NURS 6053 Walden University Registered Nurse Workloads Discussion

If you work as a direct care registered nurse, conversations about nurse workload are often shared among colleagues. This has been an ongoing problem since I started working in this profession five years ago. Hospitals pursue different goals at the same time. Outstanding patient service, quality care, operational excellence and staff retention (Van den Oetelaar, et al., 2016).

Workloads often far exceed available staff, leading to burnout and high turnover. As the United States implements the Affordable Care Act of 2010 (ACA), many healthcare organizations are taking bold steps to reorganize their healthcare systems, including changing healthcare workers. We recognize the need (Pitman & Scully-Ross, 2016). Managers must find effective ways to retain employees.

Work used to be an important source of friendship. We took our family to a company picnic and invited our colleagues to dinner. Work is now a more transactional place to go to the office efficiently rather than to build relationships (Jacobs et al. et al., 2018). Learning how to effectively live and thrive in the midst of uncertainty and complexity for ourselves and others in constant change is a necessary way of life for leaders (Marshall & Broome, 2017). The organization I work for has introduced free nurse placement to reduce the stress of overwork. Since the lead nurse does not have patients, she can help when problems arise or assist other nurses with tasks that require their attention.

NURS 6053 Walden University Registered Nurse Workloads Discussion References

1. Jacobs, B., McGovern, J., Heinmiller, J., & Drenkard, K. (2018). Engaging employees in well-being: moving from the triple aim to quadruple aim. Nursing Administration Quarterly, 42(3), 231-245. DOI: 10.1097/NAQ.0000000000000303. Retrieved from https://resolver-ebscohost-com.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/openurl?
2. Marshall, E., & Broome, M. (2017). Transformational leadership in nursing: From expert clinician to influential leader (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Springer
3. Pitman, P., & Scully-Ross, E. (2016). Workforce planning and development in times of delivery system transformation. Human Resources for Health, 14(56), 1-15. DOI: 10.1186/s12960-016-0154-3. Retrieved from https://human-resources-health.biomedcentral.com/t…
4. Van den Oetelaar, W., Van Stel, H. F., Van Rhenen, W., Stellato, R. K., & Grolman, W. (2016). Balancing nurses’ workload in hospital wards: study protocol of developing a method to manage workload. British Medical Journal, 6(11). DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2016-012148. Retrieved from https://ncbi.nlm.nih.gov