NURS 6052 Week 2 Assignment Analysis of a Pertinent Healthcare Issue
Sample Answer for NURS 6052 Week 2 Assignment Analysis of a Pertinent Healthcare Issue Included After Question
The Quadruple Aim provides broad categories of goals to pursue to maintain and improve healthcare. Within each goal are many issues that, if addressed successfully, may have a positive impact on outcomes. For example, healthcare leaders are being tasked to shift from an emphasis on disease management often provided in an acute care setting to health promotion and disease prevention delivered in primary care settings. Efforts in this area can have significant positive impacts by reducing the need for primary healthcare and by reducing the stress on the healthcare system.
Changes in the industry only serve to stress what has always been true; namely, that the healthcare field has always faced significant challenges, and that goals to improve healthcare will always involve multiple stakeholders. This should not seem surprising given the circumstances. Indeed, when a growing population needs care, there are factors involved such as the demands of providing that care and the rising costs associated with healthcare. Generally, it is not surprising that the field of healthcare is an industry facing multifaceted issues that evolve over time.
In this module’s Discussion, you reviewed some healthcare issues/stressors and selected one for further review. For this Assignment, you will consider in more detail the healthcare issue/stressor you selected. You will also review research that addresses the issue/stressor and write a white paper to your organization’s leadership that addresses the issue/stressor you selected.
To Prepare:
- Review the national healthcare issues/stressors presented in the Resources and reflect on the national healthcare issue/stressor you selected for study.
- Reflect on the feedback you received from your colleagues on your Discussion post for the national healthcare issue/stressor you selected.
- Identify and review two additional scholarly resources (not included in the Resources for this module) that focus on change strategies implemented by healthcare organizations to address your selected national healthcare issue/stressor.
The Assignment (3-4 Pages):
Analysis of a Pertinent Healthcare Issue
Develop a 3- to 4-page paper, written to your organization’s leadership team, addressing your selected national healthcare issue/stressor and how it is impacting your work setting. Be sure to address the following:
- Describe the national healthcare issue/stressor you selected and its impact on your organization. Use organizational data to quantify the impact (if necessary, seek assistance from leadership or appropriate stakeholders in your organization).
- Provide a brief summary of the two articles you reviewed from outside resources on the national healthcare issue/stressor. Explain how the healthcare issue/stressor is being addressed in other organizations.
- Summarize the strategies used to address the organizational impact of national healthcare issues/stressors presented in the scholarly resources you selected. Explain how they may impact your organization both positively and negatively. Be specific and provide examples.
Looking Ahead
The paper you develop in Module 1 will be revisited and revised in Module 2. Review the Assignment instructions for Module 2 to prepare for your revised paper.
By Day 7 of Week 2
Submit your paper.
Submission and Grading Information
To submit your completed Assignment for review and grading, do the following:
- Please save your Assignment using the naming convention “WK2Assgn+last name+first initial.(extension)” as the name.
- Click the Week 2 Assignment Rubric to review the Grading Criteria for the Assignment.
- Click the Week 2 Assignment link. You will also be able to “View Rubric” for grading criteria from this area.
- Next, from the Attach File area, click on the Browse My Computer button. Find the document you saved as “WK2Assgn+last name+first initial.(extension)” and click Open.
- If applicable: From the Plagiarism Tools area, click the checkbox for I agree to submit my paper(s) to the Global Reference Database.
- Click on the Submit button to complete your submission.
- Due to the nature of this assignment, your instructor may require more than 7 days to provide you with quality feedback.
A Sample Answer For the Assignment: NURS 6052 Week 2 Assignment Analysis of a Pertinent Healthcare Issue
Title: NURS 6052 Week 2 Assignment Analysis of a Pertinent Healthcare Issue
From a general perspective, healthcare provision involves identifying health problems affecting the populace and developing practical intervention measures. As this happens, policies are made to streamline care delivery as healthcare providers keep learning to improve outcomes. The overall mandate of care providers is to enhance patient safety while striving to optimize quality always. However, everything does not occur smoothly as envisioned since many healthcare stressors affect care delivery and prevent healthcare providers from meeting the set goals. This paper assesses the impacts of nursing shortage as a pertinent healthcare issue at the organizational level and summarizes evidence-based interventions applied by other organizations.
The Nursing Shortage Problem
In practice, healthcare providers should be kept free from exhaustion. The care providers to patient ratio should be manageable such that healthcare providers are not physically and mentally drained. Nursing shortage occurs when the number of patients is high to the extent that care providers cannot provide satisfactory services. The problem creates an environment where care providers are highly dissatisfied and ready to leave (Chang et al., 2017). In response, it has been the cause of 25% nurse turnover in the organization, with 10% of the care providers leaving the profession entirely. This data shows a lack of motivation to continue offering healthcare services irrespective of other measures such as rewards the organization applies to inspire employees.
