Question

Assess the HPPD per unit for your current or a previous nursing unit and compare it with national recommendations. Describe your findings.

Describe the PTN ratio in your unit.

Discuss two major challenges for nurses working with budgeted HPPD established at the national level.

Comment on the postings of at least two peers.

Evaluation Criteria:

Assessed the HPPD per unit for your current or a previous nursing unit, compared it with national recommendations, and described the findings.

Described the PTN ratio in your unit.

Discuss two major challenges for nurses working with budgeted HPPD established at the national level.

Justified your answers with appropriate research and reasoning.

Answer 1

1. HPPD is hours per patient day . It is the amount of man's hours required to take care a patient . When we say about nursing HPPD means the amount of time nurses has to take care a patient in their duty .

HPPD of my present nursing unit where I work is 6 hours in morning and evening shift and 12 hrs in night shift.

Morning duty 8 am to 2pm

Evening duty 2 pm to 8pm

Night duty 8pm to 8am

This measure tracks the total amount of direct nursing care compared to the total number of patients.

National recommendation of HPPD is 8hrs . The organization where I work , the HPPD is according to the national recommendation . 2hours of the morning and evening shift is added to night shift 8hrs which makes it 12 hrs as the staff can't go in between the mid night after having 8 hours duty , by adding 4hr to it makes it a 12 he duty and staffs can go after shift easily in the morning by 8am.

2. Patient nurse ratio is the ratio of nurses in a ward or unit to the number of patients .

The higher the care required as in ICU , the lower is the ratio in a high quality health care facility ,for example in a medical ward ratio is 1:6 while in a ICU is 1:2. I am presently working in ICU .

The nurse patient ratio in my nursing unit is 1:2 generally, but sometimes when there is staff shortage the ratio is 1:3 and 1:4.

3. Two major challenges for nurses working with a budgeted HPPD established at national level are :-

- increased workload and unsatisfaction from the care providing , because the nurse patient ratio is high and the resources available are less which does not allow the nurses to provide efficient nursing care for the patient improvement. All this makes them unsatisfied and demotivated.

- extra hours of duty due to shorage of staff and no increase in the salary .