Staffing Of Nurses: Retention Of Nurses

Staffing of Nurses Name Institution Staffing of Nurses Nurse staffing forms an integral part of the health care system because the provision of quality and patient-centered care depends on the nursing profession. According to the Canadian Nurses Association (CNA), enhancing safe and proper nurse staffing does not only improve the outcome of a patient but also enhances patient safety. It is thus imperative to address the issue of staffing, especially about the retention of nurses within the Canadian health care system. However, nurse staffing is a big challenge in the health care field because there are no definite guidelines on what constitutes sufficient staffing in healthcare facilities (Sharma, Hastings, Suter, & Bloom, 2016). Consequently, when there is an inadequate nurse staffing, the outcomes can be dire, especially in terms of increased workload for existing nurses who may opt to quit and on patients. Registered Nurses (RN) have been the most vulnerable group of nurses to be affected by staffing and the consequent high turnover issue. As revealed by Nowrouzi, Giddens, Gohar, Schoenenberger, Bautista, and Casole (2016), a high workload for RN in most health care facilities in Canada has affected their quality of life, indicating the need to address the workload challenge by addressing the staffing issue. Also, as more nurses leave the profession, the nursing workforce will continue to decline, contributing to the already imminent danger of nursing shortage in Canada. Nurses need to be provided with an optimum work environment to avoid poor retention rates, which reflect on patient health outcome and safety. This paper focuses on nurse staffing as an issue that affects the retention of nurses and explores how leaders can address the issue for improved outcomes within the Canadian health care system. Background Nursing forms the backbone of the health care system, and as such, nurse staffing is core as it affects various aspect of the profession and the entire health care system as well. Nurse staffing has been linked to patient mortality. According to Cho, et al. (2015), poor nurse staffing increases the workload of nurses, and this has been linked to higher patient mortality. Health care facilities have to be careful when staffing because the ability to attract the best talents and retain them lies in how effective their staffing strategies are. In this case, one aspect of nurse staffing that the management needs to address is hiring adequate nurses to ensure that the ratio of nurse to patient is manageable. Other than affecting the mortality of patients, nurse staffing has also been associated with patient satisfaction. Hockenberry and Becker (2016) indicate that patient satisfaction increases as the number of RNs per bed increases. This is especially helpful for hospitals that want to increase their number of clients or those who aim at being the best. Patient satisfaction is a significant key in business continuity, and it is imperative for the management to address the issues that affect patient satisfaction. Nurse staffing also influences nurse outcomes in various settings. In most cases, the focus of nurse staffing is usually on the effect of staffing levels on patient outcome and satisfaction. However, it is evi...