Undeniably, this proportion of turnover is high and implies two things. Firstly, the organization will continue using massive resources to replace the lost workforce. Doing so leads to a scenario where some areas are underserved since resources are used wrongly. Secondly, turnover increases the healthcare burden to the employees left serving. Since the ones left behind are overworked, they are easily frustrated and can quit too. Eventually, a cycle where patients are underserved and dissatisfied ensues. Such instances reduce the overall quality of care and make it challenging to achieve the set objectives.
Summary of Articles
Nursing shortage causes dissatisfaction, which increases the turnover rate. In this case, nurses are overwhelmed, and the reasons to remain in practice decrease progressively. In response, different organizations apply varying and sometimes interrelated strategies to increase healthcare workers’ satisfaction. The primary role of the strategies used is to inspire healthcare providers and give them more reasons to serve. Indeed, motivation makes them embrace crucial healthcare principles, such as empathy and compassion. It is right to deduce that nursing outcomes can improve if such methods were used universally.
The first article I reviewed examines the relationship between career development and healthcare outcomes. According to Price and Reichert (2017), providing healthcare workers with meaningful training and developmental opportunities make them more engaged. The main reason for investing in development is to reduce the cost associated with recruiting a new workforce. Some of the costs that training and development help to avoid include interviewing, onboarding, and orientation costs. Moreover, if given a chance to attain the highest education possible, healthcare providers feel more satisfied and can stay within the organization for a long time.
The other article that I reviewed examined the connection between healthcare workers’ engagement and health outcomes. As Bokhour et al. (2018) posited, healthcare organizations should always align employee and organizational goals. This consideration is based on the premise that healthcare workers are passionate about helping others when they join the practice, but their mindsets change depending on how healthcare organizations treat them. Given this, as Bokhour et al. (2018) insisted, healthcare workers should be set up for success by providing them with the necessary resources and skill development opportunities. Organizations should always recognize the role of workers and consider their personal goals as they develop their goals.
Strategies to Address Organizational Impact
A high turnover rate is detrimental to the achievement of healthcare goals. Situations prompting turnover at whichever level should be avoided by all means. According to Ayanwale (2019), reward systems can be integrated into healthcare practice to reduce turnover. Like other employees, healthcare providers should be highly motivated to work by recognizing their efforts where they excel. For instance, they should be given off days if they meet their weekly targets. Opportunities for promotion should be fair and based on effort. If such practices are persistent, healthcare workers will remain satisfied and remain committed to serving in an organization. Although reward systems are positively impacting, it is crucial to be careful about their sustenance since they can be expensive.
The other way of preventing turnover is by involving healthcare workers in policymaking. Here, as Safari et al. (2020) suggested, organizations must consider employees’ input when making decisions. The main advantage of recognizing employees’ input is that organizational leaders can know where they might be falling short. The feedback they receive from employees helps them to adapt and deliver better results. Eventually, the entire practice makes employees feel valued and wanted. Such a culture prevents turnover as the level of satisfaction is high, but it can be disastrous since healthcare workers may feel entitled to contribute to everything.
In conclusion, nursing shortage is a real problem in healthcare provision. It hampers the delivery of quality care and risks patients’ safety since patients are underserved. As discussed, the problem can be addressed by addressing issues that cause employee turnover. Such strategies include career development plans for healthcare providers, reward systems, and involving healthcare workers in policymaking.
A Sample Answer 2 For the Assignment: NURS 6052 Week 2 Assignment Analysis of a Pertinent Healthcare Issue
Title: NURS 6052 Week 2 Assignment Analysis of a Pertinent Healthcare Issue
Reforms in the healthcare sector, like the enactment of the Affordable Care Act in 2010 and subsequent changes that have occurred to this law, are meant to increase access to quality and affordable care. However, the cost of healthcare is rising and becoming pertinent healthcare in the United States, not just at the organizational level but also at the government level; both state and federal governments (Montero et al., 2022). This paper discusses the rising cost of healthcare across the U.S. health system despite the passage of ACA 2010 and other policies like the Quadruple Aim. The discussion provides a summary of two articles exploring the issue and how organizations are addressing it. It also offers strategies for addressing the impact on the organization of the issue and the overall effects it has on our healthcare facility.
