1. Using the SWOT Analysis Resource, review two classmates’ posts.
2. Identify two items from each of the four components (S,W,O,T) that is relevant to the problem your classmate identified. Explain your reasoning for each.

To reply to the example in the initial post, you could select advantages of the proposition and financial reserves from the Strengths quadrant. Elaborate on the advantages of following the recommendations—for example, following professional standards of equal care, decreasing cost by not ordering unnecessary diagnostic tests, and increasing revenue from shorter visit times.

Items you might identify from the Weakness quadrant could include processes and systems, and morale commitment and leadership. These items are weaknesses because of the need to train providers on national recommendations and to create a system within the EMR to track PAP smears.

You should then choose two items from both the Opportunities quadrant and the Threats quadrant and include them in your reply post.

How To Do a SWOT Analysis For Strategic Planning (clearpointstrategy.com)

1. Classmates Post:

A quality/safety issue that I have seen and been a part of at work is short staffing. Patient-to-nurse ration on a postpartum floor is one nurse to three couplets, maximum. This year there have been many times where nurses have had to take four couplets, which comes out to eight patients (mother and baby). Another quality/safety issue has been taking care of more than one patient that is under 24 hours post-delivery, due to short staffing. Patients who are under 24 hours post deliver require more care, especially mothers who have delivered via cesarean section. It becomes challenging taking care of four couplets because each one has a different need, and each mother requires the nurses presence and patience for guidance. QSEN competencies include quality improvement, safety, teamwork and collaboration, patient-centered care, evidence-based practice, and informatics (QSEN, 2012). Low staffing negatively affects safety, and patient-centered care. 

Studies have shown that nurse staffing, and the number of hours that a nurse works are key factors impacting patient safety (Assaye et al., 2018). Short nurse staffing also affects nurse turnover rates, and burnouts which in turn affects patient outcomes (Assaye et al., 2018). The more patients that a nurse is assigned to per shift, the higher the chance that adverse patient outcomes will occur (Assaye et al., 2018). Furthermore, inadequate staffing is associated with missed nursing care, affecting patient safety outcomes (Griffiths et al., 2018). In addition, inadequate staffing can also cause higher mortality rates because with missed nursing care comes missed opportunities to detect and prevent deterioration of patients condition (Griffiths et al., 2018). Also, nurses who are short staffed do not have the time to talk to, or time comfort their patients, which is important to many patients (Griffiths et al., 2018). On the contrary, adequate nurse staffing has been shown to decrease rates of patient mortality, decrease the rates of hospital acquired pneumonia, and shorten hospital length stay (Assaye et al., 2018)

References

American Association of Colleges of Nursing Education Consortium. (2012). Graduate-level QSEN competencies: Knowledge, skills and attributes. https://www.aacnnursing.org/Portals/42/AcademicNursing/CurriculumGuidelines/Graduate-QSEN-Competencies.pdf

Assaye, A. M., Wiechula, R., Schultz, T., & Feo, R. R. (2018). Impact of nurse staffing on patient and nurse workforce outcomes in acute care settings in low- and middle-income countries: a systematic review protocol. JBI Database of Systemic Reviews and Implementation Reports, 16(12), 2260-2267. doi: 10.11124/JBISRIR-2017-003707

Griffiths, P., Recio-Saucedo, A., Dall’Ora, C., Briggs, J., Maruotti, A., Meredith, P., Smith, G. B., & Ball, J. (2018). The association between nurse staffing and omissions in nursing care: A systematic review. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 74(7), 1474-1487. doi: 10.1111/jan.13564

Please see attached file for instructions and assignment, thanks.