NURS 6053 Discussion: Organizational Policies and Practices to Support Healthcare Issues
Organizational Policies and Practices to Support Healthcare Issues Sample Paper
Given the complexity of issues that arise in the healthcare settings, it is always important to handle the issues as they arise (Kelly & Porr, 2018). However, the effectiveness in the handling of issues is not always as expected due to the dynamics of policies that guide the healthcare systems. It is a gamble between economic balance, ethics, and the available resources. Business oriented organizations focus on maximizing profits without considering their resource viability. The business is also not hesitant to lay off individuals who are not able to cope up with the organizational demands. Thus, nurses end up being silent but express their misery through aggression which might adversely affect the overall performance of the healthcare facility. This paper discusses the importance of resource-need balance in policy making, examines compassion fatigue as one of the stressors that may impact national healthcare, and assesses the possible impacts and how policy may address the needs.
The policies in the management of the healthcare settings are not always as expected in some cases based on the resources available and the patient needs. For example, a policy that limits the number of nurses in a shift should always factor in the number of patients. The higher the number of patients, the higher the probability that there will be a need for more nurses. A disproportionate balance between the number of nurses and patients may lead to poor service delivery due to, among others, compassion fatigue.
Nursing ethics requires one to carry out their responsibilities according to the outlined principles of the nursing profession (American Nurses Association, 2015). However, it has not been possible to fully address the nursing responsibilities sufficiently with the incoming pressure from the assignment. According to Milliken (2018), nurses must not only consider the ethics of their practice, but also the overwhelming workloads that often characterize their work environments. As a result, the nurses become relatively restless, an occurrence that can significantly influence their performances. They can lose touch with the patients, resulting in relatively poor performance in terms of service delivery. Thus, in designing nursing workplace policies, one must consider covering both patient and nursing staff needs by evaluating the different problems they encounter.
Policies may work towards helping nurses and their performances. However, the approaches towards the determination of how most of the activities that people should consider at a time. The model of operation of a healthcare facility tends to define the degrees at which the service can be modifiable. Healthcare facilities that put more focus on the business aspects of the operations and focus on the potential profits that can be incurred are more likely to have a negative impact on the overall operations of the organization. Business policies silences nurses which leads to significant aggression which may lead to poor services to the patients and generally lower performance of the healthcare facility.
The problems that relate to the balance between policies and the available services can be managed if appropriate policies are put in place to solve the problems. For example, the policies can be service centered that ensures the quality of services based on the average performance of the employees. Having one work for more hours at a higher pay may not be effective in the health sector due to the high chances of suffering from compassion fatigue. Policies might reduce compassion fatigue by increasing the number of nurses attending to patients. The approach can also be improved by reducing the number of hours that the nurses interact with the patient.
References
American Nurses Association. (2015). Code of ethics for nurses with interpretive statements. Silver Spring, MD: Author. Retrieved from https://www.nursingworld.org/coe-view-only
Kelly, P., & Porr, C. (2018). Ethical nursing care versus cost containment: Considerations to enhance RN practice. OJIN: Online Journal of Issues in Nursing, 23(1), Manuscript 6. doi:10.3912/OJIN.
Milliken, A. (2018). Ethical awareness: What it is and why it matters. OJIN: Online Journal of Issues in Nursing, 23(1), Manuscript 1. doi:10.3912/OJIN.
