Hospital nurses usually have a heavy workload which is a major problem in the health care system of the United States. The main reasons behind this high workload include an inadequate number of nurses in hospitals, increased overtime, a higher demand for nurses and the reduction of patients length of stay (Atefi et al., 2014). The population of patients especially the aged will continue to increase thereby creating more demand for nursing care. This high demand does not correspond to the inadequate number of nurses available to offer healthcare services. The result is a significant increase in nursing workload which affects the quality of medical care provided by nurses (Rochefort & Clarke, 2010). This research aims to explore the effects of increased nursing workload on the safety of patients in health facilities.
The study attempts to address the issue of heavy workload since it is a common challenge encountered by most nurses across the country. Prior research shows that hefty workload for nurses has adverse effects on the safety of patients and thus it is a problem that needs to be addressed (Tangiisuran et al., 2017). Also, excessive work leads to job dissatisfaction leading to a shortage of nurses and a high turnover. Various activities will be conducted in the course of this study. Some of these activities include interviewing nurses and patients, carrying out a thorough literature review on the topic and conducting further research on how to use technology in the workplace to reduce the amount of workload.
The implementation of the study may be affected by constraints such as limited access to nurses for interviews or inadequate information from some patients. The alternative to solve this problem is by increasing the number of sample hospitals targeted by the research and utilizing prior studies to obtain necessary information. The amount of workload will be evaluated using the nurse-patient ratio to compare nursing work and the patients outcomes. Furthermore, the study will be conducted in line with various safeguards to ensure patients safety including evidence-based practice, adequate nurse staffing and following specific guidelines established by nursing governing bodies (Nettina et al., 2013).
References
Atefi, N., Abdullah, K. L., Wong, L. P., & Mazlom, R. (2014). Factors influencing registered nurses perception of their overall job satisfaction: a qualitative study. International nursing review, 61(3), 352-360.
Nettina, S. M., Msn, A. B., & Nettina, S. M. (2013). Lippincott manual of nursing practice. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.Rochefort, C. M., & Clarke, S. P. (2010). Nurses work environments, care rationing, job outcomes, and quality of care on neonatal units. Journal of advanced nursing, 66(10), 2213-2224.
Tangiisuran, B., Tye, S. C., Leow, M. Y., & Awang, R. (2017). Comparison of nurses and general caregivers knowledge, attitude, and practice on medication administration process and their distress level in long-term care facilities across Penang, Kuala Lumpur, and Selangor of Malaysia. Aging Clinical and Experimental Research, 1-9.
Request Removal
If you are the original author of this essay and no longer wish to have it published on the customtermpaperwriting.org website, please click below to request its removal:
