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Analysis of a Pertinent Healthcare Issue

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Analysis of a Pertinent Healthcare Issue

Workforce burnout and stress are critical healthcare issues impacting workers’ well-being, quality of care, and organizational functioning. Burnout is a national healthcare threat propelled by excessive workloads, emotional exhaustion, and personnel gaps that lead to turnover and compromised care. This paper examines its impact on our healthcare organization, summarizes academically grounded solutions from research studies, and recommends mitigating its impact on overall healthcare: Analysis of a Pertinent Healthcare Issue.

Impact on the Organization

Workforce burnout and stress have affected healthcare practitioners, patient care, and organizational performance. Long workloads, extended work hours, and administrative demands have induced emotional depletion, reduced job satisfaction, and increased sense of de-engagement in personnel. Burned-out personnel are afflicted with reduced intellectual functioning, which can contribute to poor decisions as well as increased risks of medical error.

In addition, the chronic stress emotional costs have also risen absenteeism, which adds more pressure on the available personnel in terms of quality and care (Edú-Valsania et al., 2022). Reduced attention from providers, increased waiting time, and breakdown in communications contribute to decreased patient satisfaction, eroding confidence in the healthcare sector.

Organizational data capture the severity of burnout in our institution. Our hospital experienced a 15% rate increase in nurse turnover in the past 12 months, with high workloads and inadequate support as drivers in exit interviews. Furthermore, 12% more absences are due to work-related stress, resulting in increased work hours fueling burnout.

Regarding patient care, 10% more medication errors have transpired, consistent with national studies that cite provider fatigue as a cause of clinical error (Rodziewicz et al., 2024). Furthermore, scores on patient satisfaction have declined, with comments on brief consultations and a lack of empathy from providers.

Summary of Scholarly Literature on Workforce Burnout

Workforce burnout is a much-studied field with its negative impact on healthcare practitioners and healthcare. Razai et al. (2023) describe various measures that have worked in countering burnout and improving a sense of well-being in healthcare practitioners. The study elaborates that cutting down on work timings, providing flexibility in work timings, and implementing mental care measures with counseling and mindfulness training have reduced work pressures in healthcare practitioners.

The study also highlights that peer-supportive networks and leadership engagement are essential in maintaining a healthy work culture (Razai et al., 2023). However, though these measures have worked in some healthcare units, research highlights those solutions in terms of longer-term measures, in terms of improved workforce planning and workloads, are essential to prevent a relapse in burnout.

The other article by Sipos et al. (2024) discusses work resource management and competence expansion as key solutions for preventing burnout. The study highlights that distributing administrative workloads to non-clinicians and expanding nurses’ and physician assistants’ roles can lighten doctors’ workload. The study also recommends leveraging AI to automate administrative work, liberating healthcare practitioners from administrative workloads and allowing them to dedicate more time to care.

Some healthcare units have recorded success in incorporating AI-based systems in scheduling, documentation, and forecasting the workloads, substantially alleviating administrative workloads and improving efficiency (Sipos et al., 2024). The study also cautions that poor planning in rolling out new technologies and failure in training staff on new technologies can contribute towards increased workloads as a cause of additional stress and resistance.

Strategies for Mitigating Workforce Burnout on the Organizational Level

The academic research highlights a range of measures that have succeeded in combating work burnout, focusing on workload management, mental care, technical innovation, and leadership engagement. Razai et al. (2023) add that cutting work hours, having work flexibility, and availing mental care resources (counseling, mindfulness training, etc.) are crucial.

Peer care networks and emotional resiliency training have also gained ground in most healthcare facilities. Management of resources at work, competence expansion through work delegation to non-professionals, and AI utilization in automating administrative roles are suggested (Sipos et al., 2024). All these have succeeded in reducing workloads and improving job satisfaction and quality care.

