Research Paper on Nursing Profession: Impact of Medical Policies & Safe Staffing Ratio Bill

Introduction

The nursing profession is one of the noblest careers. As the world evolves, the nursing profession has followed suit to ensure it meets the demands of the new world. However, various factors influence service delivery by nurses. The following paper will assess medical policies and their effects on nursing,

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Safe Staffing Ratio Bill

The Registered Nurse, Safe Staffing Ratio Act, requires hospitals to create committees that will create staffing plans (Martin, 2015). The majority of members of this committee should be registered nurses. Staffing plan should be according to patient perception, nursing experience, patient requirements, amount of admissions, and availability of resources and the layout of the department. The bill recommends medical surgery units; a nurse should only have four patients under their care. For intermediate care units, a nurse should take care of three patients at a time, while nurses in the intensive care unit should take care of only two patients. Palliative care institutions and ambulatory surgery centers will also have to meet nursing ratios. By setting nurse ratios, hospitals will employ more nurses to abide by the law.

Improving nurse to patient ratio will lead to more patient satisfaction rates; fewer patient costs by avoiding unplanned readmissions, and reduction of nurse fatigue. In 2015, a study in California, which is the only state with existing staff ratio laws, showed that the state had 56% fewer occupational injuries and infections for every ten thousand registered nurses in a year (Leigh et al.). This rate was 31.6% less than the probable state if the law was not in force. Apart from giving nurses a say in staffing plans, the bill allows hospitals that do not meet the requirements to receive fines. Due to the high demand for nurses, more people should be encouraged to join the profession, and academic paths opened up.

Quality Measures and Pay for Work

Quality measures quantify pathological processes, outcomes, and strategies and their ability to achieve an efficient, safe, fast, and patient-centered healthcare system (Burwell, 2015). These are structural, procedural, and outcome measures. Outcome measures show the effect of the healthcare system on individuals, for example, by studying patient mortality rates due to surgery. Procedural rules conversely reflect actions by a healthcare provider to either improve or sustain a patient's health. These include, rate of immunizations. Structural measures reflect a patient's perception of the service provider's ability to offer quality services. This outcome may consist of the level of technology use and the ratio of staff to patients. Pay for performance ensures that reimbursement of team and hospitals depends on the quality of service rather than the number of patients.

Within quality measures, nurses control nursing-sensitive indicators that affect patient outcomes and engage in steps to meet institutional goals. These roles will depend on the nursing level. For example, the chief nursing officer must align nursing practices with organization goals by communicating the goals and steps to the employees. A nurse manager keeps in touch with floor nurses and informs them of organization targets. They are also in charge of putting relevant strategies into place and identifying sensitive indicators. The bedside nurse is the face of the institution, has the task of carrying out organization protocols and functions, and ensures that patients receive adequate and quality care.

As more health organizations adopt to pay for the performance model, there will be more spotlight on the role of nurses in the health profession. For example, the Centres for Medicare and Medicaid Services do not offer reimbursement for conditions that are nursing sensitive. These include pressure ulcers, injuries due to patient falls, urinary tract infections due to catheters, and vascular infections from catheters. Hospitals, therefore, have to ensure that patients receive the best care at the lowest cost. To ensure that hospitals meet this goal, they should offer adequate training and staff numbers to minimize errors. Demand for quality care will encourage hospitals to implement nursing-sensitive care measures. These include interventions by nurses, such as counseling on smoking and assigning adequate working hours.

Emerging Nursing Leadership Roles

As the nursing profession receives recognition in the medical field leadership positions that utilize the unique skills, a set of nurses have opened up. These include the chief nursing officer and nurse managers.

A chief nursing officer is the highest nursing position. These officers have years of experience (Prestia, 2015). They should be registered nurses and have a Bachelor of Science in nursing as the minimum academic qualification. They should also have experience in a mid-level administrative role must have had thirty hours of continuing education in nursing management every three years. Functions of a chief nursing officer include: creating a favorable working environment, facilitate even workflow by collaborating with doctors, enforce standards, establishing monitoring and evaluation programs for personnel, and ensuring that employees are aware of the mission, vision, and values of the organization.

Nurse Managers administer patient care, offer budgetary opinions, create work schedules, and chair meetings. This role allows the holders to establish a pleasant working environment and enable employees to develop professionally. Other parts by a nurse manager include hiring, mentoring, and keeping records. Nurse Managers work in hospitals, schools, and doctor's offices.

These roles highlight the significance of nurses in healthcare. Through these roles, nurses can identify training opportunities and give opinions on patient care. These leadership positions also offer nurses an opportunity to advocate for their needs, provide career development paths, create a suitable environment for nurses to work, and allow for collaboration between nurses and other medical professionals.

Emerging Issues in Nursing and Their Consequences

In the future, the nursing role will transform due to technology and population demands. The following are some of the transformations nursing will experience:

Technology use: as the medical industry increases the use of technology, it will be possible for nurses to offer their services through video and telephone consultations. On the other hand, nurses in rural areas can consult expert nurses via the same channels. Technology use, will also allow nurses to monitor patients in real-time. For example, by use of smartwatches and phones that transmits wellness data to the hospital. Technology will also play a role in staffing. In the future, nurses will use platforms such as NurseGrid to inform their supervisors that they need extra shifts or indicate that their work for the day is complete. 3D printing will also develop, allowing nurses to print skin and body part images for patients fast.

Specialization: the nursing field will experience more specialization in the future. The specialization will allow nurses to develop their skills and allow for career progression. To achieve career growth, more nurses will pursue doctoral degrees and online education qualifications. On the other hand, the specialization will ensure that hospitals and patients have confidence in the ability of the nurses.

The nursing profession will grow in significance in the future. However, there is a need to ensure that nurses receive adequate training to meet emerging needs. There is a need to increase the number of nurses to ensure they do not get fatigued on the job, leading to errors. Demand for nurses will increase in the future as the role evolves and gains significance. As the population ages, more nurses will offer home-based care and take up entrepreneurial roles.

References

Burwell, S. M. (2015). Setting Value-Based Payment Goals - HHS Efforts to Improve U.S. Health Care. New England Journal of Medicine, 372(10), 897-899. https://doi.org/10.1056/nejmp1500445

Leigh, J. P., Markis, C. A., Anna-Maria L., & Romano, P. S. (September 13). California's Nurse-to-patient Ratio Law and Occupational Injury. PubMed Central (PMC). https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6597253/

Martin, C. J. (2015). The effects of nurse staffing on quality of care. MedSurg Nursing, 24(2).

Prestia, A. S. (2015). Chief Nursing Officer Sustainment. JONA: The Journal of Nursing Administration, 45(11), 575-581. https://doi.org/10.1097/nna.0000000000000266