Why We Should Be Paying Attention to the Evolving World Of Staffing Technology Solutions.

Staffing solutions are evolving at remarkable speed. It no longer takes large, complicated, technical teams to create powerful, reliable, high-quality solutions. Today's cloud-based solutions can be implemented in hours and configured as fast as an organization can tolerate. These new, well-designed systems are highly intuitive and adopted rapidly. Data can be displayed in different ways for different users with different responsibilities. Upgrades are no longer big, costly events; they are done automatically. Large outlays for licensing fees and big start-up costs are also things of the past.

We can do better.

We should not expect a new model or a brilliant new study to transform staffing in health care from hard to easy. Nurses can't change the complexity of our work; however, we can and must improve the art and science of staffing. e have not mastered the translation of evidence on staffing to influencing budgets, adjusting policies, procedures, and changing cultures as rapidly as we need. esearch has helped in countless ways, but we need more and there is still much to understand. ccurate data collection and a willingness to share that data with researchers will help advance the science of staffing. The road ahead is not easy and will take courage, tenacity, and a lot of energy.

Navajo nation public health nurses inspire thoughts on health care reform.

The wisdom and experience of pubic health nurses serving on a Navajo Reservation, who work far from the typical hospital setting, may well hold some of the keys to how we can successfully plan for and navigate the future of our shifting health care system. As more of the nursing workforce moves outside the walls of the hospital, competencies in autonomy, clinical judgment, decision making, and communication will increase in importance. long with safety and quality implications, this may also influence changes in nursing education, job requirements, hiring, and measuring performance. In addition, there may be implications around how new nurses are oriented and how they get the experience needed to function in more independent roles. Within their routine days, the conditions they work in, the situations they face, and the many ways public health nurses find to meet the needs of the people they serve, is a wealth of knowledge that may well translate into solutions for some of the challenges our nation's health care system is facing.

Staffing for end of life: challenges and opportunities.

What would staffing look like if we committed to end-of-life experiences that were designed to honor the needs of the person dying, their loved ones, and the needs of the nurses and care team involved in the dying experience? When we think about the experience of death in a health care setting, it is essential we look at the needs of both patients and caregivers. Attending to the needs of patients and their families facing death, even if well defined, can be difficult to design into staffing plans and budgets in a way that would not put an organization at further financial risk. If we are going to commit to staffing practices that honor dying, in all it's dimensions and for all who are potentially impacted, we will most likely have to step outside traditional thinking to find answers.

The return of the smiley face.

The iconic, ubiquitous smiley face of the 1960s and 70s represented happiness that could be taken in and felt deeply, even if only for a moment. Today we are in a much different world, one in which the understanding of the value of happiness can seem distant. Talking about "feelings" does not go over well in the board room, in setting workforce management strategies, or in budget discussions. That could all be changing and we may finally be getting the attention of leadership on this long neglected and important topic. The cost and quality implications of an unhappy workforce seem immense. We can keep trying to squeeze more out of our health care workforce or we can invest in their wellbeing and get more out of them.

Through the eyes of gratitude.

There are complex considerations at play when deciding what nurse should work with which patient. During the course of a relationship between a patient and a nurse, or a nurse and a patient's family, remarkable and life-changing interactions can occur. The relationship between Patrick Barnes, his family, and the nurses who cared for them, was the inspiration for the creation of the DAISY Foundation. The DAISY Award focuses attention on the specific behaviors administrators want to encourage to bring the organization's vision and values to life. DAISY stories, presented publicly, uplift all who hear them. We can all learn a lot from the Barnes family story by remembering the power of compassion, the power of gratitude, and the power of recognition.