NURS 6053 Organizational Policies and Practices to Support Healthcare Issues

NURS 6053 Organizational Policies and Practices to Support Healthcare Issues

Walden University NURS 6053 Organizational Policies and Practices to Support Healthcare Issues– Step-By-Step Guide

 

This guide will demonstrate how to complete the Walden University  NURS 6053 Organizational Policies and Practices to Support Healthcare Issues  assignment based on general principles of academic writing. Here, we will show you the A, B, Cs of completing an academic paper, irrespective of the instructions. After guiding you through what to do, the guide will leave one or two sample essays at the end to highlight the various sections discussed below.

 

How to Research and Prepare for NURS 6053 Organizational Policies and Practices to Support Healthcare Issues  

 

Whether one passes or fails an academic assignment such as the Walden University  NURS 6053 Organizational Policies and Practices to Support Healthcare Issues depends on the preparation done beforehand. The first thing to do once you receive an assignment is to quickly skim through the requirements. Once that is done, start going through the instructions one by one to clearly understand what the instructor wants. The most important thing here is to understand the required format—whether it is APA, MLA, Chicago, etc.

 

After understanding the requirements of the paper, the next phase is to gather relevant materials. The first place to start the research process is the weekly resources. Go through the resources provided in the instructions to determine which ones fit the assignment. After reviewing the provided resources, use the university library to search for additional resources. After gathering sufficient and necessary resources, you are now ready to start drafting your paper.

 

How to Write the Introduction for  NURS 6053 Organizational Policies and Practices to Support Healthcare Issues   

 

The introduction for the Walden University  NURS 6053 Organizational Policies and Practices to Support Healthcare Issues is where you tell the instructor what your paper will encompass. In three to four statements, highlight the important points that will form the basis of your paper. Here, you can include statistics to show the importance of the topic you will be discussing. At the end of the introduction, write a clear purpose statement outlining what exactly will be contained in the paper. This statement will start with “The purpose of this paper…” and then proceed to outline the various sections of the instructions.

 

How to Write the Body for  NURS 6053 Organizational Policies and Practices to Support Healthcare Issues   

 

After the introduction, move into the main part of the  NURS 6053 Organizational Policies and Practices to Support Healthcare Issues  assignment, which is the body. Given that the paper you will be writing is not experimental, the way you organize the headings and subheadings of your paper is critically important. In some cases, you might have to use more subheadings to properly organize the assignment. The organization will depend on the rubric provided. Carefully examine the rubric, as it will contain all the detailed requirements of the assignment. Sometimes, the rubric will have information that the normal instructions lack.

 

Another important factor to consider at this point is how to do citations. In-text citations are fundamental as they support the arguments and points you make in the paper. At this point, the resources gathered at the beginning will come in handy. Integrating the ideas of the authors with your own will ensure that you produce a comprehensive paper. Also, follow the given citation format. In most cases, APA 7 is the preferred format for nursing assignments.

 

How to Write the Conclusion for  NURS 6053 Organizational Policies and Practices to Support Healthcare Issues   

 

After completing the main sections, write the conclusion of your paper. The conclusion is a summary of the main points you made in your paper. However, you need to rewrite the points and not simply copy and paste them. By restating the points from each subheading, you will provide a nuanced overview of the assignment to the reader.

 

How to Format the References List for  NURS 6053 Organizational Policies and Practices to Support Healthcare Issues  

 

The very last part of your paper involves listing the sources used in your paper. These sources should be listed in alphabetical order and double-spaced. Additionally, use a hanging indent for each source that appears in this list. Lastly, only the sources cited within the body of the paper should appear here.

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Sample Answer for NURS 6053 Organizational Policies and Practices to Support Healthcare Issues

Healthcare organizations develop policies to guide the daily activities and meet their expected treatment outcomes and standards. The operation of a healthcare institution depends on both internal and external structures. The internal components include the staffing, the working hours, and schedule policies, and collaboration structures (Laureate Education (Producer), 2018). On the other hand, the external factors include the government policies such as the Medicaid and Medicare programs and the 30 days-readmission policy among others. Therefore, healthcare institutions have to work to meet both external and internal needs. Though, in most cases, the competing needs presented by the policies could affect operational efficiency. The current discussion focuses on the rising cost of the medication issue and the need to improve the patients’ experiences.

