NHS FPX 4000 Assessment 4 Analyzing a Current Health Care Problem or Issue

Name

Capella university

NHS FPX 4000 Developing a Health Care Perspective

Prof. Name

Date

Analyzing a Current Health Care Problem or Issue

Staffing shortages are a widespread challenge in the healthcare sector. This issue refers to insufficient personnel, including healthcare professionals and support staff, to meet patient care requirements. These shortages can lead to compromised quality of care, augmented workload on existing staff, and difficulties in providing adequate patient care services. This analysis aims to analyze the issue and discuss potential solutions to address the concern. Moreover, we aim to present the ethical implications of these solutions in the healthcare landscape. 

Healthcare Problem or Issue

Staffing shortages are a highly prevalent issue encountered by all healthcare facilities worldwide. The United States is projected to need approximately 124,000 primary care physicians by 2034 (Syed, 2023). Additionally, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) forecasts an increase of almost 6% in the employment rate for registered nurses over the next ten years (U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS, 2023). These statistics indicate that the staffing shortages in the healthcare industry will continue for a longer time, resulting from a combination of complex factors. 

Staffing shortages can have severe consequences on patient care. While insufficient staffing levels may result in increased workloads for existing healthcare professionals, this negatively impacts the quality and safety of patient care, as overburdened staff may struggle to provide timely and thorough attention (Rosenberg, 2019). Some of the patient-related outcomes of these shortages are delays in medication administration, monitoring vital signs, and responding to emergencies.

NHS FPX 4000 Assessment 4 Analyzing a Current Health Care Problem or Issue

Moreover, this issue increases the risk of medical errors and adverse outcomes. Furthermore, it reduced patient satisfaction due to longer waiting times and decreased attention from healthcare providers. In extreme cases, staffing shortages can compromise access to essential services, delaying diagnoses and treatments (Winter et al., 2020). Generally, the consequences of staffing shortages challenge the core principles of effective healthcare delivery, emphasizing the urgent need for wide-ranging solutions to address workforce challenges in the healthcare sector.

The resources used to elaborate on the healthcare issue are credible and relevant based on the CRAAP criteria (currency, relevance, authority, accuracy, and purpose). According to the criteria, these sources are up-to-date, provide relevant and reliable content, are authorized by credible journals and professional bodies, and provide accurate and well-supported claims. The purpose is to evaluate and analyze staffing shortages in the healthcare industry. They provide numerical data to stress the importance of addressing the challenge. Understanding these intricacies is crucial for policymakers, educators, and healthcare leaders. Moreover, these resources provide insights into effective solutions, emphasizing the need for sustainable initiatives to address staffing shortages and optimize patient care services. 

Analyze the Problem or Issue

Staffing shortages in healthcare refer to insufficient healthcare professionals to meet demanding healthcare services. This pervasive issue occurs across various healthcare settings, including hospitals, clinics, and long-term care facilities. The context of this assessment stems from nursing practice where, during the COVID-19 pandemic, we observed a shortage of healthcare professionals concerning the demands of the healthcare industry. These staffing shortages led to delayed treatment and monitoring and poor patient outcomes (Chervoni-Knapp, 2022). 

This problem is relevant to my profession because these staffing shortages are critical for nurses at the forefront of patient care. Insufficient staffing levels lead to extensive workloads, compromising the quality of care nurses can provide. This may result in burnout and job dissatisfaction, impacting nurses’ well-being and potentially affecting patient outcomes (Syed, 2023). Thus, as a nurse, it is crucial to understand the root causes of the problem and support leadership in implementing the changes to eradicate the pertinent patient care problem. 

NHS FPX 4000 Assessment 4 Analyzing a Current Health Care Problem or Issue

The stakeholders involved and affected by the staffing shortages issue include healthcare professionals, administrators, policymakers, educators, and patients. As stated earlier, healthcare professionals, especially nurses, are directly impacted by increased workload, burnout, and complex work environments (Syed, 2023). Administrators and policymakers are responsible for planning the workforce, allocating the budget, and developing policies to address these shortages. Educators, however, play a crucial role in training and preparing the future healthcare professionals. They optimize training programs and prepare a qualified, well-trained workforce. Lastly, patients are directly impacted by staffing shortages, experiencing delayed care, longer waiting times, and potentially compromised quality of services (Rosenberg, 2019). 

According to Winter et al. (2020), shifts in patient characteristics, such as aging populations and increased chronic conditions, are some of the causes that exacerbate these shortages as the healthcare industry needs adequate human resources for diverse and changing healthcare challenges. Additionally, limited career progression opportunities and prolonged training periods hinder the development of a well-prepared healthcare workforce, affecting the rapid influx of new healthcare professionals. This creates a gap between patient care demands and the availability of human resources. Lastly, burnout and turnover stemming from the demanding nature of healthcare jobs contribute to a continuous cycle of recruitment and training, resulting in the need for more availability of existing staff (Winter et al., 2020). 

Potential Solutions 

Addressing staffing shortages in the healthcare sector requires a multifaceted approach. Some evidence-based solutions to combat the challenge involve investing in education and training programs, implementing comprehensive recruitment and retention strategies, and introducing digital and telehealth solutions. Investing in educational institutions to develop dedicated training programs is crucial to expand the healthcare workforce. The objective is to enhance the capacity of the healthcare workforce, addressing the shortages. Furthermore, leveraging technology and telehealth solutions can improve workflows, reduce administrative burdens, and enhance efficiency, potentially extenuating the impact of staffing shortages (Ye et al., 2023). Finally, robust recruitment and retention strategies are the most applicable and relevant solution. This analysis will mainly focus on the implementation of the last solution. 

