Improving nurse satisfaction is not sufficient to establish regulation in the nursing workforce as done in California. According to Sasso et al. (2018), any staffing regulations in the medical care field, including nursing, should primarily aim to ensure the provision of safe care. In other words, those regulations should address the effectiveness of medical care, not improvements in nursing satisfaction, in the first place. Although nurse satisfaction can potentially improve safe care, more data is required to establish a connection and consider that a sufficient reason for staffing regulations.
The American Nursing Association (ANA) stance on staffing regulations for registered nurses (RN) addresses improving the quality of care. The ANA supports the legislative model, meaning that nurses are involved in decision-making (de Cordova et al., 2019). They advocate that position because they believe it is essential to have a staff committee to allow clinical nurses to participate in staffing plans (de Cordova et al., 2019). The second reason is mandating ratios for intensive care units (de Cordova et al., 2019). The position of the ANA appears to be appropriate as they aim to improve the general quality of care, which is crucial for the medical field.
Reducing the staffing of non-RN personnel might have its benefits and consequences for the hospitals. The primary benefits are the improvements associated with higher RN staffing, such as lower hospital-related mortality rates and healthcare-related infections (de Cordova et al., 2019). Several studies suggest that RN staffing multiplies patient safety (de Cordova et al., 2019). However, there is a negative consequence: reducing staffing of non-RN personnel might decrease the general quality of nurses’ work as they are probably overloaded in this case (de Cordova et al., 2019). Therefore, it requires further analysis of whether reducing the staffing of non-RN personnel has a positive influence on the medical field.
Federal regulation of staffing levels is primarily positive for medical care. According to de Cordova et al. (2019), such rules aim to ensure safe care and protect patients. Although federal regulation might have particular imperfections and need further improvement, it is still a step towards increasing the effectiveness of medical care. Therefore, it is evident that federal regulation in all corresponding fields can positively impact the nursing workforce.
Nurses can influence health policy development related to information technology by training in this field, developing their skills, and perceived value of health information technology (HIT). As Ko et al. (2018) state, HIT can improve safety and quality of care and increase staff productivity. These elements are essential for the development of medical care, meaning that all people working in that field, including nurses, can and should contribute to its progress as possible.
The use of HIT can affect reimbursement in nursing because reimbursement policy is an obstacle to the development of the HIT. According to the research conducted by Ko et al. (2018), many nurses employed by nursing homes make their HIT-related decisions according to the reimbursement policy. Therefore, HIT can affect the implementation of the reimbursement policy as they are not compatible in many ways, meaning that reimbursement might be reduced soon.
Different reasons explain the current expansion of the nursing workforce. The primary reason for that is a sharp economic recession in the United States that led to active initiatives by various organizations and foundations aimed to recruit people into nursing (Buerhaus et al., 2017). The so-called baby boom generation, the uneven distribution of physicians, the increasing rate of RN retirements, and the health care reform uncertainty threaten the nursing workforce (Buerhaus et al., 2017). Moreover, the nursing workforce is affected by ACA as it aims to increase the number of health care professionals (Buerhaus et al., 2017). Everything mentioned above explains why the nursing workforce expands so actively nowadays.
References
Buerhaus, P. I., Skinner, L. E., Auerbach, D. I., & Staiger, D. O. (2017). Four challenges facing the nursing workforce in the United States. Journal of Nursing Regulation, 8(2), 40-46. Web.
De Cordova, P. B., Pogorzelska-Maziarz, M., Eckenhoff, M. E., & McHugh, M. D. (2019). Public reporting of nurse staffing in the United States. Journal of nursing regulation, 10(3), 14-20. Web.
Ko, M., Wagner, L., & Spetz, J. (2018). Nursing home implementation of health information technology: Review of the literature finds inadequate investment in preparation, infrastructure, and training. INQUIRY: The Journal of Health Care Organization, Provision, and Financing, 55. Web.
Sasso, L., Bagnasco, A., Petralia, P., Scelsi, S., Zanini, M., Catania, G.,… & Aiken, L. H. (2018). Nurse staffing and children’s safety. Journal of advanced nursing, 74(6), 1223-1225. Web.