The patient’s experience depends on various factors including their interactions with the healthcare providers and the quality of medications they receive. Healthcare institutions may be required to recruit enough healthcare staff to meet the desired healthcare provider patients ratio. Also, the institution may have to stock high-quality drugs to achieve the best therapeutic outcomes in the patients as per the bioethical requirements (Milliken, 2018). The fact is that improved patient experiences result in a lower cost of medication because the patients will have few cases of complications and the number of days they spent in hospitals (Kelly & Porr, 2018). However, the healthcare personnel may be required to engage intensive care approach including taking more time to understand the patients’ needs and developing the right diagnosis. Furthermore, they will have to explore other socio-cultural issues that could be affecting the treatment outcomes for the patients. In such as case, the healthcare institution will have to invest heavily in the resources needed for proper diagnosis and ensure that healthcare staff adequately meet the patients’ needs.

The illustration indicates that the healthcare institutions will struggle between meeting the patients’ needs and keeping the

medication costs low (Hardin et al., 2017). Investing in the resources needed to offer the best care will mean that the costs for the healthcare services will increase. Healthcare institutions operate to make a profit and so must balance between their expenses and income. It will be unrealistic to have high-standard healthcare services at a low cost (Paterick et al., 2017).

Policies such as mandatory patient education and promoting self-care practices can help address the issue. Educating the patients means that they will have the required knowledge to promote healthy behavioural practices. Adopting the policy will reduce the risk of poor treatment outcomes and complications likely to emerge due to the patient’s non-adherence and unhealthy behaviours (Toukhsati et al., 2019). In addition, the patients will understand what they have to do to better their quality of life and so reduce their level of dependence on the healthcare providers (Figueroa et al., 2019). The number of patients seeking healthcare services continues to rise; therefore, adopting the policy will ensure that the healthcare institution serves a large population without straining the resources and this will reduce the cost of treatment.

Finally, competing needs are common in healthcare systems. However, healthcare providers must always develop new measures and policies for addressing health issues. Adopting the policy on patient education on self-care skills will reduce the burden presented on the healthcare institutions by the increasing number of patients and the rising cost of medication. Furthermore, the healthcare institution will be able to manage their staff without exposing them to any health harm and so achieve the quadruple aim.

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References

Figueroa, C. A., Harrison, R., Chauhan, A., & Meyer, L. (2019). Priorities and challenges for health leadership and workforce management globally: A rapid review. BMC Health Services Research, 19(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-019-4080-7

Hardin, L., Kilian, A., & Spykerman, K. (2017). Competing health care systems and complex patients: An inter-professional collaboration to improve outcomes and reduce health care costs. Journal of Interprofessional Education & Practice, 7, 5-10. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.xjep.2017.01.002

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.Vol23No01Man06.

Laureate Education (Producer). (2018). Moral Leadership [Video file]. Baltimore, MD: Author.

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.Vol23No01Man01.

Paterick, T. E., Patel, N., Tajik, A. J., & Chandrasekaran, K. (2017). Improving health outcomes through patient education and partnerships with patients. Baylor University Medical Center Proceedings, 30(1), 112-113. https://doi.org/10.1080/08998280.2017.11929552

Toukhsati, S., Jaarsma, T., Babu, A., Driscoll, A., & Hare, D. (2019). Self-care interventions that reduce hospital readmissions in patients with heart failure; Towards the identification of change agents. Clinical Medicine Insights: Cardiology, 13, 117954681985685. https://doi.org/10.1177/1179546819856855

Sample Answer 2 for NURS 6053 Organizational Policies and Practices to Support Healthcare Issues

Competing needs arise within any organization as healthcare workers seek to meet their targets and leaders seek to meet hospital goals. Either targets or goals require establishing priorities and allocating resources. For example, a policy addressing adequate nurse staffing is essential to meet the patient and workforce needs while minimizing hospital cost. However, utilizing in more nursing staff might result in economic inefficiencies along with misallocated resources.

The shortage of staff is connected with negative impacts; including lower quality and quantity of care because there are few resources to offer. Work overload to the existing nurses lead to burnout, and eventually compromising patient safety. Nursing shortage policies are constantly supported by current literature and they vary from country to country. However, there is continuous effort to modify certain aspect such as pay agreements, emergency hiring plans and RN residency programs to improve working environment for nurses (Park & Yu, 2019). Nurses should also voice their opinion on ways to resolve competing needs; the culture of silence creates a culture of acceptance and continues to suppress nursing professional knowledge (Kelly & Porr, 2018).

