Many healthcare financial decisions have a direct effect on nursing practice and patient care delivery. – Savvy Essay Writers | savvyessaywriters.net
Many healthcare financial decisions have a direct effect on nursing practice and patient care delivery. – Savvy Essay Writers | savvyessaywriters.net
Many healthcare financial decisions have a direct effect on nursing practice and patient care delivery. What are the ethical implications of these financial decisions? Discuss and explain two specific ways to involve nursing staff in financial planning.
Peer 1 Response:
Lauren Van Hemelrijck posted
The ethical implications of financial decisions that have a direct effect on nursing practice consist of the reduction in available money that is spent on staffing in order to ensure there are appropriate ratios at all times as well as cutting costs related to specific equipment and or tools needed to perform our jobs. Specific nurse to patient ratios have been implemented in some places however, it is not currently the norm regardless of numerous studies that have been conducted and shown that the higher the ratio the worse a patient’s outcome. Although facilities will save a substantial amount of money when they cut down on staff, which is why they often choose to do so, an immoral and unethical act in and of itself, the end result effects the patients in often times very negative ways. If patients are having poor experiences they are either not likely to return because they are afraid the care that they receive will continue to be less than adequate or they will have to return due to complications that could have been prevented had there been an appropriate nurse to patient ratio when they were being cared for. As a study on this very subject has found “there is already a significant amount of empirical evidence showing the relationship between certain individual and organizational characteristics of hospital nursing and patient outcomes. These characteristics include nurses’ level of education, patient-to-ratios, percentage of RNs among all nursing staff (skill mix), and the nurse practice environment” (Simonetti, 2019, p. 79).
Often times, more expensive equipment makes our jobs easier because it is more efficient and or effective. If we begin to “cut corners” in these ways it will undoubtedly have a direct impact on how well we are able to perform our jobs in certain situations. This is unethical because equipment could mean the difference between accuracy and efficiency among other things. This then means that it could then make or break a patient’s outcome. If safety is compromised it is completely inappropriate to substitute equipment that might be unsafe thus putting the patient at an increased risk for illness or injury. This is not only incredibly unethical, it will have an all around negative impact on the facility’s reputation and financial standing in the long run. Nurses should have a say in how money is spent because they are often times the most knowledgeable about all of the above. One article that looks at lifting equipment or lack there of states that “the results indicate that fewer than 12 percent of the responding nurses told us they have a “No Lift Policy”. More than 85 perfect of hospitals have some type of lifting device, most of which are slides for lateral transfers. Alarmingly, 46 perfect of nurses that responded have been injured lifting or moving a patient in the workplace” (Nurses, 2011, p. 13). This is extremely discouraging, especially in this day and age. This issue not only effects patients but nurses as well.
References
Nurses reveal how patient handling is unsafe. (2011). Massachusetts Nurse Advocate, 82(6), 12–13. Retrieved from https://search-ebscohost-com.ezproxy.snhu.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ccm&AN=104526003&site=ehost-live&scope=site
Simonetti, M., Aiken, L. H., & Lake, E. T. (2019). Nursing in Chilean Hospitals: A Research Agenda to Inform Health Policies and Improve Patient Outcomes. Hispanic Health Care International, 17(2), 79–88. https://doi-org.ezproxy.snhu.edu/10.1177/1540415318819475
Peer 2 Response:
Caitlin Stephens posted
According to Roussel, Thomas, and Harris (2016), “personnel accounts for the largest portion of the nursing budget” and is therefore the easiest target for budget cuts (p. 175). For this reason, one of the most implicitly affected aspects of nursing practice is staffing. Numerous studies have shown the effects of staffing on patient safety and satisfaction, failure to rescue, and quality indicators like hospital acquired infections (HAIs) and (HAPUs). Nurses in one study listed multiple concerns about being short-staffed due to budget constraints that included the psychological toll they experienced: moral distress, strained workplace relationships, and burn-out (Humphries & Woods, 2016).
The American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) requires that organizations demonstrate how clinical nurses are involved in decision making as part of receiving Magnet designation. One way to do this is through involving nurses in financial planning. Unit managers should collaborate with the nurses on the floor to assess equipment needs for the upcoming fiscal year. Last year, our hospital spent $15,000 on new patient discharge folders; meanwhile, our floor (“surgical telemetry”) did not have a functioning EKG machine. We would have to run to another unit to grab an EKG even during a rapid response. That fiscal decision did not settle well with our staff, but after considering the larger picture and learning more about the hospital budget, I can now understand why that happened.
Another way to involve clinical nurses in the budget is to be transparent about the cost of quality indicators. Nurses should be informed how much was lost during a year, or a quarter, due to undesirable conditions, such as HAPUs or catheter associated UTIs. While clinical nurses may have limited input on the personnel budget, they can provide feedback and offer suggestions for maintaining or improving productivity within the budget. In addition, each nurse should accept accountability for their role and ensure that their time on the clock is utilized appropriately.
Humphries, A., & Woods, M. (2016). A study of nurses’ ethical climate perceptions: Compromising in an uncompromising environment. Nursing Ethics, 23(3), 265–276. https://doi-org.ezproxy.snhu.edu/10.1177/0969733014564101
Roussel, L., Thomas, P., & Harris, J. (2016). Management and leadership for nurse administrators (7th ed.). Burlington, MA: Jones and Bartlett.
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