Question

Discuss TWO of the following staffing/scheduling practices and how they can support patient care:

• centralized versus decentralized scheduling
• self-scheduling
• 6-8-10-12-hour shifts
• overtime
• mandatory staffing ratios
• staffing by acuity/patient classification systems
• use of in-house float pools, temporary staffing agencies, and traveling nurses.

Discuss organizational policies that help to support fair/equitable staffing practices, including holiday scheduling.

Answer 1

Centralized Vs decentralized scheduling:
Scheduling refers to implementing staff to particular work for hours and days in a particular area. Factors affecting staff policy that practice in a clinical area that overtime, part-time, education level, and job level and market competition. patient factors like length of stay, the complexity of care, admission fluctuation, type of patient. Environmental factors like the number of patients bed, supplies, and equipment, organization schedule. purpose of staffing to deliver efficient care and improve productivity.
centralized scheduling: done by the higher manager for nurses to all departments by computer or manual. the advantages of this to make impartial application of policies and opportunities for their best care of resources, it should be time-consuming, cost-effective by using professional nurses by decreasing time spent for long hours. An equitable policy application will be done. in this main drawback that patients lack individual attention, it includes call-in staffs, call-off staff, and float staff.
Decentralized scheduling:
In this managers make a duty schedule for their own unit staffs benefits with scheduling they get a more personal feel, easy scheduling and less complicated issues and managers can work staffing in problem-solving. The patient receives individual attention there will be a punished reward system in the work shedule is the drawback. schedule will be done in a 1 - 3 period. holiday sedule complete 6 to 12 months advance.
Self-scheduling:
self-scheduling practice is a flexible scheduling practice. it needs through assessment, quantitative and qualitative approach it can be done with partnership, staff survey, issue concern to implement this schedule. it improves work-life balance by avoiding overtime, part-time, etc. it balances employee satisfaction, productivity, and quality of patient care. this schedule needs support from managers and nurse in charge..it benefits both nurse and patient...when staff on holidays nurse should be on fixed schedule assigned on the same time...Three 12 hours days and two 8 hours per week.