Competing needs that may impact nursing shortage is aging population in which baby boomer entering the age of increased need for health services. Which would require more students to enroll into the nursing program today and hire more educators to provide students with proper training. Another contributing factor is nurse burnout, statistics shows a national turnover rates is 8.8% to 37% (Lisa et al., 2020). Nurses are experiencing burnout daily and leaving the profession for better opportunities or advancing in their career. Ensure an optimal nurse to patient ratios to improve nurse staffing and improve quality of care delivered. Lastly, workload and work environment has forced hospitals to reduce staffing and implement mandatory overtime polices to ensure nurses would be available to work when the number of patients admitted increased unexpectedly. Furthermore, increase the workload to decrease on health care costs.

A policy might address these competing needs by ensuring an optimal nurse to patient ratio which can improve care outcomes for patients and ensure patient safety. Healthcare policymakers’ involvement in developing a staffing policy in every organization to improve working conditions (such as working hours, violence in workplace, managing workload) for the nurses staff to improve competencies and better job satisfaction. Ensure adequate government funding to allocate resources for training and clinical skills without causing strains on the government and organization budget. Also, devote resources toward increasing nurses wages; a token of appreciation for their dedicated and hard work.

References

Haddad, L.M., Annamaraju, P., & Toney-Butler, T.J. (2020). Nursing Shortage. Retrieved June 15, 2021, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK493175/

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. Vol23No01Man06. Retrieved from http://ojin.nursingworld.org/MainMenuCategories/ANAMarketplace/ANAPeriodicals/OJIN/TableofContents/Vol-23-2018/No1-Jan-2018/Ethical-Nursing-Cost-Containment.html

Park, H., & Yu, S. (2019). Effective policies for eliminating nursing workforce shortages: A systematic review. In Health Policy and Technology, 8(3), 296-303. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hlpt.2019.08.003

This is insightful Youland. In every organization, there are always competing ought to be addressed to ensure efficiency in the operational processes. Specifically, in healthcare institutions that involve the development and implementation of different policies, there are always competing needs be fully addressed by the management or policymakers. Competing needs arise within any organization as healthcare workers seek to meet their targets and leaders seek to meet hospital goals (Minvielle, 2018). In every healthcare organization, leaders and workers often have their specific goals. The differences in their objectives or goals may lead to competing needs. As leaders and workers set their targets, there are always priorities; besides, there is always the need to consider the available resources that may facilitate processes and procedures towards meeting these goals. A policy addressing adequate nurse staffing is essential to meet the patient and workforce needs while minimizing hospital costs. However, utilization of more nursing staff might result in economic inefficiencies along with misallocated resources (Wicks & St Clair, 2017). 

Before embarking on allocating resources, there is always the need for healthcare management to consider their priorities to address the competing needs. In most cases, healthcare institutions consider their priorities before distributing resources to different processes. To effectively formulate policies that would ensure incorporation of the best practices as well as the efficiency in the general operational processes, the management needs to involve nurses and other healthcare professional teams (Park & Yu, 2019). In other words, making a decision on where to allocate resources should involve the entire workforce. A policy might address these competing needs by ensuring an optimal nurse-to-patient ratio, improving care outcomes for patients, and ensuring patient safety. Besides, a policy may be formulated and enough resources allocated to ensure a significant reduction in the number of healthcare-acquired infections and the improvement in patient outcomes.  

References 

Minvielle, E. (2018). Toward Customized Care: Comment on”(Re) Making the Procrustean Bed? Standardization and Customization as Competing Logics in Healthcare”. International journal of health policy and management, 7(3), 272. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5890073/ 

Park, H., & Yu, S. (2019). Effective policies for eliminating nursing workforce shortages: A systematic review. In Health Policy and Technology, 8(3), 296-303. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hlpt.2019.08.003 

Wicks, A. M., & St Clair, L. (2017). Competing values in healthcare: balancing the (un) balanced scorecard. Journal of Healthcare Management, 52(5). https://web.a.ebscohost.com/abstract?direct=true&profile=ehost&scope=site&authtype=crawler&jrnl=10969012&AN=27028943&h=xt8qw%2fV9vHxEXGym8bL66d4PtA2v%2f%2bjudnSM4Nhe6H 

