Effective Approaches in Leadership and Management

Effective Approaches in Leadership and Management

Healthcare service provision is influenced by a couple of factors that interact to produce either a positive or negative impact. Some of the common negative impacts include unreasonable workloads, extreme exhaustion, and jeopardized care delivery. Nurses are significant stakeholders in the health sector and play a vital role in ensuring appropriate care is delivered (Laurisz et al., 2023). Their issues directly impact the service provision in terms of quality and patient satisfaction. For instance, this paper delves into the nurse staffing ratio and aims to elucidate a possible solution, discuss an appropriate leadership style, compare two leadership theories concerned with the issue, and explore the nurse’s role in promoting patient safety in coordination with healthcare professionals.

Nurse Staffing Ratios

The nurse-patient ratio is the number of nurses to patients in a specific ward in a department of a hospital during each shift. The standard nurse-to-patient ratio is 1:2 in the intensive care unit, 1:4-5 in medical-surgical units, and 1:3-4 in intermediate units. Adherence to these standardized guidelines is key to ensuring patient safety and delivering standard care. Contrary to these, there is an increased risk of substandard care, medication errors, and burnout for the nurses, causing patient dissatisfaction and wholesomely affecting the health of the entire community. These issues need to be addressed to mitigate their long-term repercussions, such as increased patient mortality and reduced life expectancy. Also, to improve the quality of life of all members of the community and increase efficiency and cost-effective care delivery, adequate nurse staffing is needed (Clarke & Donaldson, 2019). Appropriate nurse-to-patient ratios prevent nurse burnout, hence promoting compassionate and attentive care among nurses, improve patient satisfaction due to ample time for the interaction of patients with the nurses, and, lastly, patient safety is ensured through the reduction of errors secondary to increased workload emanating from inappropriate staffing (Clarke & Donaldson, 2019).

Possible Solution

Advocacy through legislation is the most effective approach as it provides a comprehensive and enforceable solution that applies uniformly across all healthcare facilities. The enactment of laws to guide the minimum staffing ratios based on evidence from comprehensive research and multidisciplinary consultations with members of the committee will ensure consistent levels of care and patient safety across the state (Miller & Roup, 2022). The committee should incorporate representation from nursing experts, patient advocates, and healthcare administrators. These groups have diverse knowledge of the different hospital needs, and their collaboration will yield ratios that optimize patient outcomes, reasonable workload, and the well-being of nurses. The legislation dominates over other alternative advocacy approaches. This is because its legal grounds can hold facilities accountable in case of non-compliance. Furthermore, legislation holds authority bestowed on it by the government, which scares health facilities from circumnavigating the set standards (Toney-Butler & Martin, 2023).

Financial Considerations

Healthcare facilities may incur costs during the initial implementation of the mandated nurse-to-patient ratio. However, the yield is bearing more benefits in the long run, including long-term financial savings, improved quality of care, increased revenue generation, and promotion of operational efficiencies. Hospitals with proper nurse-to-patient ratios have been identified to have reduced medication errors, which leads to decreased overall health costs. Also, adequate staffing is attributed to reduced hospitalization periods and nosocomial infections, which contribute to reduced overall health costs and the resources utilized during prolonged hospital stays (McHugh et al., 2021). Lastly, improved quality of care boosts patient satisfaction, which attracts more consumers to the services and, hence, brings more revenue to the facility.

The above evidence clearly shows that when a facility prioritizes delivering quality care and providing patient safety, it gains financial sustainability and a competitive advantage in the market due to improved service outcomes.

Leadership Style to Best Address the Issue

To address the issue, the transformational leadership style is the best approach due to its characteristic of inspiring and motivating staff to achieve their full potential and supersede expectations. The central focus is to create an encouraging work environment that promotes professional development and collaboration with other professionals.  The leaders who exercise this leadership style are proactive in recognizing and addressing the needs of their staff. This style encourages nurses to engage in continuous learning and professional development by making them feel valued and supported by their leaders, hence helping them maintain high standards of patient care. I believe in empowering my team, encouraging open communication, and cherishing a trust-built environment. My primary aim is to make my team feel motivated and, consequently, provide high-quality patients. I ensure the full involvement of my nurses in decision-making to boost their morale and job satisfaction. All these considerations are in line with the transformation theory (Specchia et al., 2021).

