The nursing profession is grappling with many issues with hinder its efficiency. Thus, the issue that I will be investigating in this paper is the nursing staffing issue. To successfully accomplish this goal, I was able to use to use the chamberlain library to locate my database, which was very simple to use. The title of the source is National Database of Nursing Quality Indicators (NDNQI®) and its location is http://www.nursingworld.org/MainMenuCategories/ANAMarketplace/ANAPeriodicals/OJIN/TableofContents/Volume62001/No1Jan01/ShortageProblemAnswers.html. The source was published by American Nurses Association (ANA).
The national database of nursing quality indicator NDNQI is the one and the only database collecting data in all areas and levels of nursing practice according to ANA. A nurse sensitive indicator was newly added to the database so has initiation of new projects and new facilities. The driving forces guiding NDNQI I believe are due to trying to determine the proper way to enable the program to be managed to serve the participating facilities and boost up the profession of nursing.
NDNQI is related to my topic because it focus on the nursing staffing concern that affects us all in our different facilities. In regards to the relationship between nurse staffing and nursing practice and outcomes of patient care that is a great interest to NDNQI. NDNQI is devoted to allow sound researchers to engage in research using certain aspects of the database such as researchers’ projects to allow contribution to the nursing knowledge base and also to evaluate existing “nursing-sensitive” indicators for utility and validity for nursing.
PICO question
In curbing nursing shortages in the healthcare system, is nursing job satisfaction more effective than increasing the retirement age in ensuring nurse retention?
Notably, the problem of nurse turnover has been expensive in as far as the healthcare system is concerned. The costs required in the hiring these valuable health care providers have been soaring every year with estimates pointing out that the costs required to hire new nurses will keep on increasing (Peterson, 2001). Some studies have pointed out that in the event that nurse to patient ratios is improved, there will be no significant savings in terms of the costs but on the contrary, the expenses involved in the provision of care will skyrocket. Additionally, if a healthcare setting adds the number of staff with the objectives of addressing any shortages, expenses in terms of increasing levels of salaries to the nurses will prove to be a challenge to the organization In question. It is worth noting that the appropriate levels of care providers available in healthcare facility will always result in improved levels of patient safety and consequently better outcomes. The main reason for this dwells on the realization that, if a medical facility is well staffed, there is a skill mix of the nurses found in that particular healthcare setting who work by combining their different levels of expertise in achieving desirable outcomes in patients under their care (Peterson, 2001). In the event that nurses are exposed to higher workloads than they can comfortably handle, chances are that they will leave their positions and go for jobs that have better terms. As such, it is essential that healthcare organizations focus on retaining its manpower which makes an economic sense since recruiting and training new personnel after others have left are expensive to the organization in the long run. As such, increasing the retirement age will not necessarily lead to increase in the nursing workforce if the working environment is no accommodative.
Research question
Does increasing retirement age and ensuring job satisfaction in nurses important in achieving high retention levels in acute care hospital environment?
Study design
This was a qualitative research that sought to have a critical analysis of the existing relationships between the levels of nurse’s age, their job satisfaction rates, and retention rates. The sample was taken from secondary sources in nursing which had done extensive research on staffing issues. This study design involved carrying out an online survey of the secondary sources to determine factors affecting nurses in terms of the professional practice environment, for instance, addressing the factors that affect their job satisfaction levels. Data collection was done primarily by the use of an online electronic survey. There was no definite data analysis mentioned by the author such as the application of the SPSS software. Additionally, the author did not highlight how descriptive statistics were analyzed focusing on the subscale variables or how to determine the relationships between the major variables for the study. However, according to the author, the variables focused on predicting whether job satisfaction and aging workforce were related and secondly whether job satisfaction and nurse retention were interconnected.
Sample selection
There was no specific sample selection technique employed by the author since the data used was from the secondary sources. The secondary data used in the study were selected by the use of consecutive sampling which is non-probabilistic technique. It means that the participants were selected based on their availability. Additionally, this study only focused on , recruitment of nurses , demand for nursing services nursing shortage, aging nurses, retention of nurses, education, compensation and working environment only which means that other areas of nursing profession which might have been beneficial in achieving the objectives of the study were not taken into consideration (Peterson, 2001).
Data collection
There was no specific technique on how the data used in this study was selected. The methodology employed in the data collection process was not specified by the author. However, a number of secondary sources were used to answer the research question of this study. The sample selected concentrated on nursing environment and factors which can increase the supply of nurses such as recruitment, education, health working environment which lead to job satisfaction and retention of aging nurses.
Limitations of study
The chief limitation was the use of secondary sources. Considering that the number of healthcare providers in the country is more than 3 million and the magnitude of the nurse shortage to the nursing profession the use of secondary sources was not enough to determine the generalizability of the study. It would have been essential to conduct primary research to get direct views of nurses to come up with a concrete conclusion. Moving forward, future studies should incorporate more participants in the process. Secondly, it will be vital that future studies use a specific tool in conducting surveys which will effectively measure the specific levels of patient satisfaction. This is because the application of the COP is a broader test in determining the actual measures of job satisfaction. Finally, it will be vital that future instances where studies of this nature will be conducted should focus on varied sources since secondary sources data can easily be manipulated by authors of those studies. Including primary data in the study will be a crucial point in ensuring that all issues affecting nurses in real life have been included in the study for more conclusive results to be achieved.
Study findings
In terms of the staffing levels and job satisfaction, the study established that to address the issue of nurse shortage there was the need to improve the working environment of nurses. The outcome of the study indicated there was a positive relationship between job satisfaction and retention. These findings, therefore, verify that by healthcare organizations maintaining reasonable recruitment process, nurses are well compensated, efficient recruitment process and ensuring that nurses are satisfied with their jobs; high retention levels will be achieved. Such a realization is economical in the long run to a healthcare organization since costs involved in hiring and training new personnel will be avoided.
Conclusively, this study has established that indeed there is a relationship between the nurse retention levels with the levels of staffing and job satisfaction in health care organizations. It is imperative that such organizations focus on making sure that nurses are satisfied with their work by centering their attention on the number of patients under their care, the levels of nurse burnout, stress levels and instances of depression. Addressing these issues will be economically sustainable for the organization in the long run.
References
Peterson, C. A. (2001). Nursing shortage: Not a simple problem-no easy answers. Online journal of Issues in Nursing, 6(1), 1-14.
