BHA FPX 4104 assessment 4 Human Resources: Strategy and Competitive Advantage

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Capella University

BHA-FPX4104 Strategic Leadership and Workforce Planning in Health Care

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Human Resources: Strategy and Competitive Advantage

This analysis examines the current workforce in relation to future needs, outlines an ideal staffing plan based on anticipated requirements, identifies measures for evaluating the success of the staffing plan, and discusses the repercussions for an organization if the workforce fails to adapt. Additionally, it explores how human resources can serve as a competitive advantage within an organization.

Part 1: Comparison of Current Workforce to Future Needs

Capacity of Current Staffing

The current staffing capacity at St. Anthony Medical Center (SAMC) has been strained, particularly following the recent train derailment, which has exacerbated existing staffing limitations. A notable shortage of language interpreters in the emergency room has compromised the hospital’s ability to provide optimal care to Limited English Proficiency (LEP) patients. For instance, without multilingual nurses, adequate care for the Hmong and Somali communities in the area would be severely impacted. Additionally, insufficient nursing presence in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) during evening and night shifts has impeded patient care. SAMC operates on a razor’s edge concerning nurse staffing and must develop strategies to address these operational challenges. Failure to rectify nursing shortages could lead to loss of patient revenue to competing hospitals and increased staff turnover.

Moreover, overburdening nurses with high patient ratios would result in longer wait times and diminished care quality, subsequently reducing patient volumes and census in the hospital (Bridges et al., 2019). Research by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) indicates that hospitals with low nurse staffing levels tend to experience higher rates of adverse patient outcomes, such as pneumonia, cardiac arrest, and urinary tract infections (AHRQ, 2019). Consequently, neglecting staffing concerns could lead to job-related burnout among healthcare professionals, resulting in suboptimal medical care and decreased patient satisfaction (Heath, 2018).

Part 2: Staffing Plan and Competitive Advantage

Nursing Staffing as a Critical Factor

Nursing staffing significantly influences the quality of care in hospitals and patient outcomes. It is imperative to augment staffing with a diverse workforce comprising nurses, physicians, and care team members. As Carlson (2016) suggests, the hospital workforce should reflect the diversity of the community it serves, with a commitment to cultivating cultural diversity endorsed by executive leadership (Heath, 2018). A diverse and adequately staffed unit would facilitate comprehensive patient care and alleviate the burden on nurses by distributing tasks evenly among team members.

Three Measures for Evaluating the Staffing Plan

Employee engagement is paramount for the successful implementation of staffing plans. Three measures to assess the effectiveness of the new staffing guidelines include:

Weekly Rounding: Conducting regular rounds in units and emergency rooms to gather insights on staffing effectiveness and patient care quality.
Feedback Sessions: Holding one-on-one or group discussions with frontline staff to solicit feedback on staffing levels and operational challenges.
Patient-to-Provider Ratio: Establishing a monthly metric to identify departments with inadequate nursing coverage and the need for multilingual nurses to enhance patient care.

Implications of Unaddressed Issues

The effective execution of organizational strategic plans hinges on employee engagement and cooperation. Without adequate staffing policies, strategic goals would be rendered ineffective. According to Lowe (2015), achieving a high level of employee engagement is crucial for realizing organizational goals and vision. Cohesion, transparency, and teamwork are essential to resolving employee grievances and achieving strategic objectives.

Human Resources as a Competitive Advantage

Human resources play a pivotal role in recruiting, training, administering, and managing employees within an organization. In the healthcare sector, staying ahead of competitors necessitates leveraging human resources to attract talented individuals who embody the organization’s mission, vision, and values (O’Donnell, 2019). Human resources serve as gatekeepers, conducting thorough background checks to ensure alignment with organizational objectives (O’Donnell, 2019).

Conclusion

In conclusion, hospital staffing should not be viewed solely as an expense to be minimized. Overburdening nurses with excessive patient assignments increases the likelihood of medical errors and compromises patient safety. To mitigate these risks, hospitals must prioritize adequate staffing to alleviate burdens on staff and enhance patient satisfaction and care.

References

Bridges, J. F. P., et al. (2019). The impact of nurse staffing on patient outcomes: A systematic review. Journal of Nursing Administration, 49(1), 1-8.

Heath, J. (2018). The impact of nurse staffing on patient outcomes: A review of the literature. Nursing Management, 49(2), 24-30.

O’Donnell, J. (2019). The role of human resources in healthcare: A competitive advantage. Healthcare Management Review, 44(3), 1-10.