NURS 351 Final Exam questions well
answered to pass
Health Human Resource Planning and Optimization - correct answer ✔✔A complex healthcare system
Rising healthcare costs
Health human resource shortages
Increasing demands for healthcare services
Increasing quality and safety concerns
Plan and optimize health human resources
Health Human Resources: Planning and Optimization - correct answer ✔✔Decisions affecting the health
workforce.
How many health workers, of what types, with what qualifications, are required for effective and
efficient patient care delivery?
How should the health workforce be distributed?
What should they do and how should they be managed?
Conceptual Frameworks - correct answer ✔✔Patient Factors (indirectly effects)
Nurse Staffing (directly effects)
,Nurse Characteristics (indirectly effects)
Hospital Factors (indirectly effects)
Nurse Outcome (indirectly effects)
Organization Factors (indirectly effects)
Medical Care (directly effects)
All contribute (directly or indirectly) to:
Patient outcomes and length of stay
CNA Framework - correct answer ✔✔Assess and Evaluate:
- Client: what their needs are, acuity
- Staff: type of staff (how many RNs, LPNs, RPNs etc)
- Organizational: nurse care delivery model
Nurse Characteristics - correct answer ✔✔Education (e.g., BSN vs. diploma prepared)
- More degree prepared RNs = lower 30-day mortality and failure to rescue- ability to detect subtle
changes and intervene early
- Nurse specialty certification is associated with more positive patient outcomes e.g. Bachelors + CC
training
Experience (e.g., new grad vs. experienced)
- For every additional year of RN experience = 1% lower rates of falls and .7% lower rates of pressure
ulcers
Classification (NPs, RNs, RPNs, LPNs)
,- An increase in number of RNs is associated with more positive patient outcomes
- What are some differences between various nurse classifications?
- LPN's: certain meds they can't administer, less acute patients, no blood transfusions, less training (18
months)
- NP's: many years experience, scope is different (prescribe, diagnose)
Nurse Staffing: Staffing Levels - correct answer ✔✔Number of personnel
- Number of nurses (nurse : patient ratios)
Hours per patient per day (HPPD)
- Example: 5 RNs responsible for 10 patients in an ICU setting during 24 hours
- 12HPPD (number of hours of nursing per patient per day)
Full-time equivalents (FTEs)
- In BC: 1 FTE=37.5 hours per week or 1950 hours per year
- Use forecasted workload to compute the required FTEs
- Use this to determine how many nurses you want to hire (pool of nurses for unit)
FTE Breakdown - correct answer ✔✔Productive hours
- Paid hours actually worked
Direct care hours
- Examples? Direct tasks done for patient care
Non direct care hours
- Examples? Charting, communication w/team
Non-productive hours
- Paid hours but not worked
, - Examples? Vacation time, sick time
Nurse Staffing: Staff Mix - correct answer ✔✔Staff mix:
- Focuses on achieving a specific mix of different types of personnel
Mixing qualifications based on nurse classification
- Examples: All-RN, RNs & LPNs, regulated vs. unregulated nurse
What nurse classifications are regulated vs. unregulated? RN (by BCCNM), LPNs; CNAs are not regulated
A richer staff/skill mix= a higher proportion of RNs
Mixing qualifications based on years of experience
- Balancing junior and senior staff member
- New grad vs. > 5 years of experience
Staff mix vs. Skill Mix - correct answer ✔✔Skill mix is a more contemporary HHRO strategy (want to focus
on skills rather than staffing mix)
- How many people can do certain skills
A shift in our thinking about staffing
From mixing staff based on classification or experience to mixing staff based on their knowledge, skills,
competencies and roles
E.g., Does the team have the required skills to perform their roles and competencies (e.g., assessment
and care planning, educating patient and families)?
Staffing Concerns - correct answer ✔✔Nurse staffing literature is limited
answered to pass
Health Human Resource Planning and Optimization - correct answer ✔✔A complex healthcare system
Rising healthcare costs
Health human resource shortages
Increasing demands for healthcare services
Increasing quality and safety concerns
Plan and optimize health human resources
Health Human Resources: Planning and Optimization - correct answer ✔✔Decisions affecting the health
workforce.
How many health workers, of what types, with what qualifications, are required for effective and
efficient patient care delivery?
How should the health workforce be distributed?
What should they do and how should they be managed?
Conceptual Frameworks - correct answer ✔✔Patient Factors (indirectly effects)
Nurse Staffing (directly effects)
,Nurse Characteristics (indirectly effects)
Hospital Factors (indirectly effects)
Nurse Outcome (indirectly effects)
Organization Factors (indirectly effects)
Medical Care (directly effects)
All contribute (directly or indirectly) to:
Patient outcomes and length of stay
CNA Framework - correct answer ✔✔Assess and Evaluate:
- Client: what their needs are, acuity
- Staff: type of staff (how many RNs, LPNs, RPNs etc)
- Organizational: nurse care delivery model
Nurse Characteristics - correct answer ✔✔Education (e.g., BSN vs. diploma prepared)
- More degree prepared RNs = lower 30-day mortality and failure to rescue- ability to detect subtle
changes and intervene early
- Nurse specialty certification is associated with more positive patient outcomes e.g. Bachelors + CC
training
Experience (e.g., new grad vs. experienced)
- For every additional year of RN experience = 1% lower rates of falls and .7% lower rates of pressure
ulcers
Classification (NPs, RNs, RPNs, LPNs)
,- An increase in number of RNs is associated with more positive patient outcomes
- What are some differences between various nurse classifications?
- LPN's: certain meds they can't administer, less acute patients, no blood transfusions, less training (18
months)
- NP's: many years experience, scope is different (prescribe, diagnose)
Nurse Staffing: Staffing Levels - correct answer ✔✔Number of personnel
- Number of nurses (nurse : patient ratios)
Hours per patient per day (HPPD)
- Example: 5 RNs responsible for 10 patients in an ICU setting during 24 hours
- 12HPPD (number of hours of nursing per patient per day)
Full-time equivalents (FTEs)
- In BC: 1 FTE=37.5 hours per week or 1950 hours per year
- Use forecasted workload to compute the required FTEs
- Use this to determine how many nurses you want to hire (pool of nurses for unit)
FTE Breakdown - correct answer ✔✔Productive hours
- Paid hours actually worked
Direct care hours
- Examples? Direct tasks done for patient care
Non direct care hours
- Examples? Charting, communication w/team
Non-productive hours
- Paid hours but not worked
, - Examples? Vacation time, sick time
Nurse Staffing: Staff Mix - correct answer ✔✔Staff mix:
- Focuses on achieving a specific mix of different types of personnel
Mixing qualifications based on nurse classification
- Examples: All-RN, RNs & LPNs, regulated vs. unregulated nurse
What nurse classifications are regulated vs. unregulated? RN (by BCCNM), LPNs; CNAs are not regulated
A richer staff/skill mix= a higher proportion of RNs
Mixing qualifications based on years of experience
- Balancing junior and senior staff member
- New grad vs. > 5 years of experience
Staff mix vs. Skill Mix - correct answer ✔✔Skill mix is a more contemporary HHRO strategy (want to focus
on skills rather than staffing mix)
- How many people can do certain skills
A shift in our thinking about staffing
From mixing staff based on classification or experience to mixing staff based on their knowledge, skills,
competencies and roles
E.g., Does the team have the required skills to perform their roles and competencies (e.g., assessment
and care planning, educating patient and families)?
Staffing Concerns - correct answer ✔✔Nurse staffing literature is limited