Adopting these strategies in our organization can have both desirable and undesirable impacts. The desirable impacts can be reduced stress, enhanced job satisfaction, and decreased turnover rate. For example, assigning administrative workloads to ancillary personnel will free nurses and doctors from administrative work, making more time available for patient care, enhancing efficiency, and minimizing error (Lavergne et al., 2023). There can also be undesirable challenges, such as additional workforce costs if more personnel are recruited or AI-based solutions are adopted.

There can also be resistance from personnel in terms of new technologies and workflows, primarily if not supported with sufficient training or assistance. To achieve maximal success, our organization will have to adopt stepwise implementation, appropriate training, and leadership-based measures to create a culture of flexibility and well-being.

Conclusively, workforce burnout and stress seriously threaten healthcare organizations, impacting staff well-being and patient care. Workload redistribution, mental health assistance, and technological advancements can enhance job satisfaction and turnover. A structured, dedicated effort is necessary to achieve a supportive, sustainable work culture with high-quality patient outcomes.

References

Edú-Valsania, S., Laguía, A., & Moriano, J. A. (2022). Burnout: A review of theory and measurement. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(3). https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19031780

Lavergne, M. R., Moravac, C., Bergin, F., Buote, R., Easley, J., Grudniewicz, A., Hedden, L., Leslie, M., McKay, M., Marshall, E. G., Martin-Misener, R., Mooney, M., Palmer, E., & Tracey, J. (2023). Understanding and addressing changing administrative workload in primary care in Canada: Protocol for a mixed-method study. BMJ Open, 13(12), e076917. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2023-076917

Razai, M. S., Kooner, P., & Majeed, A. (2023). Strategies and interventions to improve healthcare professionals’ well-being and reduce burnout. Journal of Primary Care & Community Health, 14(14). https://doi.org/10.1177/21501319231178641

Rodziewicz, T. L., Houseman, B., Vaqar, S., & Hipskind, J. E. (2024, February 12). Medical error reduction and prevention. National Library of Medicine; StatPearls Publishing. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK499956/

Sipos, D., Goyal, R., & Zapata, T. (2024). Addressing burnout in the healthcare workforce: Current realities and mitigation strategies. The Lancet Regional Health. Europe, 42(100961), 100961–100961. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lanepe.2024.100961

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Question

The paper you develop in Module 1 will be revisited and revised in Module 2. Review the Assignment instructions for Module 2 to prepare for your revised paper. Module 1 and 2 are two separate papers

Module 1 Assignment

The Quadruple Aim provides broad categories of goals to pursue to maintain and improve healthcare. Within each goal are many issues that, if addressed successfully, may have a positive impact on outcomes. For example, healthcare leaders are being tasked to shift from an emphasis on disease management often provided in an acute care setting to health promotion and disease prevention delivered in primary care settings. Efforts in this area can have significant positive impacts by reducing the need for primary healthcare and by reducing the stress on the healthcare system.

Changes in the industry only serve to stress what has always been true; namely, that the healthcare field has always faced significant challenges, and that goals to improve healthcare will always involve multiple stakeholders. This should not seem surprising given the circumstances. Indeed, when a growing population needs care, there are factors involved such as the demands of providing that care and the rising costs associated with healthcare. Generally, it is not surprising that the field of healthcare is an industry facing multifaceted issues that evolve over time.

In this module’s Discussion, you reviewed some healthcare issues/stressors and selected one for further review. For this Assignment, you will consider in more detail the healthcare issue/stressor you selected. You will also review research that addresses the issue/stressor and write a white paper to your organization’s leadership that addresses the issue/stressor you selected.

To Prepare:

The Assignment (2-3 Pages):

Analysis of a Pertinent Healthcare Issue

Develop a 2 to 3 page paper, written to your organization’s leadership team, addressing your selected national healthcare issue/stressor and how it is impacting your work setting. Be sure to address the following:

Required Readings

Read any TWO of the following (plus TWO additional readings on your selected issue):

Textbook:

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