Nursing Challenge

The shortage of nursing staff is particularly evident at the author's organisation, a full-service, not-for-profit community hospital established in the 1960s. The hospital has a capacity of approximately 250 beds, and delivers both inpatient and outpatient services in disciplines ranging from primary care and emergency care to cardiology, oncology, reproductive health, gynaecology, behavioural therapy, endocrinology, dermatology, orthopaedics, and surgery. With a relatively flat structure and driven by a patient-centred philosophy, the hospital seeks to enhance community wellbeing by fostering relationships between the organisation, staff, and patients. The organisation believes in the creation and maintenance of an atmosphere where exceptional and high quality care is delivered and recognised by patients and their families as well as members of staff, volunteers, partners, and the community at large. The hospital envisions being acknowledged as a leader in patient care in the services it offers.

The shortage of nursing staff creates a gap between the organisation's statements and practice. To exceed the expectations of patients and the community it serves, the organisation requires an optimal nurse-patient ratio. Adequate staffing is important for ensuring optimal nurse workload, patient safety, as well as healthy nurse-patient and nurse-nurse relationships. As described by systems theory, a system comprises several interrelated elements that work together to achieve a specified objective (Bielecki & Stocki, 2010). Nursing staff comprises one of the crucial elements in a hospital system. They provide primary care and support other members of the interdisciplinary team in delivering care to patients. Accordingly, deficiencies in nursing staff can be detrimental to the hospital as a whole. It can affect not only nurses, but also doctors, patients, and the reputation of the organisation.

A major strength of the organisation emanates from its patient-oriented culture. The organisation recognises the patient as the most important stakeholder. Even the design of its facilities reflects its patient-centeredness. The hospital is designed based on the Friesen concept, which entails stationing nursing alcoves outside every patient room. This increases contact between patients and nurses, and ensures closer proximity of medications, supplies, and records to patients. The organisation's patient-centeredness has seen it perform quite impressively in terms of nurse-patient communication and staff responsiveness. Other important strengths include competent management and staff as well as valuable relationships with local nursing schools. Nonetheless, there is room for improvement, particularly given the challenge of nursing shortage. This challenge is further compounded by resource constraints largely emanating from its not-for-profit status.

Strategic partnerships with nursing schools as well as the local and state government present an ideal opportunity through which the organisation can address the challenge it faces. Indeed, AACN (2014) identifies partnerships between nursing schools and hospitals as a valuable strategy for addressing the problem of nursing staff shortage. These partnerships provide opportunities for funding of nursing programs, increased enrolment into nursing courses, as well as inter-professional engagement. The biggest threat facing the organisation is competition. There are a number of hospitals serving the same community the hospital serves. Without consistent service quality, patients can readily switch to other alternatives to the disadvantage of the hospital. The table below summarises the SWOT analysis.

Strengths

Weaknesses

The organisation has two factors that may facilitate a solution for the problem of nursing staff shortage. First, the organisation boasts valuable relationships with local nursing schools. This provides a good starting point given that strategic partnerships between nursing schools and hospitals represent an important opportunity for addressing the shortage of nursing staff. The hospital also boasts a competent and committed management team. The importance of management support in addressing nursing challenges cannot be overemphasised. The management must recognise the problem as a challenge that requires urgent attention. It must also mobilise and provide the resources required to address the problem. For the organisation, the management has shown laudable commitment to addressing the challenges the organisation faces.