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Nurses list time wasters
By Jeff on Sep 22, 2010 in Hospital Staffing
Are the any of these time wasters in your unit or hospital? http://ht.ly/2FQ2j
Tag: "Hospital Management"
Demystifying healthcare staffing: How can hospitals make sure they are staffed appropriately in a nursing shortage?
When it comes to staffing your hospital it important that you have a plan in place. You want to make sure that you have enough nurses in place to deal with things like seasonal fluctuations, the opening of new units or wings, unexpected and expected staff vacancies and illnesses just to name a few. That part you already know, the hard part is how you develop that plan.
For starters it needs to be a plan that takes of long-term and short-term staffing shortages. Like anything in life it is easier to plan for something if you know what to expect, which is why being able to look at some historical factors to predict just what your staffing needs are going to be is an important first step of creating a plan to make sure your unit always has a safe level of nurses for the number of patients you are going to have. Some factors to include in this are:
- Your hospitals past census levels
- Your staffing budget
- Your accepted nurse to patient ratios
Conversely one thing you want to avoid is being overstaffed because it can be very costly to a hospital on a tight budget. Ultimately you want a plan that at least helps your unit break even, but even better you want it to help your hospital make money.
So when you look at staffing your hospital or unit, temporary staffing can be a good part of your staffing plan. You will often hear from the C-Level when money gets tight that temporary staff is one of the most costly budget items and easiest to get rid of, but if the use of travel nurses is part of a plan, not a quick reaction to unexpected census changes then they should not be seen as an expense, but as a revenue generator. A few factors to keep in mind when looking at the cost of temporary nurse staff as part of your staffing plan are:
- How many patients are you not seeing because your nurse numbers are too low?
- What is your average revenue per patient?
- What percent of your FTEs are being covered by internal float pools and how long will that last?
- What are average nurse turnover rates?
- How much are your recruiting cost for a full-time staff?
- What is your annual salary for a full-time nurse?
When you put together your staffing plan don’t just look at the immediate weigh what your nurse needs will be through the course of the year and determine the times when you will need both full-time staff and temporary (travel or per diem) staff. Not only will you be able to ease the burden on your full-time staff, plan for the temporary staff’s orientation better, help your hospital make more money and most importantly, treat more patients.
Can temporary nurse staffing help in lean hospital management?
A recent article in the USA Today talked about hospital CEOs’ efforts in cutting out wasteful spending to not only increase the efficiency and profitability of their hospitals but also help lower the cost of healthcare, an obviously hot topic right now.
It discussed waste in supplies and use of staff’s time and how some hospitals are reducing inefficiencies using Toyota’s lean management system and reducing costs in patient care by 25% in one example. In fact, experts weigh in and say that if all hospitals could do save similar amounts it would save $400 billion on Medicare and another $1.3 trillion on the non-Medicare side. Those are huge savings and really what industry couldn’t probably do the same by being more efficient?
It leads me to think about the role of temporary staff in running a lean hospital. Just like you wouldn’t want supplies to go to waste (like the article mentions) and would be able to save money by having supplies on demand, you wouldn’t want to be overstaffed when your patient level doesn’t call for it and conversely understaffed when your patient numbers have increased. Having nursing staff on demand could be a huge savings and, if approached right, a huge efficiency increase.
Industry research has shown that hospitals are reluctant to use contingent staffing and will usually often only use it as a last resort. And some of the reasons listed are, training and orientation, staff cohesiveness and high costs.
Those reservations are understandable, but if you approach staffing as a lean management item it may make sense to take a second look at each area of reservation and create systems to deal with each one to take advantage of the cost savings that travel nursing staff can provide instead of seeing them as obstacles to nursing and allied health staff on demand. This could help you create a better work environment for your nurses and other healthcare professionals and in turn care for your patients better. And what a competitive advantage for your hospital that would be.
This post made me think of a few more related topics so keep an eye out. And I would love to hear your thoughts too.
Overtime and hospital staff burnout
By Jeff on Mar 20, 2009 in Featured, Healthcare Overtime, Hospital Staffing, Nurse Overtime, Nursing Staff Management
In the current economy we are seeing many hospitals relying on their own perm staff to fill a lot more overtime hours than in the past. For some nurses and therapists this is a welcome boost to their paycheck, while for others it may be something they feel obligated as caregivers to do. No matter the circumstances it will eventually start to wear them out. There is plenty of research available showing the negative effects of too much overtime, everything from nurse burnout, to costs associated with nurse turnover, to putting patients at risk. So what can you do as a unit manager to help ease the effects of overtime on your staff?
Your ability to help them through hiring more nurses or therapists may be limited unless you can convince the financial decision makers of the savings that come with being adequately staffed. But there are things you can have an impact on.
Since you know that too much overtime is going to eventually lead to burnout, you will want to keep an eye on the signs of burnout among your staff. It is also important for you to avoid burnout yourself, so that you can be there for your staff when you sense that they are stressed and give them advice and tips for managing their stress. Below are some links that give you practical advice on how to spot and respond to you and your staff’s burnout.
Battling Burnout: Maintaining Enthusiasm in a Challenging Environment
StressedOutNurses.com
Times flies, but you don’t have to
Help staff handle stress by boosting resiliency
Nurse retention through meditation
Nursing Burnout Prevention
Why Emotions Matter: Age, Agitation, and Burnout Among Registered Nurses
Nurse Burnout is it preventable?
I’ve been reading a lot about nurse burnout lately. There is a ton of information on the web about it, from the signs associated with it, ways to cope with it, its impact on patients and its financial implications.
For a nurse manager there are some practical measures you can take to help reduce nurse burnout in your hospital unit. Key to this is being able to understand where it is coming from, what causes it and recognizing the symptoms. Here are some links to some great resources to help you recognize and deal with nurse burnout in your staff:
Addressing Nurse Burnout – Changing Culture Is The Cure
Institute for Healthcare Leadership
Just remember that left unaddressed nurse burnout can eventually lead to losing a valuable member of your staff and that can have a real impact on the patient care you are able to provide.
Keeping your nurse and therapists happy
During this economic crunch it is important to remember that along with keeping patient satisfaction high, it is also important to treat your own staff great too.
When you are making staffing decisions for your hospital, the way the new nurse, either permanent or a traveler, meshes with the rest of your nursing staff and internal culture is huge. As a Unit Manager or HR Manager, making sure the new staff coming in has the same core values as your hospital will be very important to the overall morale of your nursing and allied health staffs.
And this directly impacts your patients and their families. Repeatedly studies have shown that hospitals with satisfied nurses and allied health professionals and that are adequately staffed provide the best care. Are you looking at a healthcare staffing company’s values when you decide to work with them? If not with the current economy this is the time to start.
