Reduction of Turn Over Rate in Labor and Delivery Unit

Signatures:  Cindy Chen Reducing Turn Over Rate in Labor and Delivery Unit Introduction Nurse turn over rate is a vital indicator to be considered when evaluating the monetary and functional effectiveness of any healthcare facility. Hospitals and all healthcare organizations need a stable, well trained and fully functional nursing staff to ensure patients get the best possible care. It is evident that hospitals lose a significant amount of money yearly for every increased percentage in nurse turn over. Recent studies point out that in as much a nurse’s initial work expectations may be met, some health providers often opt out of their workplaces due to particular reasons such as job dissatisfaction. To address this different issue organization have employed various strategies and one of the interventions used is team building that helps improve nurses’ satisfaction by reducing their workload and enhancing communication between the team members.

The high RN turnover rate has been a critical issue and costs the hospital millions of dollars (Punke, 2016). According to a report published by Nursing Solutions, Inc. (NSI), a bedside RN turnover costs between $38,900 to $59,700. Each year, hospitals are losing $5. 13M to $7. Data was analyzed and is shown in graph and charts in the Appendix. Appendix A indicates the increased rate of resignation each year and shows the majority of resigned RNs are with the hospital for less than five years. About 35% of newly hired RNs quit their jobs during their first year, and 35% of RNs left during their first five years. Among the twenty resigned RNs during 2013 and 2017, fourteen responded the phone interview. When asked about their reason why they quit their jobs from GMC, the answers were categorized and shown in Appendix B, and C.

03% to 20% by 31st Dec 2018. Approaches to Solve the Problem One method that has shown positive results in improving teamwork between nurses in intensive care units is the TeamSTEPPS (team strategies and tools to enhance performance and patient safety) (Plonien & Williams, 2015). The technique has been proved to be efficient because it is based on the essential elements of teamwork which are communication, situational awareness, leadership and mutual support (Plonien & Williams, 2015). The method is perfect for identifying communication errors identifying the progress of patients and the workload allocated for each staff member in a specific unit, in this case, the labor and delivery unit. To address all the issues that undermine useful teamwork, the TeamSTEPPS is designed in a way that helps promote collaboration among the nurses by suggesting the implementation of debriefs, safety huddles, checklists, and communication-enhancing techniques.

It thus suggests that leaders should create a positive and enabling working environment for their juniors. The TeamSTEPP approach also advocates for mutual support between nurses as this will help reduce stress caused by failed or missed duties and work overload. The technique put other human factors and their impact on the nurses’ performance, and this is the primary factor that makes approach most likely to succeed. Change Theory The change theory used in this project is a conceptual framework of teamwork by Salas, Sims, and Burke. The theory is based on the fundamental elements contributing to effective collaborative work. The issue might have been with how the manager handled the orientation process of the newly employed nurses, how he or she dealt with work issues and how the nursing staff felt about their leader (Plonien & Williams, 2015).

Training the manager on how to create an enabling environment for the healthcare providers in the unit can help reduce the turnover rate. Also, the management can employ a designed research method to try and identify the real reasons for the nurses’ job dissatisfaction. The qualitative information collected from a sample group will help identify and solve the problem. It may be due to communication issues, support mechanisms or just workflow challenges (Plonien & Williams, 2015). Nursing is a complicated profession that is dominated by the constant change of roles and duties depending on the number of active nurses in a given health facility. Also, if the problem was with the workflow and communication among the nursing staff, then employing the technique should solve the problem.

Conclusion Change is a process that may require time for an organization to realize any effects of any technique that may have used to identify and solve a problem. Two techniques have been discussed in the paper whose primary aim is to reduce the turnover rate in L and D unit in the GMC health facility. The manager of a leader in the unit tried solving the problem by the hiring new nurses, but this did not reduce the number nurses who opted out of the unit. Effective Mentoring https://www. sagepub. com/sites/default/files/upm-binaries/39882_9780857024190. pdf Eubanks, B. The Hidden Cost of Nursing Turnover. ahrq. gov/professionals/systems/monahrq/myqi/nursing. html#turnover Kalisch, B. , Curley, M. & Stefanov, S.