Health Service
Strategies and Recommendation to overcome the workforce shortages and to improve employee morale
This study seeks to identify the strategies and recommendations to be adopted by Middlefield Hospital in order to overcome workforce shortage and improve employee morale. Middlefield hospital is 450-tertiary care facility in a principal urban area in the Northeast. The hospital has an up-to-date Medicare program, which serves the needs of both inpatients and outpatients. Therefore, they enjoy some reputation for quality care in the area. However, being the new C.E.O, it has come to my attention that the hospital’s employee turnover rate exceeds twenty percent, and there are more than a hundred nursing vacant position. The hospital is also facing competition from the newly opened hospital in the area (Grigg & Zenzen, 2008, p.26).
Furthermore, the hospital’s employee morale has deteriorated over the past twelve months. These factors have affected negatively on the hospital’s workforce resulting to employee shortage. It will be even if Essex University proceeds in eliminating the nursing degree program. Therefore, new strategies and recommendations must be in place for the hospital to maintain employees and attract even more. Therefore, it is of pleasure being the new C.E.O to put forward the following strategies and recommendation that will overcome the workforce shortage and to improve the employee morale (Buerhaus, 2009, p.44). This will improve the delivery of services at Middlefield hospital.
In order to curb the high and increasing nursing shortage at Middlefield hospital, the hospital management must uphold Education. Since Essex University is the nearest institution to the hospital, I suggest that it collaborates with the hospital in developing qualified instructors. The hospital in return should recruit the qualified instructors from Essex University. This will help in attracting students and graduates from the University in working at the hospital. After the recruitment of such qualified instructors, the hospital should create and sustain staff development programs and enduring learning for continued competence (Buerhaus, 2009, p.67).
The hospital reaching out to young graduates from Essex University and improving their competence will help in combating the turnover of such employees to the newly created hospital. The hospital can avoid the above-mentioned deterioration factors by advocating proper legislation and regulation. The hospital will attain this by advocating nursing education funding to the students at Essex University to improve the capacity and resources for the education of appropriate nursing workforce. This will motivate the students pursuing nursing to work in Middlefield hospital as it helps them pursue their careers. As such, the hospital will advocate for identification of registered nursing services at Middlefield within the Medicare, Medicaid among others, and this will motivate the graduates from the local college and even international colleges (Buerhaus, 2009, p.40).
The other strategy and recommendation is improving on technology, research and data collection at Middlefield hospital. As the new C.E.O, I will examine the potential of using technology to augment the capacity of a reduced nursing workforce at Middlefield hospital. I will also support workforce planning by division of nursing at Middlefield hospital that considers both the need and demand for nursing services. I will also allow consistent collection of data at Middlefield for proper workforce planning for the already existing nurses. These strategies will maintain the employees at Middlefield and hence the turnover rates will subside if not come to an end. Furthermore, the hospital will have better facilities and technology to help staff invest in the quality of patient care (Grigg & Zenzen, 2008, p.58).
Improving the working environment is the other strategy and recommendation. Advocating the retention of experienced employees will be beneficial in the provision of services at the hospital. This is possible by improving flexibility in the working environment and scheduled programs. Additionally, rewarding experienced employees especially nurses, who will serve as preceptors to the newly employed staff. The hospital should encourage the management to come up and implement appropriate salary and benefits programs that maintain the employees and even attract more.
Another strategy and recommendation I will be advocating is marketing and continuous recruitment. Middlefield hospital should utilize the latest methods to compete and survive. This is possible by employing more marketing tools to attract job seekers and an even employee of another industry especially nurses. The Middlefield must have a continuous influx of nurses-candidates for potential employment. The marketing strategy will expand services at the hospital. However, recruitment should take place continuously. This will help in cases whereby, experienced or highly skilled personnel leave the hospital warranting an immediate replacement. This strategy of continuous recruitment especially nurses will help the Middlefield hospital to adapt and remain competitive like the new hospital (Grigg & Zenzen, 2008, p.93).
References
Buerhaus, P. et al. (2009). The Future of the Nursing Workforce in the United States: Data,
Trends and Implications. New York, NY: Jones & Bartlett publishers
Grigg, N. & Zenzen, M. (2008). The Water Workforce: Strategies to Recruit and Retain High
Performance Employees. New York, NY: American Water Works Association
