WGU D908 HEALTHCARE
MANAGEMENT — STAFFING AND
NURSE BURNOUT PRACTICE
BANK ORIGINAL QUESTIONS,
ANSWERS, AND DETAILED
RATIONALES
Question 1
What is the primary purpose of workforce planning in a healthcare
organization?
A. To eliminate overtime completely
B. To ensure the right number and mix of employees are available to
meet organizational needs
C. To reduce employee benefits
D. To replace managers with technology
Answer: B
Rationale: Workforce planning aligns staffing supply with anticipated
organizational demand. In healthcare, effective planning considers
patient volume, acuity, skill mix, turnover, absenteeism, and future
workforce needs.
Question 2
Which staffing problem is most directly associated with nurse
burnout?
,A. Excessive workload and inadequate recovery time
B. Increased availability of educational programs
C. Improved nurse-to-patient ratios
D. Greater employee autonomy
Answer: A
Rationale: Excessive workload, prolonged stress, inadequate rest, and
insufficient staffing can contribute substantially to emotional exhaustion
and burnout.
Question 3
Which finding most strongly suggests nurse burnout rather than
ordinary short-term fatigue?
A. Temporary tiredness after one busy shift
B. Persistent emotional exhaustion, cynicism, and reduced professional
efficacy
C. Increased enthusiasm for patient care
D. Improved concentration after a break
Answer: B
Rationale: Burnout is characterized by chronic occupational stress that
commonly manifests as emotional exhaustion, depersonalization or
cynicism, and diminished professional effectiveness.
Question 4
A nurse manager notices increasing sick calls and resignations on
one unit. What should the manager do first?
A. Immediately discipline employees
B. Analyze staffing, workload, turnover, and employee-feedback data
C. Eliminate vacation requests
D. Require mandatory overtime
,Answer: B
Rationale: Effective management begins with assessment. Objective
staffing and workforce data can help identify whether workload,
scheduling, leadership, workplace culture, or another factor is
contributing to the problem.
Question 5
What is nurse turnover?
A. The number of patients transferred between units
B. The rate at which employees leave an organization or position and are
replaced
C. The number of nurses working overtime
D. The number of nurses receiving promotions
Answer: B
Rationale: Employee turnover reflects movement out of an organization
or position. High turnover can increase recruitment costs, reduce
continuity, and place additional workload on remaining staff.
Question 6
Which factor is an example of an internal staffing variable?
A. Local unemployment rate
B. Organizational patient census
C. National population growth
D. State demographic trends
Answer: B
Rationale: Internal variables arise within the organization and may
include census, patient acuity, employee availability, productivity, and
organizational policies.
, Question 7
Which factor is an external staffing variable?
A. Current patient census
B. Unit overtime hours
C. Regional nursing labor-market conditions
D. Number of employees on vacation
Answer: C
Rationale: External staffing variables originate outside the organization.
Labor-market availability, demographic trends, economic conditions,
and regulatory changes can affect recruitment and retention.
Question 8
Why is patient acuity important when determining staffing needs?
A. All patients require identical nursing resources
B. Higher-acuity patients generally require greater nursing time and
expertise
C. Acuity affects only physician staffing
D. Acuity is unrelated to workload
Answer: B
Rationale: Staffing based solely on patient numbers can be misleading.
Two units with the same census may have dramatically different nursing
workloads because of differences in patient complexity.
Question 9
Which staffing approach best reflects patient-centered workforce
management?
A. Assigning every nurse the same number of patients regardless of
complexity
MANAGEMENT — STAFFING AND
NURSE BURNOUT PRACTICE
BANK ORIGINAL QUESTIONS,
ANSWERS, AND DETAILED
RATIONALES
Question 1
What is the primary purpose of workforce planning in a healthcare
organization?
A. To eliminate overtime completely
B. To ensure the right number and mix of employees are available to
meet organizational needs
C. To reduce employee benefits
D. To replace managers with technology
Answer: B
Rationale: Workforce planning aligns staffing supply with anticipated
organizational demand. In healthcare, effective planning considers
patient volume, acuity, skill mix, turnover, absenteeism, and future
workforce needs.
Question 2
Which staffing problem is most directly associated with nurse
burnout?
,A. Excessive workload and inadequate recovery time
B. Increased availability of educational programs
C. Improved nurse-to-patient ratios
D. Greater employee autonomy
Answer: A
Rationale: Excessive workload, prolonged stress, inadequate rest, and
insufficient staffing can contribute substantially to emotional exhaustion
and burnout.
Question 3
Which finding most strongly suggests nurse burnout rather than
ordinary short-term fatigue?
A. Temporary tiredness after one busy shift
B. Persistent emotional exhaustion, cynicism, and reduced professional
efficacy
C. Increased enthusiasm for patient care
D. Improved concentration after a break
Answer: B
Rationale: Burnout is characterized by chronic occupational stress that
commonly manifests as emotional exhaustion, depersonalization or
cynicism, and diminished professional effectiveness.
Question 4
A nurse manager notices increasing sick calls and resignations on
one unit. What should the manager do first?
A. Immediately discipline employees
B. Analyze staffing, workload, turnover, and employee-feedback data
C. Eliminate vacation requests
D. Require mandatory overtime
,Answer: B
Rationale: Effective management begins with assessment. Objective
staffing and workforce data can help identify whether workload,
scheduling, leadership, workplace culture, or another factor is
contributing to the problem.
Question 5
What is nurse turnover?
A. The number of patients transferred between units
B. The rate at which employees leave an organization or position and are
replaced
C. The number of nurses working overtime
D. The number of nurses receiving promotions
Answer: B
Rationale: Employee turnover reflects movement out of an organization
or position. High turnover can increase recruitment costs, reduce
continuity, and place additional workload on remaining staff.
Question 6
Which factor is an example of an internal staffing variable?
A. Local unemployment rate
B. Organizational patient census
C. National population growth
D. State demographic trends
Answer: B
Rationale: Internal variables arise within the organization and may
include census, patient acuity, employee availability, productivity, and
organizational policies.
, Question 7
Which factor is an external staffing variable?
A. Current patient census
B. Unit overtime hours
C. Regional nursing labor-market conditions
D. Number of employees on vacation
Answer: C
Rationale: External staffing variables originate outside the organization.
Labor-market availability, demographic trends, economic conditions,
and regulatory changes can affect recruitment and retention.
Question 8
Why is patient acuity important when determining staffing needs?
A. All patients require identical nursing resources
B. Higher-acuity patients generally require greater nursing time and
expertise
C. Acuity affects only physician staffing
D. Acuity is unrelated to workload
Answer: B
Rationale: Staffing based solely on patient numbers can be misleading.
Two units with the same census may have dramatically different nursing
workloads because of differences in patient complexity.
Question 9
Which staffing approach best reflects patient-centered workforce
management?
A. Assigning every nurse the same number of patients regardless of
complexity