Description of the National Health Stressor & Impacts on Organization
a). Cost of Healthcare
The cost of healthcare is increasing based on several factors, some within and others outside the control of organizations. The high cost of care is leading to imbalances and financial burdens for millions of Americans, some opting to remain uninsured and only accessing healthcare through emergency departments (EDs). In their article, Montero et al. (2022) discuss challenges that Americans are facing due to healthcare costs. The study shows that close to half of U.S. adults experience difficulties affording their cost of care while a significant share of those above 65 years encounter challenges in paying for various components of care, particularly services not covered by Medicare that include dental care and prescription drug costs. Despite the Affordable Care Act lowering the cost of health insurance, millions of Americans are not enrolling as expected due to the rise in premiums’ prices. These costs are attributed to a rise in demand for care due to an aging population, use of technology and equipment, and inflationary pressure making the equipment and cost of services increase.
b). Impact on Organization
The rising cost of care impacts the organization since it means that it must spend more on buying supplies and equipment to meet the increased demand for care. Again, the organization needs to hire more providers to ensure that all patients seeking care get services. More fundamentally, the organization must ensure that it complies with existing legislations like the EMTALA provisions which mandate it to offer emergency care even for uninsured individuals (Sommers, 2020). According to available data from the administration, the facility catered to 60 individuals who presented in the emergency department with conditions requiring stabilization but did not have medical or health coverage. This implies that the organization may make losses of close to $400,000 since it cannot be reimbursed the amounts from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).
Summary of Two Articles & Addressing the Issue in Other Organizations
i). Summary of the Articles
The first article by Buntin (2021) explores the confronting challenges to the U.S. Care system during and post the COVID-19 pandemic. The article stresses the rising cost of healthcare for millions of Americans and its impact on access to care across different populations, especially racial minorities, and low-income households. The second article by Crowley et al. (2020) focuses on strategies that can help lower the cost of care and improve coverage for millions of Americans. As such, both articles are emphatic that while the ACA 2010 made tremendous steps in increasing coverage for millions of Americans, the rising costs of insurance and service provision are causing more harm than the expected benefits to these populations.
ii). Addressing the Issue in other Organizations
Healthcare organizations across the U.S. are addressing the cost of care through innovative ways that include leveraging technologies and enrolling in value-based care models under the CMS. As asserted by the American Hospitals Association (AHA), the rising cost of care is a critical challenge for many healthcare organizations, and dealing with requires investment in technology to enhance access, even for remote patients with chronic diseases as that lowers transportation expenses. Technologies like mHealth and telehealth as well as telemedicine can allow organizations to improve access to healthcare services.
Summary of Strategies to Address Organizational Impact & Effect on Organization
i). Summary of Strategies
The scholarly sources present various strategies that organizations can use to address the effects of the rising cost of care. Buntin (2021) stresses the need to invest in technologies and innovative care models to help lower the overall costs of care. On its part, the article by Crowley et al. (2020) proposes having a single-payer system and emphasizes the use of value-based care for organizations to reduce the cost of care. These articles propose that using these strategies at the national level can help organizations lower their overall expenses, especially in situations where they cannot be compensated by CMS.
- ii) Effects on Organization
The proposed strategies by the articles have a positive effect on our organization as they demonstrate that it will not incur losses emanating from uncompensated yet provided care. Again, implementing value-based care will protect it from these losses and allow it to offer quality care (Sommers, 2020). More fundamentally, the organization will improve its overall position as an excellent care provision center.
Conclusion
The cost of care remains a national stressor despite the existing healthcare reforms aimed at improving quality, accessibility, and lowering costs. The national stressor impacts access to healthcare as millions of Americans cannot afford care. Organizations like our facility can develop innovative approaches to address the stressor and ensure that all patients have access to quality care.
References
American Hospitals Association (AHA) (2022). 2022 Costs of Caring.
https://www.aha.org/guidesreports/2023-04-20-2022-costs-caring
Buntin, M. B. (2021). Confronting challenges in the US Health Care System: Potential
opportunity in a time of crisis. JAMA, 325(14), 1399-1400. DOI:10.1001/jama.2021.1471
Crowley, R., Daniel, H., Cooney, T. G., Engel, L. S., & Health and Public Policy Committee of
the American College of Physicians. (2020). Envisioning a better US health care system for all: coverage and cost of care. Annals of Internal Medicine, 172(2_Supplement), S7-S32. https://doi.org/10.7326/M19-2415
Montero, A., Kearney, A., Hamel, L. & Brodie, M. (2022). Americans’ Challenges with Health
Care Costs. https://www.kff.org/health-costs/issue-brief/americans-challenges-with-health-care-costs/
Sommers, B. D. (2020). Health insurance coverage: What comes after the ACA? An examination
of the major gaps in health insurance coverage and access to care that remain ten years after the Affordable Care Act. Health Affairs, 39(3), 502-50. DOI: 10.1377/hlthaff.2019.01416.
A Sample Answer 3 For the Assignment: NURS 6052 Week 2 Assignment Analysis of a Pertinent Healthcare Issue
Title: NURS 6052 Week 2 Assignment Analysis of a Pertinent Healthcare Issue
Patient safety and quality care delivery are essential in improving patient outcomes and meeting regulatory requirements advanced by policies like the Affordable Care Act and value-based purchases (Slonim, 2023). However, organizations grapple with different health issues, key among them hospital-acquired infections (HAIs) like catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTIs) (Caparro et al., 2020). The purpose of this paper is to discuss HAIs as a pertinent healthcare issue that impacts healthcare organizations and providers.
