Safe Staffing

Resolution: Safe Nurse Staffing in Virginia (passed by the Delegate Assembly, October 2008)

WHEREAS, nursing care requires continuous patient assessment, critical thinking and expert judgment, advocating on behalf of our patients, and educating patients and their families. These activities are the essence of nursing care and are critical factors in avoiding preventable complications, injuries and avoidable deaths; and

WHEREAS, the number of nursing staff available to provide inpatient nursing care is linked to patient safety by substantial and growing numbers of research studies (Institute of Medicine, 2004) (Unruh, 2008); and

WHEREAS, adverse patient outcomes that are directly related to ineffective nurse staffing include urinary tract infections, upper gastrointestinal bleeding, longer hospital stays, shock, failure to rescue, and mortality within 30-days of admission (Needleman, Buerhaus, et al., 2002); and

WHEREAS, A poll of over 10,000 nurses conducted by the ANA revealed that 73% of nurses don’t believe that staffing on their unit or shift is sufficient and 59.8% of the respondents knew of someone who left direct care nursing due to concerns about safe staffing (ANA, 2007); and

WHEREAS, all healthcare organizations and professional registered nurses are accountable for promoting the health and safety of those in their care and it is in the best interest of patients, nurses and healthcare facilities to ensure that there are sufficient numbers of qualified nursing staff to meet the nursing care needs of the patient; and

WHEREAS, The American Nurses Association advocates the development of organization-specific plans, based upon ANA’s Principles for Nurse Staffing, that tailor nurse staffing to the specific needs of various patient populations and different patient care settings, and are based on factors including patient acuity, the experience of the nursing staff, the skill mix of the staff, available technology and the support services available to nurses; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, That the Virginia Nurses Association reaffirms the nursing profession’s responsibility to monitor staffing issues to assure safe and effective nursing practice, particularly during times of a nursing shortage; RESOLVED, That the VNA work collaboratively with key stakeholders to develop a white paper on nurse staffing in Virginia; and

RESOLVED, That the VNA support the work of the Safe Staffing Advisory Council to explore ways to ensure safe staffing levels and to develop consensus recommendations to make statutory, regulatory, private and/or public/private initiatives to ensure that staffing levels are appropriate to support nursing quality of care, patient safety and positive work environments for nurses.

 Resolution: Lateral Violence and Bullying in the Workplace (passed by the Delegate Assembly October, 2008)
 

WHEREAS, over one-third of healthcare workers have reported incidents of some type ofbullying and
almost half have reported experiences of verbal abuse (Center 2008); and

WHEREAS, workers who experience lateral violence and bullying can have physical and psychological
symptoms, lower levels of job satisfaction, increased job stress, and a greater intent to leave a position
(Quine, 1999); and

WHEREAS, nurses have an obligation to provide the best possible care to patients; and

WHEREAS, the workplace environment is known to impact quality aspects of care; and

WHEREAS, lateral violence and bullying among healthcare providers has a negative effect on the
practice environment; and

WHEREAS, lateral violence in the workplace contravenes the Code of Ethics for Nursing
requirement that nurses treat patients, families, and colleagues with respect and caring; and

WHEREAS, the Center for American Nurses maintains there is no place for lateral violence or
bullying in professional practice environments; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, that VNA support the position statement of the Center for American Nurses and their
recommendations for eliminating lateral violence and bullying in the workplace including
♦ Education on the dangers of lateral violence and bullying
♦ Education on ways to implement strategies designed to reduce lateral violence and bullying
♦ Adoption of zero tolerance policies regarding lateral violence and bullying.

New Website dedicated to Safe Staffing

The American Nurses Association (ANA) has launched a new web site dedicated to the issue of safe staffing. The new site educates nurses about ANA’s history of advocacy on the issue, provides updates on the newest information and developments, and gives nurses tools to get involved:
www.safestaffingsaveslives.org

Guidelines for Accepting an Assignment (from the Center for the American Nurse)

The Registered Nurse Circulator: Policy Profile from AORN

RN Circulator Hospital Legislation / Regulations Map

Nurse Staffing: National Policy Perspective Part 1 and Part 2 - A Presentation by Pam Cipriano

Safe Staffing Policies in Virginia: Traditions, Policy and Political Implications and Possibilities for the Future - A Presentation by Becky Bowers-Lanier

The Center for American Nurses Calls For an End to Lateral Violence and Bullying in Nursing Work Environments

JCAHO has a Safe Staffing Hotline at 1-800-994-6610