Business Case Analysis 

NURS 490: Nursing Leadership

 

Purpose of Assignment

The purpose of this assignment is to analyze a problematic situation inherent to nursing leadership and provide a rational solution which addresses the problem.  The analysis will address the global background of the problem, business and operational impacts, options and costs/benefits analysis, recommendations, and implementation strategy and approval process.

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Student Approach to Assignment

The topic for this assignment was on the nursing shortage, which is a burdensome issue in my own workplace. It reflects my personal values especially in the section discussing my potential plan for improvement of the issue, where I advocate for the worth of the nursing profession by promoting a better work environment. Here I discuss how prioritizing a better workplace for nurses is beneficial for both the nurse as well as the hospital, as it improves nursing retention. As it directly impacts me as a nurse, I chose to include this piece of the paper to demonstrate my own passion for prioritizing nurses within healthcare.

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Reason for Inclusion of this Assignment in the Portfolio 

I believe this project is important in my portfolio because it shows my ability to problem-solve from a nursing leadership perspective, which is where I may advance to in my career one day. It is an example of a unique yet vital addition to my nursing portfolio of choosing a decision based on evidence and a cost benefit analysis, which are important skills in my nursing practice and potential leadership opportunities.

 

Domain 1: Knowledge for Nursing Practice &

Domain 2: Person-Centered Care &

Domain 3: Population Health 

(7) Demonstrates clinical reasoning in making clinical or professional judgements.

I met this outcome by discussing the cost and benefit analysis of two separate solutions to the nursing shortage: making nursing care directly reimbursable and using the work-place environment as quality outcome indicators eligible for financial compensation. After weighing both options, I made a professional judgement that the second option is more reasonable to alleviate the nursing shortage crisis, as it increases the value of a nurse’s position, leading to less turnover. This is an example of making a professional decision using reasoning skills of a cost-benefit analysis.

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Domain 3: Population Health

 (23) Prioritize patient-focused and/or community action plans that are safe, effective, and efficient in the context of available resources.

The final portion of the paper is devoted to an implementation strategy of the workplace-based outcome reimbursement, which meets this outcome as an action plan promoting safety, effectiveness, and efficiency. The paper discusses in the operational impacts of the nursing shortage how high nurse turnover rates are related to poor patient outcomes. As such, the action plan that I suggest for improving the nursing shortage is indirectly a patient-focused one that promotes patient safety and more effective patient care. It is also mindful of current resources, as shown in my implementation strategy’s careful and progressive plan to gather support from peers all the way to lobbying for a change in policy within the government.

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Domain 7: Systems-Based Practice

(35) Describe the impact of healthcare cost and payment models on the delivery, access, and quality of care.

This outcome is met in this paper’s section on the business and operational impacts of the nursing shortage. The costs of nursing turnovers, a healthcare cost issue, was reviewed and unpacked, including the cost of new hire training and orientation, hiring temporary replacements, loss of work due to vacancy, and reduced productivity. I also describe the effects of this nursing shortage on the quality of care, which is reduced due to lower productivity, greater workload, poor mental health, and low job satisfaction. Additionally, there is a direct link between high nurse turnover rates and negative patient outcomes, reinforcing my discussion of how a healthcare cost issue effects the quality of patient care. The paper also goes on to discuss two options for alternative payment models the hospital could use to potentially improve the delivery, access and quality of care by nurses: direct-reimbursement model and workplace-based outcome reimbursement.

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Download a Word document of my Intro Page here.

Download my Business Case Analysis paper here.