Final Paper Preparation: Transforming Hospital Culture

Final Paper Preparation Name Institution Final Paper Preparation Ashford General Hospital, a 263-bed regional hospital in California, is not new to the problem of the nursing shortage and has put up measures to curb the negative effects of the issue. The use of both travelling and per diem nurses on contractual basis proves to be a bit costly and may affect the cost of providing quality healthcare services to the region’s patients. Offsetting the adverse effects of the nursing shortage requires a benchmarking approach to the best practices from other facilities around the United States. Provided herein is an outline of some of the strategies embraced by other hospitals to address the issue of the nursing shortage in the country’s healthcare system; * Transforming Hospital Culture The cultural orientation of the healthcare facility plays a significant role in creating an effective working environment for the nurses especially if the hospital is understaffed or has a low nurse to patient ratio. Besides embracing diversity, Ashford General Hospital should strive to create a supportive culture to the nurses by appreciating and recognizing their effort in the delivery of quality health care to patients. Such initiatives serve to increase the rate of job satisfaction among the nursing professionals as they boost the nurses’ sense of belonging to the organizations within which they provide their important services CITATION Lyn06 \l 1033 (Lynn, 2006). San Antonio Community Hospital in California, for instance, offers caretaking services to the nurses’ personal errands and thus allowing them the opportunity to spend their free time with family or even have enough rest from the tedious work. The services offered include attending to the nurses’ dry cleaning, laundry, as well as mailing and shipment of packages when needed. * Supporting the Nurse Education Another key strategy would be to support the development of nurses by offering support to their educational ambitions in the profession. The healthcare facility can choose to provide advanced training to their nurses or open new learning facilities within the hospital to expand its capacity to train prospective nurses CITATION Meh17 \l 1033 (Mehdaova, 2017). The healthcare organization should also offer to assist their nurses in paying for their tuition fees especially for those seeking to advance in the nursing profession. The financial assistance can be provided in return for a working commitment by the nurses. St. Joseph’s Hospita...