Sample Answer 4 for NURS 6053 Organizational Policies and Practices to Support Healthcare Issues

Competing Needs and Impact of Policy 

Policies are made to govern a certain practice and are necessary to hold persons accountable for their actions. Registered nurses (RNs) are constantly challenged to provide quality nursing care while resources are chipped away, sometimes along with their energy, pride, and ability to provide holistic patient care (Kelly & Porr, 2018), but are still expected to  promote beneficence and avoid maleficence in all circumstances.  Nurses and nurse leaders must establish policies that are ethical and just and not waver in the presence of competing needs.  Policies and procedures provide a road map for day-to-day operations and are put in place to be followed for the betterment of the organization and improve practices. For example, a policy that focuses on staffing for nurses and nurse assistants is necessary to ensure that adequate staffing is available. The policy should provide parameters for nurse to patient ratio and a list of resources, steps, and protocols to assist where needed. The development of a policy in regards to the use of resources and being economical can also help to diffuse the fight between the need for staff versus the need for personal protective equipment (PPE).  

The Impact of Organizational budget on the Nursing Shortage 

I am constantly reminded that healthcare is a business just like any other and organization leaders are always trying to find new ways and ideas to satisfy the consumer but save the company money. Unfortunately, Health care is not like other businesses because people’s lives are at stake and when healthcare is faced with competing needs, one is likely to surpass the other and the other just might be as valuable as someone’s life. The shortage of nurses has a tremendous impact of any healthcare organization and can directly attack healthcare budget in more ways than one. For example, the shortage of nurse’s force countless hours in overtime to ensure that shifts are adequately covered to ensure patients receive the treatment that they need, because after all, patient satisfaction, safety, and best outcomes are the goal. On the contrary, these nurses who overwork themselves are more likely to perform at a level that is below satisfactory eventually resulting in mediocre patient care, documentation errors, medication errors and many other patient delivery errors. Researchers has suggested that overworked health care providers have reported a decline in mental and physical state, demonstrated inadequate patient care and nurse leaving/shortage (Leineweber et al., 2014).  A study conducted on Nurses’ practice in relation to burnout concludes that adequate staffing and leadership and support for nurses are crucial for nurses wellbeing and mental health. (Leineweber et al., 2014).   

To paint a picture; at my organization, if a patient has a complaint or is not satisfied with the delivery of care they received, often times letters are written to the CEO or Hospital’s president and they are forced to discount patient’s hospital bills to regain consumer satisfaction and prevent any contamination to the reputation of the Organization. Organizational budgets can force decisions between paying nurses or providing necessities needed for adequate patient care delivery such as PPE’s that as necessary for minimizing the risk of health care providers contracting diseases. If nurses do not feel safe, they may opt to leave their jobs, creating a bigger deficit for the organization, therefore a balance must be found between competing needs.  

References 

Alyahya, M. S., Hijazi, H. H., Al Qudah, J., AlShyab, S., & AlKhalidi, W. (2018). Evaluation of  

infection prevention and control policies, procedures, and practices: An ethnographic  

study. AJIC: American Journal of Infection Control, 46(12), 1348–1355. https://doi-org.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/10.1016/j.ajic.2018.05.023 

Kelly, P., Porr, C. (2018) Ethical Nursing Care Versus Cost Containment: Considerations to  

Enhance RN Practice http://ojin.nursingworld.org/MainMenuCategories/ANAMarketplace/ANAPeriodicals/OJIN/TableofContents/Vol-23-2018/No1-Jan-2018/Ethical-Nursing-Cost-Containment.html 

Leineweber, C., Westerlund, H., Chungkham, H. S., Lindqvist, R., Runesdotter, S., &  

Tishelman, C. (2014). Nurses’ practice environment and work-family conflict in relation to burn out: A multilevel modelling approach. PLoS ONE, 9(5). https://doi-org.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0096991 

Sample Answer 5 for NURS 6053 Organizational Policies and Practices to Support Healthcare Issues

This is insightful Rashae; healthcare is a business just like any other and organization. As a result, healthcare leaders are always trying to find new ways and ideas to satisfy the consumer but save the company money. As a result, there are always planning processes meant to ensure effective utilization of resources and ensure effective patient outcomes. In the process of planning, there is always the need to consider priorities (Ansmann & Pfaff, 2018). For instance, a healthcare organization may be faced with different needs; however, through planning and setting priorities, they will be able to utilize their resources in a more profitable way.  

