to patient dissatisfaction. Furthermore, insufficient nurse staffing often contributes to injuries, adverse events, failure to rescue, and readmissions and late <a href="https://nursesophieconsulting.com/clinical-documentation-and-nursing-practice/">clinical documentation</a>. Nurses expressed a lack of interest in their job, feeling overwhelmed, stressed, and frequently ill.</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph"> Inadequate staffing also contributed to absenteeism, stress, and high turnover. Also, the author addressed the poor financial outcomes. For example, a nonproductive workforce, lower productivity, unnecessary patient care costs, and lower patient care revenue can financially impact employers. Besides, she mentioned that seventeen out of the twenty-one articles reviewed concluded there is a significant relationship between quality of care, nurse staffing, and patient outcomes.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img src="https://i0.wp.com/nursesophiedebtfree.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/nurse-staffing-2.png?fit=678%2C365&;ssl=1" alt=" impact of nurse staffing on patient outcomes" class="wp-image-2328" width="509" height="274"/></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-implications-for-nurses">Implications For Nurses</h2>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The literature and evidence support that health care facilities will benefit from adequate nurse staffing. Sufficient staffing will maximize patient outcomes and quality of care. West, MHA, and Unruh, Ph.D. concluded that nurse staffing directly affects patient care and outcomes. <br></p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Nurse leaders should review the evidence about nurse staffing and patient outcomes to promote patient satisfaction and maximize reimbursement. When nurses are physically exhausted, it affects their judgment and delivery of care. Therefore, leaders should encourage a safe work environment with adequate staffing. <br></p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Healthcare facilities should strive to adopt consistent assignments, and fewer mandated work hours. Thus, employers should consider creating a float pool, hiring travel staff, developing retention and incentive programs, and adopting other strategies to address the nursing staff shortage. As a nurse, I can validate some of the findings mentioned above because I experienced burnout many times during my career, and I thought that it was normal. </p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-conclusion">Conclusion</h2>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Clinical evidence validates that inadequate nurse staffing can contribute to poor patient outcomes. Nurses should identify strategies to influence staffing change in the workplace. Literature shows the impact of nurse staffing on patient outcomes depends on the workload and other factors. <br></p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Nurses can engage in conversation and evidence-based projects to influence nurse staffing guidelines in their organizations. Nursing staff can become change agents, and nursing engagement will impact a large group of professionals across the United States. <br></p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph"> I encourage all nurses to keep their current job despite staff shortage because I learned that the problem is within the industry. Finally, the nurse practice council should advocate for the standard staffing ratio to mimic the state of California.<br></p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://nursesophieconsulting.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Nurse-Sophie.png" alt="nursesophiedebtfree" class="wp-image-975"/></figure>

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