Date of Conferral
2019
Degree
Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)
School
Nursing
Advisor
Diane Whitehead
Abstract
Appropriate nurse staffing is essential to the delivery of high-quality patient care. Nursing leadership identifies nurse staffing model as an evidence-based staffing model following problems with nursing staff retention on 4 acute care units in a recently opened hospital. The linkage model guided the review of evidence on nurse staffing models and the relationship to nurse job satisfaction and nurse retention and to explore strategies that could lead to recommendations to nursing leadership. The 466 articles found were reduced to 7 articles, 2 at Level 1 (systematic review), 4 at Level VI (quantitative descriptive), and 1 at Level VII (expert opinion). Based on the key findings organized on 4 components of the linkage model (nurse job satisfaction, retention, burnout, and decision-making autonomy), flexibility with work schedules and a self-scheduling model were recommended, providing nurses with the freedom to organize shifts around non work responsibilities. Successful implementation of the self-scheduling model would require staff involvement and support of the organizations to improve nurse job satisfaction, confidence, professionalism, and work-life balance for nurses. In addition, the organization should foster the delivery of quality care in a work environment with an appropriate nurse staffing and patient to nurse ratio. These recommendations have the potential to (a) impact this facility's design of a more evidence-based nurse staffing model with the known benefits of patient-centered care, (b) promote nurse job satisfaction, (c) promote retention, and (d) promote social change within the organization and community.
Recommended Citation
Ubochi, Elizabeth Ndidi, "A Systematic Review of Nurse Staffing Models" (2019). Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies. 7960.
https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/7960