Solution and Implementation 

The solution – recruitment and retention strategies can assist healthcare organizations in attracting and retaining qualified professionals by offering competitive salaries, robust benefits packages, and opportunities for professional development (Khalil & Alameddine, 2020). Healthcare organizations require several actions to implement recruitment and retention strategies. Firstly, the organization must perform a thorough workforce analysis to identify specific staffing needs, root causes of the shortages, and potential areas for improvement. The next step is to allocate resources to offer competitive salaries, attractive fringe benefits, and professional development opportunities. For the opportunities, the organization can collaborate with other educational institutions to offer mentorship programs and internships for career advancement. Moreover, leadership should engage in targeted recruitment efforts through various channels, such as online job portals, advertisements, and social media campaigns, to attract a diverse pool of skilled professionals. The most crucial step is to regularly assess and evaluate the effectiveness of these strategies through staff feedback mechanisms (Khalil & Alameddine, 2020).

Consequences of Ignoring the Problem

Ignoring staffing shortages can result in several poor consequences. These include reduced healthcare quality, augmented medical errors, and poor patient outcomes. Furthermore, these shortages may increase staff burnout and turnover rates, exacerbating the shortage as seasoned workers leave healthcare organizations. These shortages may impact community health overall due to delayed and inadequate healthcare services, impacting the global burden of the diseases. 

Ethical Implications 

According to clinical ethics, four primary principles must be followed to create an ethically sound healthcare landscape. These include beneficence, non-maleficence, autonomy, and justice (Varkey, 2020). Several ethical implications also guide enhanced recruitment and retention strategies. Providing competitive salaries, fringe benefits, and various professional growth opportunities emphasizes the principle of beneficence, which promotes the welfare of healthcare professionals, enhancing their capacity to deliver high-quality patient care, ultimately benefitting patients and their communities. Nonmaleficence, supporting beneficence, focuses on avoiding harm (Varkey, 2020). The organizations must ensure that the recruitment and retention strategies do not unintentionally lead to negative consequences, such as staff discrimination.

Similarly, respecting the autonomy of healthcare professionals is crucial. This involves respecting their right to make informed choices about their careers. Recruitment and retention proposals should provide diverse options for professional development, allowing individuals to make self-directed decisions about their career paths (Rouhi-Balasi et al., 2020). Lastly, the principle of justice emphasizes fairness and equitable distribution of resources. While recruiting and retaining staff, ensuring that all healthcare professionals have equal access to opportunities is essential. 

Conclusion

In conclusion, staffing shortages are significant healthcare issues that must be addressed using robust initiatives. We can analyze the importance of addressing these issues through data and statistics presented earlier. Moreover, poor consequences such as staff workload and sub-optimal patient care outcomes stress the urgency to combat the challenge. With enhanced recruitment and retention strategies standing out as a pivotal solution, healthcare organizations can address the challenge using a systematic and multifaceted approach. The step-by-step implementation, including workforce analysis, resource allocation, and collaboration with educational institutions, ensures a sustainable and skilled healthcare workforce. It is also imperative to consider the ethical implications of this solution while implementing it to achieve desired results and make changes sustainable for the healthcare sector. 

References

Chervoni-Knapp, T. (2022). The staffing shortage pandemic. Journal of Radiology Nursing, 41(2), 74–75. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jradnu.2022.02.007 

Khalil, M., & Alameddine, M. (2020). Recruitment and retention strategies, policies, and their barriers: A narrative review in the Eastern Mediterranean Region. Health Science Reports, 3(4), e192. https://doi.org/10.1002/hsr2.192 

Rosenberg, K. (2019). Rn shortages negatively impact patient safety. AJN The American Journal of Nursing, 119(3), 51. https://doi.org/10.1097/01.NAJ.0000554040.98991.23

Rouhi-Balasi, L., Elahi, N., Ebadi, A., Jahani, S., & Hazrati, M. (2020). Professional autonomy of nurses: A qualitative meta-synthesis study. Iranian Journal of Nursing and Midwifery Research, 25(4), 273–281. https://doi.org/10.4103/ijnmr.IJNMR_213_19 

Syed, S. (2023). The impact of staffing shortages in healthcare. Western Michigan University. https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=4703&context=honors_theses

NHS FPX 4000 Assessment 4 Analyzing a Current Health Care Problem or Issue

 

U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS. (2023, November 27). Registered Nurses: Occupational Outlook Handbook: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Bls.gov. https://www.bls.gov/ooh/healthcare/registered-nurses.htm#tab-6 

Varkey, B. (2020). Principles of clinical ethics and their application to practice. Medical Principles and Practice, 30(1), 17–28. https://doi.org/10.1159/000509119 

Winter, V., Schreyögg, J., & Thiel, A. (2020). Hospital staff shortages: Environmental and organizational determinants and implications for patient satisfaction. Health Policy, 124(4), 380–388. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.healthpol.2020.01.001 

Ye, J., He, L., & Beestrum, M. (2023). Implications for implementation and adoption of telehealth in developing countries: A systematic review of China’s practices and experiences. NPJ Digital Medicine, 6, 174. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41746-023-00908-6