Health care reforms

Health care reforms

Workplace challenges

The physician shortage is one of the challenges discussed,which reduces the safety and the quality of care that the patients receive in health care facilities. An increase in the number of healthcare taskforces is the best solution for the challenge. The workforce I am working with always aims at increasing the number of healthcare providers by training them annually. The training ensures that every healthcare provider including the nurses acquire the necessary skills and knowledge to handle the patient’s needs competently (Buerhaus et al., 2017). Besides, education and training help in maintaining consistency in the workforce and provide extra labor. Secondly, the workforce I am working with has deployed the healthcare providers, primarily the physicians, according to their area of expertise and specialization. Therefore, there is high regard and respect for everyone’s strengths in the provision of care.

Effects of the challenges

The shortage of physicians results in reduced delivery of primary care to the patients at the time when the patients are in need. In another situation, patients queue for long before they receive health care services they need, including the patients who come for emergency care. On most occasions, the available nurses overwork because they attend to more than one patient at a go leading to nurses turnover, fatigue, and job dissatisfaction (Buerhaus et al., 2017). At times, the booming amount of patients forces the nurses to double, and other nurses from other areas of specialtyare called upon to cover the shortage in a place where they have never worked. Keeping the patients for long hours while waiting for health care services dissatisfy the patients and mostly result in negative attitudes and poor health outcomes..

Measures to reduce the effect of the problem

In the emergency department where I am currently working, patient triaging will help in meeting the needs of the patients. Triaging will help in the smooth management of patients in need of emergency care and those who can wait. Besides, it will help in giving priority to the emergency and severely sick patients in receiving immediate care. Triaging makes the allocation of health care professionals easy tapping to their expertise.

References

Buerhaus Peter I., Skinner Lucy E., Auerbach David I., &Staiger Douglas O., (2017). Four Challenges Facing the Nursing Workforce in the United States. Journal of Nursing Regulation, Volume 8/Issue 2, pp. 40-46