At the start of a six-week schedule there were significant open shifts and not enough staff to cover all the open shifts. The objectives for the project were to calculate the new (ADC), and to recalculate, in decimals, the core staffing needs for an 8-hour shift, for each shift in every inpatient nursing unit. The new calculations would then be entered into the staffing configurations of the staffing and scheduling program. The goal was to close the gap on open shifts at the start of the schedule, thus eliminating unnecessary overtime and premium pay shifts. Additionally with the new calculations, this would produce a more accurate variance …show more content…
As a result, there is a savings in the nurse workforce budget. Recommendations going forth are to implement a staffing advisory council in the hospital, provide sufficient IT support to maintain optimization of the nurse staffing and scheduling program, and to consider a module for the staffing program that incorporates patient acuity into the daily staffing decisions.
Summary
Disseminating knowledge is an important aspect of project work and research. The sharing of information can be done in a variety of ways to include a verbal or poster board presentation on the nursing units or at an appropriate conference. Writing a journal article is another way of disseminating evidence-based practice. When we share the information, this contributes to nursing advancement as a profession as well as improving the safety and quality care of our