Hospital or Healthcare Associated Infections (HAIs)
The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) asserts that healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) are among the most prevalent complications in healthcare facilities. On its part, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) (2019) says that one in every 31 hospitalized patients gets HAI implying that close to 633,000 get infected each year in the U.S. healthcare system. These infections cause morbidities and, in some cases, mortality that can be mitigated. The implication is that over a million infections occur in the U.S. leading to the loss of billions of dollars, lives, and other resources that could be channeled elsewhere.
In our organization, the rate of infections, especially CAUTIs and ventilator-associated ones has been rising with the recent data showing that close to 100 infections occurred over the last year. This is an increase from 60 infections recorded over the same period two years back. As such, the organization asserts that it is critical to address the rising rate of infections to ensure patient safety and quality of care as well as get reimbursed by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CDC, 2019). These infections should be contained in both the short and long term to attain value-based care for the patients and their families.
Summary of Reviewed Articles
The first article is by Caparro et al. (2020) who propose effective interventions to reduce HAI rates in healthcare settings. Through their focus on adult geriatric patients, the authors assert that infection control practices like strategic methodologies to lower the risk of HAIs are essential. The authors suggest having an effective reporting system and evidence-based practice interventions that include a non-blame culture but focus on the root cause of such incidences as the best way to lower such events.
The sentiments shared in the above article are supported by Bearman et al. (2019) who assert that HAIs are preventable when providers and organizations focus on the tenet of “no harm”, which will allow them to develop prevention programs and interventions that are not only reliable but also sustainable and practical. The article also implores providers and organizations to develop and use evidence-based practice strategies that focus on creating a patient safety environment as the primary tool for excellent care delivery. These articles demonstrate that effective strategies must emanate from providers and organizational safety and quality care policies to reduce the rates of infections.
Organizations across the healthcare industry are addressing infections through effective strategies founded on evidence-based practices and need to meet the value-based purchase requirements by the CMS. As such, these organizations have safety and quality policies and organizational cultures that focus on reporting systems and collaborative efforts to reduce infections and other adverse events like medication errors (AHRQ, 2019). These entities prioritize nurse-led interventions like reporting, feedback, better shift handover as well an organizational safety culture that holistically focuses on patients and providers.
Summary of Strategies and Impact on Organization
Addressing healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) entails using evidence-based approaches as demonstrated by the resources used in this paper. These include having a safety culture and reporting policy, using EBP interventions focused on developing prevention programs to meet patient and health population needs, and increased adherence to regulatory requirements based on the Quadruple Aim framework (Puro et al., 2022). Further, providers must work collaboratively to implement strategies that align with the overall quality expectations in the organization for nurses and patients as well as their families.
These strategies may affect our organization positively as they will lead to better care delivery increased patient satisfaction and improved experience. On the flip side, these policies require increased investment in surveillance and resources as well as not pinpointing anyone which may not be practical in any setting (Bearman et al., 2022). As such, the strategies focus on the positive aspects but ignore the possible and critical unintended consequences that may arise from their implementation.
Conclusion
National health stressors like hospital-acquired or associated infections are safety concerns that require effective interventions. As demonstrated, organizations continue devising strategies to help them deal with this stressor and reduce its overall negative effects. As such, implementing evidence-based best practices will help healthcare entities to deal with the stressor in both the short and long-term.
References
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) (2019). Health Care – Associated
Infections. https://psnet.ahrq.gov/primer/health-care-associated-infections
Bearman, G., Doll, M., Cooper, K., & Stevens, M. P. (2019). Hospital infection prevention: how
much can we prevent and how hard should we try? Current Infectious Disease Reports, 21, 1-7. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11908-019-0660-2
Caparros, A. C., & Wyckoff, M. (2020). Infection Control Interventions to Improve Hospital-
Acquired Infection Rates in Adult-Geriatric Patients. Journal Of Prevention and Infection Control, 6(2). DOI: 10.36648/2471-9668.6.1.01
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) (2019). Healthcare-Associated Infections
(HAIs). https://www.cdc.gov/hai/patientsafety/patient-safety.html
Puro, V., Coppola, N., Frasca, A., Gentile, I., Luzzaro, F., Peghetti, A., & Sganga, G. (2022).
Pillars for prevention and control of healthcare-associated infections: an Italian expert opinion statement. Antimicrobial Resistance & Infection Control, 11(1), 1-13.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s13756-022-01125-8
Slonim, A. (2023). Top challenges facing healthcare: Back to basics. Physician Leadership
Journal, 10(2), 12–14. https://doi.org/10.55834/plj.2064149664