Nurse’s Staffing & Engagement and its Effects on Healthcare Quality

Ms. Neha Chowrasia

ucjournals November 30, 2023

292 3 minutes read

Unified Nursing Research, Midwifery & Women’s Health Journal
Author: Ms. Neha Chowrasia
Affiliation: Tripler Army Medical Center

Unified Citation Journals, 3(1) 3-4; https://doi.org/10.52402/Nursing2016
ISSN 2754-0944

Keywords: Quality of work, experience of work, burnout, healthcare professional shortage, attrition, healthcare quality, US healthcare systems, healthcare management, experience of work, employee satisfaction, healthcare outcomes, healthcare systems, healthcare awareness, process improvement, lean-six sigma, change management in healthcare, challenges in today’s US. healthcare system, nurse satisfaction, nurse engagement, outcome measures.

Introduction:

^[1]Per AHRQ, the Institute of Medicine defines health care quality as “the degree to which health care services for individuals and populations increase the likelihood of desired health outcomes and are consistent with current professional knowledge.” Data reflects that there is an ongoing shortage of nurses, increasing regulatory mandates, and higher number of senior populations which contributes to managing more chronic diseases, with more stringent regulatory mandates and a smaller pool of healthcare workers.

Fig 1: Per ^[5]Gains (2022): Nurses.org

^[2]Per Blegen et al (2001) nurse staffing and education (hours of care, staff mix) affected quality of care which was indicated by lower unit rates of medication errors and patient falls in some studies. This clearly shows the effects of nurse engagement and staffing and its effect on healthcare outcomes and quality.

^[3]A Gallup study by Burger et al. (2014) elaborates that when healthcare employees work in a safe environment and are engaged, the chances are much greater that they will perform activities that are known drivers of patient safety outcomes better.

Fig 2: Per ^[5]Gains (2022): Nurses.org

Various studies have shown that reduced workforce with higher per person job responsibilities, and poor experience of work leads to suboptimal healthcare quality results when it comes to healthcare delivery. As mentioned above, the results can be in the form of increased medication errors, patient falls, as visible negative changes. Burnout, attrition, employee dissatisfaction, and disengagement are many a times not recognized on a surface level which indirectly leads to less engaged healthcare workforce in the pool. ^[4]Reith (2018) suggests that burnout has reached rampant levels among United States (US) healthcare professionals, with over one-half of physicians and one-third of nurses experiencing symptoms. These conditions comprehensively put a strain on the existing workforce to fulfill the healthcare system needs, thus affecting nurse engagement and in turn affecting healthcare quality outcomes.

Biography:

Neha Chowrasia is an established healthcare administrative professional with a demonstrated record of extraordinary achievements in healthcare business industry since past 10 years. She has completed her M.S. in Healthcare Management from California State University, East Bay (U.S.), is Certified Professional in Healthcare Quality, and Six Sigma Green Belt. She is also a member of National Association of Healthcare Quality. She has clinical and administrative experience in healthcare and has been with Sutter Health for 6+ years. She is creating awareness about patient safety and quality globally as she is passionate about making a positive change in healthcare administrative, quality and clinical side.

References:
[1] Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (ahrq.gov): Under-standing Quality Measurement | Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (ahrq.gov)
[2] Blegen et al. (2001); Nurse experience and education: effect on quality care; JONA The Journal of Nursing Admin-istration 31(1):33-9
Nurse experience and education: Effect on quality of care | Request PDF (researchgate.net)
[3] Burger et al. (2014) How Employee Engagement Can Improve a Hospital’s Health
How Employee Engagement Can Improve a Hospital’s Health (gallup.com)
[4] Reith (2018) Burnout in United States Healthcare Pro-fessionals: A Narrative Review; Cureus 10(12): e3681. doi:10.7759/cureus.3681
Cureus | Burnout in United States Healthcare Professionals: A Narrative Review | Article
[5] Gains (2022) Your comprehensive guide to the Press Ganey National Database of Nursing Quality Indicators (NDNQI)The Nursing Shortage in 2022: Study Reveals Key Causes (nurse.org)

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