Table of Contents
Nursing is one of the medical fields that are rapidly changing. This is accelerated by the increasing research in different areas (Aiken et al. 2002). Most of the research done is aimed at ensuring that the outcomes of the patient care are improved. This paper will look at nurse staffing as one of the areas of nursing research.
Nurse Staffing
One of the areas in nursing that have been highly researched on is nurse staffing in hospitals. The research has been carried out because of the economic conditions that have made the profitability in the sector low. Findings indicate that some hospitals had already started reducing the number of nurses to increase profitability. According to a research funded by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), the number of nurses has less impact on the profits. The research showed clearly that hospitals with low nurse staffing tend to have poor patient outcomes compared to the ones that are highly staffed. The research further showed that diseases such as urinary tract infections, shock, and pneumonia kill many patients in hospitals that are lowly staffed (Kendall-Gallagher et al., 2011).
The research has made professionals and leaders in the field to appreciate the importance of staffing hospitals. This has contributed to better patient outcomes. For instance, looking at the case of Australia, the number of nurses employed in the last two years is high compared to other fields. Part of the research also showed that nurses are becoming less skilled; thus lacking confidence in their work (Aiken et al., 2002). Therefore, when they are many in a hospital, they share skills and help each other in decision making. At the end of the day this ensures that patient care and service delivery are of high quality. Additionally, when nurses are working without pressure they tend to be satisfied, a factor that is crucial in this vital field.
Conclusion
In summation, nurse staffing is crucial as it has direct impact on the quality of service accorded to patients; thus it has to be favorable. Consequently, there is a need for ongoing research in the area to ascertain the adequate number of nurses for improved health care.
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