post 1

Hello Class,

Discuss the benefits and disadvantages of a facility using supplemental and floating staff.

Floating is a resource-sharing method commonly employed by healthcare organizations to address personnel shortages. Being transferred to another unit where patient demands differ from those faced in their home unit can cause stress, anxiety, and frustration among nurses (O’Conner & Dugan, 2017). Floating to units other than their own can be beneficial for certain nurses since it allows them to gain experience with a wide patient population and other specializations while also expanding their knowledge and abilities. Even for nurses who like the experience, the possible negative implications of floating to a new unit in terms of patient safety and results must be carefully weighed. When even the most capable and experienced nurses are requested to float to a new unit, their worry and uncertainty may be transmitted nonverbally to patients (O’Conner & Dugan, 2017). Moreover, even a simple action like gathering supplies can become time-consuming in a new setting, diverting attention away from the patient and indicating disorder. This has a direct impact on face-to-face interaction with the patient, potentially affecting the quality of nursing interventions and care (O’Conner & Dugan, 2017). In addition, some disadvantages of being a float nurse include the fact that nurses without unit-specific knowledge may be unable to adequately answer patient queries or handle patient complaints, compromising their credibility and reflecting negatively on the hospital. It can also be difficult for the float nurse to even find the right person to ask. Thus, patients may feel frightened if they notice the nurse’s difficulty to adapt to an unusual setting, damaging the nurse-patient relationship. Prioritizing becomes difficult, and the nurse may become preoccupied with the fear of making a mistake (O’Conner & Dugan, 2017).

Would this vary depending on specific units? Why?

Float nurses get floated to different units for reasons, so it depends on what specific units they will get transferred. Working with a new patient population can put patients’ safety in danger. Moreover, interventions may fall within the area of the nurse’s practice, but they are not part of his or her developed skillset (O’Conner & Dugan, 2017). Some facilities will float to a unit with lower acuity than their current one. Other facilities will ask nurses to choose from a list of units where they can float, with the condition that ICU nurses will float first, followed by nurses from medical-surgical units. Nurses are sometimes requested to float to any unit in the facility, which is common in critical access hospitals (Schneider, 2019). Rather than being part of a generic staff floating approach, organizations should consider allowing nurses to participate in cross-training. Creating a dedicated float pool can assist hospitals in meeting this requirement and reducing involuntary floating. Due to their prior training and experience, personnel hired particularly to work in a float pool are frequently more forceful, have more diverse experience, and may be more autonomous and reliable. Cross-training nurses can help nurses deal with the anxiety that comes with floating, making it simpler to give better care to patients. The level of experience of the nurses who will be asked or compelled to float should also be considered (O’Conner & Dugan, 2017).

References

O?Connor, K., & Dugan, J. L. (2017). Addressing floating and patient safety. Nursing, 47(2), 57–58. https://doi.org/10.1097/01.NURSE.0000511820.95903….

Schneider, A. (2019). Tips for creating a positive floating experience. Rn.com. https://www.rn.com/clinical-insights/positive-floating-experience/.

POST 2

Hello class,

There are benefits and disadvantages to a facility using supplemental and floating staff. According to Yoder-Wise (2019), advantages include: “higher hourly rates of pay, diversity in work assignments, exposure to a variety of work teams, and the ability to travel.” Disadvantages include not being provided the level of orientation to prevent patients from distinguishing between supplemental/ float staff and regular staff and being a regular staff nurse floated to a floor that is unfamiliar (Yoder-Wise, 2019). The benefits would not vary depending on specific units since advantages like higher hourly rate, diversity in work assignments, and exposure to a variety of work teams can be experienced whenever floated to a different unit (Yoder-Wise, 2019). The disadvantages of supplemental and floating staff may vary depending on the unit and the nurse. This is because the disadvantages are centered around not being provided great orientation and being unfamiliar with a unit. If a nurse is floated to a unit that is similar to his or her own home unit, that disadvantage is removed. If the staff is floated to a unit that can provide the level of orientation that stops patients from distinguishing between the different nurses, that disadvantage is removed. Overall, the advantages of supplemental and float staff will remain the same across the board while the disadvantages may vary depending on the nurse and the unit they are assigned.

References

Yoder-Wise, P.S. (2019). Leading, managing, and following. In Elsevier (Ed). Leading and managing in nursing (7th ed. pp. 58-95). Elsevier.