Got a Problem? Ask a Nurse

In perusing some trade magazines that put forth predictions about the world of nursing, I came upon a concept that began repeating itself: Nurses are the best problem-solvers when it comes to meeting the needs of patients and their families.

In one article, several experts mentioned that the future holds big opportunities for nurses because of the new rules recently handed down by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) regarding non-payment for hospital-acquired problems.

“The CMS conditions are a fabulous opportunity to bring nursing to the forefront—to be more influential,” said Susan Odegaard Turner, Ph.D., MBA, MN, RN, chief nursing officer for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. “Nurses are the choreographers of care. Nurses impact outcomes…(and) evidenced-based outcomes are responsible for the financial growth and stability of health care.”

In other words, hospitals and long-term care facilities aren’t going to be able to prevent pressure sores and pneumonia unless nurses can do their job correctly. They can’t do their jobs properly if working conditions aren’t right. This means health care facilities must meet nurse-to-patient ratios and where there aren’t any, enough nurses should be hired anyway to make workloads doable. If they don’t, institutions will suffer the consequences, which could be costly.

New CMS rules also mean that nurses must have a greater say in what needs to be done and how to do it. Nobody knows better than frontline workers and nurses are no exception.

Another prediction and some advice: Nursing research will be more important than ever but don’t re-invent the wheel.

Patricia McFarland, MSN, RN, FAAN and CEO of the Association of California Nurse Leaders, likes the Transforming Care at the Bedside (TCAB) model. TCAB is not a traditional quality improvement program, according to the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. TCAB calls for ideas for improving patient care to come from “frontline staff and unit managers,” not from on high or quality-improvement people.

Hmmm, I’m detecting a common thread here; could it be that the people who spend the most time with patients and their families know best?

If more institutions asked nurses for their ideas, they’d not only get good ones but probably save a bundle. And the next hospital could save a bunch, too, if it would just ask the first hospital about what worked and what didn’t.

The problems may not be simple, but maybe the solutions are.

Does your workplace encourage employees to come up with solutions to problems?

Are you consulted about problems in your workplace?

Do you feel your opinion is valued?

Tell us what you think.