Nurse shortage has been a critical issue in most healthcare institutions. Researchers have suggested that overworked health care providers have reported a decline in mental and physical state, demonstrated inadequate patient care, and nurse leaving/shortage. Therefore, allocating more resources towards employing more nurses is always a priority (Hovland & Moltu, 2019). However, other priorities such as the reduction of medication errors may set in. Medication errors have been considered one of the major factors that contribute to low patient satisfaction and negative patient outcome.  

Therefore, healthcare management may weigh their priorities before engaging in allocating resources (Kelly, 2018). To effectively formulate policies that would ensure incorporation of the best practices as well as the efficiency in the general operational processes, the management needs to involve nurses and other healthcare professional teams. With proper planning and allocation of resources, healthcare institutions are able to generate more profits and enhance operational processes in addition to meeting the needs of patients. Setting priories may help in the budgeting processes for the entire institution.  

References 

Ansmann, L., & Pfaff, H. (2018). Providers and Patients Caught Between Standardization and Individualization: Individualized Standardization as a Solution: Comment on”(Re) Making the Procrustean Bed? Standardization and Customization as Competing Logics in Healthcare”. International journal of health policy and management, 7(4), 349. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5949226/ 

Hovland, R. T., & Moltu, C. (2019). Making way for a clinical feedback system in the narrow space between sessions: navigating competing demands in complex healthcare settings. International journal of mental health systems, 13(1), 1-11. https://ijmhs.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13033-019-0324-5 

Kelly, P., Porr, C. (2018). Ethical Nursing Care Versus Cost Containment: Considerations to  

Enhance RN Practice. http://ojin.nursingworld.org/MainMenuCategories/ANAMarketplace/ANAPeriodicals/OJIN/TableofContents/Vol-23-2018/No1-Jan-2018/Ethical-Nursing-Cost-Containment.html 

Sample Answer 6 for NURS 6053 Organizational Policies and Practices to Support Healthcare Issues

The competing needs of the workforce, resources, and patients must be considered in healthcare policy and development. The workforce is a critical component of healthcare delivery that may be impacted by policies related to compensation, working conditions, and scope of practice. For example, policies that do not adequately compensate nurses may decrease morale, burnout, and turnover (Duru & Hammoud, 2022). An unsafe working condition could be assigning too many patients to one nurse, resulting in missed care and ethical dilemmas if a nurse causes harm due to an inability to wholly provide care for an unreasonable number of patients (Milliken, 2018). To address the shortage of primary care providers, allowing Advanced Practice Registered Nurses full practice authority is one of the first steps in solving this crisis (Brom, et al., 2018). Full practice authority of Nurse Practitioners is the model recommended by the National Academy of Medicine (AANP, 2022). If a nurse is legally authorized to practice within the full scope of their education and experience, then the regulations limit the benefit APRNs can provide to patients. Nurse Practitioners have proven to provide safe and effective care with outcomes comparable to physicians (Neff et al.). Nurse Practitioners are limited by these regulations when they know they could provide good patient outcomes but are limited in what they can perform. This is why they are constantly advocating for full practice authority.

Resources, including funding and infrastructure, are essential considerations in healthcare policy development. Using cost-effective care often takes precedence over patient-centered care, prioritizing resources towards saving money rather than individualizing care (Kelly & Porr, 2018). Policies that do not provide adequate resources may result in poor access to healthcare services, decreased quality of care, and increased costs. For example, Sentara Healthcare’s mobile care units aid those who do not have transportation to medical appointments, and care centers provide care in low-income areas (HealthLeaders & Cheney, 2022). This funding of infrastructure and transportation resources has increased access to care by individualizing support to those who need it.

