Optimal Nurse Staffing

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In 1896 the first American Nurses Association (ANA) convention took place with less than twenty nurses that attended the convention. The Nurses Associated Alumnae of the United States and Canada became the American Nurse Association in 1911 (American Nursing Association, 2015). “The American Nurses Association (ANA) is a professional organization representing the interests of the nation’s 3.4 million registered nurses through its constituent and state nurses associations and its organizational affiliates (American Nurse Association, 2015). They believe that every nurse has an obligation to uphold and adhere to the code of ethics. Three documents establish the foundation to all nursing practice. The first one is Nursing’s social policy …show more content…
ANA helps RN’s with optimal staffing. Staffing should be viewed as a necessity rather than an option. There is a new white paper in place where nurses at all level in different nursing areas can use this white paper “Optimal Nurse Staffing to Improve Quality of Care and Patient Outcomes: as a resource for evidence-based staffing plans (American Nursing Association, 2015). The white paper provides evidence that help’s support change to nursing staff. It highlights studies that demonstrate how important it is to have proper amount of nursing staffing to help reduce medication errors and help shorten the patient’s stays in the …show more content…
There is constant communication between the nurse, patient, family members, co-workers, supervisors and physicians along with other staff. To have effective communication with the patients, always follow through on what was communicated to the patient, never tell the patient you will do something and it does not get done. Eighty percent of communication is non-verbal. Nurses need to pay attention to body language, eye contact and tone of the voice. Cultural awareness is also an important part of communication when dealing with a patient from another culture. When communicating with any patient, nurses need to be empathetic. Critical thinking: Critical thinking is essential for nursing. The ANA has set the framework that is necessary for critical thinking in the application of the nursing process. Critical thinking by the nurse is driven by the needs of the patient and family (Black, 2014). The more experience and higher education a nurse has, comes more competent critical thinking skills. A professional nurse is always critically thinking, always engaged in the process of evaluation, redirection and improvement for the best possible outcome for the

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