The transformational theory is effective in addressing the nurse staffing ratio since it promotes mutual support and professional growth. The leaders encourage the nurses to advocate for important changes and collaborate in finding solutions. This helps to improve nurse staffing and improve the future by using collective efforts to improve staffing conditions. Similarly, servant leadership is effective in addressing the ration issue but uses a different mechanism, focusing on serving others and prioritizing the staff and patient needs. This theory prioritizes the well-being of the team, encouraging the provision of necessary resources to yield optimal patient care. However, unlike leaders in the transformational theory, servant leaders demonstrate humility and empathy, hence lobbying for the establishment of a work environment that can mitigate the stress associated with high patient-to-nurse ratios (Specchia et al., 2021).

Nurse’s Role Within an Interdisciplinary Team in Promoting Patient Quality and Safety

Nurses assume vital roles of advocacy for their patients during the interdisciplinary teams. In coordination with other healthcare professionals, the nurses provide insights concerning their patients, promoting comprehensive care plans. To address staffing issues, nurses can apply their expertise to elucidate the impact of staffing on patient outcomes and advocate for the necessary changes (Vaismoradi, 2020). Nurses can use various ways to address the staffing issues, beginning with the advocacy for policy changes through participation in committees and professional organizations that advocate for safe staffing policies| participating in continuous self-education programs to keep them updated with the current evidence-based staffing practice as well as equipping themselves with ways innovative ways to solve the staffing challenges| and mentor and support peers to cope with patient loads and reduce burnouts (McHugh et al., 2021).

In conclusion, addressing the staffing issue is essential to improving patient care quality and nurse well-being. Implementation requires legislation guided by the two theories, which can lead to improvements in healthcare settings. Nurses play a vital role in advocacy, advocating for and implementing changes that enhance patient safety and foster a professional work environment.

References

Clarke, S. P., & Donaldson, N. E. (2019). Nurse staffing and patient care quality and safety. Nih.gov; Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (US). https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK2676/

Laurisz, N., Ćwiklicki, M., Żabiński, M., Canestrino, R., & Magliocca, P. (2023). The stakeholders’ involvement in healthcare 4.0 services provision: The perspective of co-creation. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 20(3), 2416. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20032416

McHugh, M., Aiken, L., Sloane, D., Windsor, C., Douglas, C., & Yates, P. (2021). Effects of nurse-to-patient ratio legislation on nurse staffing and patient mortality, readmissions, and length of stay: a prospective study in a panel of hospitals. The Lancet, 397(10288), 1905–1913. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(21)00768-6

Miller, E. L., & Roup, C. M. (2022). The importance of professional advocacy at the state level: A coalition model. Seminars in Hearing, 43(1), 35–44. https://doi.org/10.1055/s-0042-1743543

Specchia, M. L., Cozzolino, M. R., Carini, E., Di Pilla, A., Galletti, C., Ricciardi, W., & Damiani, G. (2021). Leadership styles and nurses’ job satisfaction. Results of a systematic review. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(4). https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/4/1552

Toney-Butler, T. J., & Martin, R. L. (2023, January 2). Florida nursing laws and rules. Nih.gov; StatPearls Publishing. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK532859/

Vaismoradi, M. (2020). Nurses’ adherence to patient safety principles: A systematic review. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(6), 1–15. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7142993/

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Select an issue from the following list: workplace violence, workplace injury, unit restructuring, floating, nurse turnover, nurse staffing ratios, or use of contract employees (i.e., registry and travel nurses).

In a 1,000-1,250-word paper, discuss the following:

Describe the issue you selected. Provide data to support how this issue impacts the quality of care in the setting in which it occurs.

Effective Approaches in Leadership and Management

Using research evidence for support, present one possible solution that could be implemented to address the issue. In your discussion, be sure to include financial considerations as they relate to the implementation of the solution.
Describe a leadership style that would best address the issue.
Discuss how this leadership style compares to your personal leadership style.
Compare two different leadership theories that could be applied to the resolution of the issue. Explain how each theory would be effective in addressing the issue.
Discuss the nurse’s role within an interdisciplinary team in promoting patient quality and safety while fostering professionalism to address this issue.
You are required to cite a minimum of three sources to complete this assignment. Sources must be appropriate for the assignment and relevant to nursing practice.

Prepare this assignment according to the guidelines found in the APA Style Guide, located in the Student Success Center.

This assignment uses a rubric. Please review the rubric prior to beginning the assignment to become familiar with the expectations for successful completion.

You are required to submit this assignment to LopesWrite. A link to the LopesWrite technical support articles is located in Class Resources if you need assistance.