Patients are the ultimate beneficiaries of healthcare policies, and policies must consider their needs and preferences. Patients may be impacted by policies related to insurance coverage, access to care, and quality of care. For example, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) Medicaid expansions improved cardiovascular risk factors in low-income populations (Gotanda et al., 2021). It allowed 50 million people to obtain health insurance (Zambrano, 2022). Patients are also affected when nurses and providers do not have enough support to adequately meet individual patient needs, a problem often encountered when the primary focus is on the “business model of healthcare” (Kelly & Porr, 2018).

Overuse of emergency departments can lead to overcrowding, longer wait times, and increased healthcare costs. Overcrowding in the ED increases the risk of death by 34% (Savioli et al., 2022). This can also contribute to burnout in healthcare providers and decreased quality of care. Primary care improves patient outcomes, increases access to healthcare, lowers healthcare costs, and combats disparities (Park et al., 2018).

In conclusion, competing needs such as the workforce, resources, and patients are essential considerations in healthcare policy development. The lack of access to primary care is a significant issue that can contribute to the overuse of emergency departments. Policies that address these competing needs can help to alleviate this issue and improve access to primary care services.

 References

AANP. (2022, April 15). State Practice Environment. Retrieved September 26, 2022, from https://www.aanp.org/advocacy/state/state-practice-environmentLinks to an external site.

Duru, D. C., & Hammoud, M. S. (2022). Identifying effective retention strategies for front-line nurses. Nursing management (Harrow, London, England : 1994), 29(1), 17–24. https://doi.org/10.7748/nm.2021.e1971Links to an external site.

Gotanda, H. G., Kominski, G. K., Elashoff, D. E., & Tsugawa, Y. T. (2021, July). Association Between the ACA Medicaid Expansions and Changes in Cardiovascular Risk Factors Among Low-Income Individuals. NIH National Library of Medicine. Retrieved September 13, 2022, from https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33483808/Links to an external site.

HealthLeaders, & Cheney, C. C. (2022, September 28). Sentara Healthcare Boosts Efforts to Address Social Determinants of Health. HealthLeaders Media. Retrieved February 26, 2023, from https://www.healthleadersmedia.com/clinical-care/sentara-healthcare-boosts-efforts-address-social-determinants-healthLinks to an external site.

Kelly, P., & Porr, C. (2018). Ethical nursing care versus cost containment: Considerations to enhance RN practiceLinks to an external site.Links to an external site.. OJIN: Online Journal of Issues in Nursing, 23(1), Manuscript 6. doi:10.3912/OJIN.Vol23No01Man06. Retrieved from http://ojin.nursingworld.org/MainMenuCategories/ANAMarketplace/ANAPeriodicals/OJIN/TableofContents/Vol-23-2018/No1-Jan-2018/Ethical-Nursing-Cost-Containment.htmlLinks to an external site.

Milliken, A. (2018). Ethical awareness: What it is and why it mattersLinks to an external site.Links to an external site.. OJIN: Online Journal of Issues in Nursing, 23(1), Manuscript 1. doi:10.3912/OJIN.Vol23No01Man01.

Neff, D.F., Yoon, S. H., Steiner, R.L., Bumbach, M. D., Everhart, D., & Harman J.S. (2018). The impact of Nurse Practitioner Regulations on Population Access to Care. Nursing Outlook, 66(4), 379-385

Park, B., Gold, S. B., Bazemore, A., & Liaw, W. (2018). How evolving United States payment models influence primary care and its impact on the Quadruple AimLinks to an external site.Links to an external site.. Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine, 31(4), 588–604.

Savioli, G., Ceresa, I. F., Gri, N., Bavestrello Piccini, G., Longhitano, Y., Zanza, C., Piccioni, A., Esposito, C., Ricevuti, G., & Bressan, M. A. (2022). Emergency Department Overcrowding: Understanding the Factors to Find Corresponding Solutions. Journal of Personalized Medicine, 12(2), 279. https://doi.org/10.3390/jpm12020279Links to an external site.

Zambrano, J. Z. (2022, September 13). Discussion-Week 3 [Online forum post]. Walden University Discussion Forum Module 2. Retrieved September 13, 2022, from https://class.waldenu.edu/webapps/discussionboard/do/message?action=list_messages&course_id=_16995826_1&forum_id=_10196143_1&discussion_board_entry&conf_id=_4377742_1&message_id=_127431235_1Links to an external site.

