What is short staffing?

According to a 2006 Gallup poll the most honest profession is nursing (Cohen, 2007). And according to a search on Google, the top five returns will give you registered nurses (RNs) as either the first or the second most respected in the WORLD. Everyday we are on the frontline of patient care, making a difference in people’s lives. This is an image that nurse’s value and cherish. But this image is hard to maintain and one of the biggest factors fighting against nurses and one of the hardest to control is adequate staffing.
Most RNs call inadequate staffing ‘short staffing.’ But there is no set definition of short staffing. One definition could be “Short staffing is when the tasks to be completed on a shift are not completed because there is not enough staff available” (“Staff Scheduling When You Are Continuously Understaffed”). Other definitions usually include the hospital’s definition of adequate staffing before deeming it inadequate staffing, which is why I prefer the previously mentioned definition. Not all hospitals have appropriate staffing levels to begin with. When an RN is caring for between 8 and 10 medical-surgical patients and the hospital has stated that this is an appropriate staffing level, I would have to disagree with the hospital’s stated policy. This is a situation where it is possible that not all of the tasks that are scheduled to be completed on a shift will be completed. There will just not be enough time or manpower, making this a short-staffed situation. The New York State Nurses Association (2005) states in their position statement that Joint Commission on Accreditation on Healthcare Organizations describes effective staffing as “…providing optimal numbers of competent personnel with the appropriate skill mix to meet the needs of an organization’s patients based on their mission, values, and vision.” These definitions, however, are generic and subjective and therefore, leave a lot open to interpretation. There needs to be a better definition of safe or adequate staffing for there to be a better definition of short staffing.

References:
Cohen, Shelley (May 2007). The Image of Nursing. American Nurse Today, 2 (5), 24-6.

Board of Directors (2005). Position Statement: RN Staffing Effectiveness and Nursing Shortage. Retrieved September 18, 2007 from http://nysna.org/practice/positions/position13_a.htm.

Staff Scheduling When You Are Continuously Understaffed. Retrieved September 25, 2007 from http://www.btinternet.com/~vrota/understaffing.htm.