Sample Answer 7 for NURS 6053 Organizational Policies and Practices to Support Healthcare Issues

This discussion explores the competing needs of health policy that are challenged to coexist with improved patient outcomes. Change adaption is difficult, is often met with resistance, and is perceived as burdensome. Healthcare organizations routinely default to a transactional approach to meet governmental regulations through cutbacks and organizational strain resulting in cultural degradation and ethical concerns (Kelly & Porr, 2018). Nurses are immersed in the reality of these unintended consequences of change. Ethical principles governing nursing practice drive nurses to speak up to protect their practice landscape (Milliken, 2018).

Value-based healthcare (VBHC) aims to reduce healthcare spending through a collaborative model while improving patient outcomes. This model presents itself as a win-win on paper but needs to be more evidently self-aware. Collaboration is not an inherent skill of all healthcare-related professionals. Furthermore, collaboration takes time many do not have within their busy schedules afflicted by a national workforce shortage. Utilizing health information exchanges (HIEs) can assist in time management barriers. However, HIE proficiency requires training and is not a universal solution as it faces ongoing patient privacy issues for participation and consent (Vest & Gamm, 2010).

The VBHC model is an active reimbursement model in outpatient community mental health, but practices still need to be assimilated. In the video, Buttaro (Walden University, 2012) discusses a common dilemma in meeting the needs of the underserved in outpatient care when encountering complex individuals that require a higher level of care. Many clients lack natural and community supports. Homelessness, persistent mental illness, and substance use complicate patient care and require extensive intervention. A full nurse schedule that allows a 30-minute time slot to achieve patient care needs is a daily uphill battle. Nurses driven by their principles strive to advocate, refer patients for support, and connect with family members and professionals, which requires time and critical thinking (Milliken, 2018). The care pathway needed to provide necessary interventions is seldom commensurate with the time available within the nurse’s workday. Nurses must decide what aspect of their duties must receive less attention. Robust charting is an organizational requirement. Patient advance and care is an ethical requirement. Working overtime can lead to burnout and patient safety risks and deviates from the nurse’s personal responsibility to take care of themselves.

Policy is the overarching force through which change happens. Rubino (Walden University, 2009) reminds us that change is necessary for all healthcare environments to address competing needs and is not an inherently negative paradigm. Reconciliation of policy and the reality of practice can align with transformational leadership within an organization. Nurses must be a voice that innervates incremental change with the potential for meaningful impact (Kelly & Porr, 2018). Nurses on my unit have spoken out about high-risk clients and the need for complex case management and collaboration. Leaders respond to data and request that nurses bring specific cases for discussion at site-based meetings with stakeholders. Numerous cases illustrated and quantified that high-need patients were straining healthcare resources through frequent rehospitalization, and crisis interventions unveiling that outpatient care was not meeting their needs. A response was implemented as a universal synchronized one-hour weekly block of care coordination time for each clinician. This time can be used for team meetings, case management, extended patient care, or charting overflow. Collaborative care has genuinely benefited from this alignment in schedules by maximizing relationships on behalf of patients. This small change needs to be evolved and revisited as an iterative process.

Nurses have the power to influence policy. In the video, Freshman (Walden University, 2009) advises that the process begins with self-awareness and understanding the environment and why circumstances exist. Complaining is not the solution. Competencies in data collection, observation, and evidence-based knowledge must be leveraged to grab the attention of stakeholders.  Nurses with high-emotional intelligence are effective in unifying organizational values with personal values.

References

Kelly, P., & Porr, C. (2018). Ethical nursing care versus cost containment: Considerations to enhance RN practice. Online Journal of Issues in Nursing, 23(1). https://doi.org/10.3912/OJIN.Vol23No01Man06Links to an external site.

Milliken, A. (2018). Ethical awareness: What it is and why it matters. Online Journal of Issues in Nursing, 23(1). https://doi.org/10.3912/OJIN.Vol23No01Man0Links to an external site.

Vest, J. R., & Gamm, L. D. (2010). Health information exchange: persistent challenges and new strategies. Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association, 17(3), 288-294. https://doi.org/10.1136/jamia.2010.003673Links to an external site.

Walden University. (2012). Ethical, moral, and legal leadership [Video file]. Walden University Canvas. https://waldenu.instructure.comLinks to an external site.

Walden University. (2009). Working with individuals [Video file]. Walden University Canvas. https://waldenu.instructure.comLinks to an external site.