NUR 621 Benchmark – Staffing Matrix 

Grand Canyon University NUR 621 Benchmark – Staffing Matrix  – Step-By-Step Guide

This guide will demonstrate how to complete the Grand Canyon University NUR 621 Benchmark – Staffing Matrix assignment based on general principles of academic writing. Here, we will show you the A, B, Cs of completing an academic paper, irrespective of the instructions. After guiding you through what to do, the guide will leave one or two sample essays at the end to highlight the various sections discussed below.

How to Research and Prepare for NUR 621 Benchmark – Staffing Matrix                 

Whether one passes or fails an academic assignment such as the Grand Canyon University NUR 621 Benchmark – Staffing Matrix depends on the preparation done beforehand. The first thing to do once you receive an assignment is to quickly skim through the requirements. Once that is done, start going through the instructions one by one to clearly understand what the instructor wants. The most important thing here is to understand the required format—whether it is APA, MLA, Chicago, etc.

After understanding the requirements of the paper, the next phase is to gather relevant materials. The first place to start the research process is the weekly resources. Go through the resources provided in the instructions to determine which ones fit the assignment. After reviewing the provided resources, use the university library to search for additional resources. After gathering sufficient and necessary resources, you are now ready to start drafting your paper.

How to Write the Introduction for NUR 621 Benchmark – Staffing Matrix                 

The introduction for the Grand Canyon University NUR 621 Benchmark – Staffing Matrix is where you tell the instructor what your paper will encompass. In three to four statements, highlight the important points that will form the basis of your paper. Here, you can include statistics to show the importance of the topic you will be discussing. At the end of the introduction, write a clear purpose statement outlining what exactly will be contained in the paper. This statement will start with “The purpose of this paper…” and then proceed to outline the various sections of the instructions.

How to Write the Body for NUR 621 Benchmark – Staffing Matrix                 

After the introduction, move into the main part of the NUR 621 Benchmark – Staffing Matrix    assignment, which is the body. Given that the paper you will be writing is not experimental, the way you organize the headings and subheadings of your paper is critically important. In some cases, you might have to use more subheadings to properly organize the assignment. The organization will depend on the rubric provided. Carefully examine the rubric, as it will contain all the detailed requirements of the assignment. Sometimes, the rubric will have information that the normal instructions lack.

Another important factor to consider at this point is how to do citations. In-text citations are fundamental as they support the arguments and points you make in the paper. At this point, the resources gathered at the beginning will come in handy. Integrating the ideas of the authors with your own will ensure that you produce a comprehensive paper. Also, follow the given citation format. In most cases, APA 7 is the preferred format for nursing assignments.

How to Write the Conclusion for NUR 621 Benchmark – Staffing Matrix                 

After completing the main sections, write the conclusion of your paper. The conclusion is a summary of the main points you made in your paper. However, you need to rewrite the points and not simply copy and paste them. By restating the points from each subheading, you will provide a nuanced overview of the assignment to the reader.

How to Format the References List for NUR 621 Benchmark – Staffing Matrix                 

The very last part of your paper involves listing the sources used in your paper. These sources should be listed in alphabetical order and double-spaced. Additionally, use a hanging indent for each source that appears in this list. Lastly, only the sources cited within the body of the paper should appear here.

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Sample Answer for NUR 621 Benchmark – Staffing Matrix 

An effective provision of efficient and safe care to patients in the clinical environment largely depends on the number of nursing staff available. The implication is that an appropriate number of nursing staff should be available to help in the care provision. Using a staffing matrix can greatly help nurse leaders understand the levels of every staff group needed in the hospital to offer appropriate care (Riley et al.,2021). In addition, the nurse leaders can use the staffing matrix to make necessary adjustments as guided by the patient’s needs and acuity and use the same tool to help make decisions regarding resource allocation. Therefore, the purpose of this assignment is to use financial management principles to formulate a staffing matrix that includes labor hours. In addition, this assignment seeks to explore various aspects of the staffing matrix and staffing model.

The Difference Between A Staffing Model and A Staffing Matrix And the Chosen Staffing Model

As earlier indicated, a staffing matrix is key to helping the nurse leaders plan for staffing. Therefore, it is important to have an adequate understanding of the difference between a staffing model and a staffing matrix. The staffing model entails guidelines or rules for determining the number of nurses required to staff and schedule to offer patient care (Butler et al.,2019). In most cases, the healthcare settings and patient needs vary; hence nursing staffing models are applied in various situations. On the other hand, a staffing matrix is a tool used by nurse leaders to evaluate the positions of every staff set needed based on the patient census and acuity. There are three major staffing models, including the budget-based model, nurse-patient ratio, and patient acuity models (Riley et al.,2021). The model to be used is the nurse-patient ratio.

The Importance of Using Staffing Matrix in Health Care Setting and Budgetary Implication

Adequate staffing levels are key to competent, secure, and safe care. In addition, it is important to have enough nursing staff to help improve patient satisfaction, reduce nurse burnout and fatigue, and improve care. Therefore, using a staffing matrix in the health care setting helps the nurse leaders in determining the levels of every nurse staffing group required depending on the census. In addition, the use of a staffing matrix also fosters a safe clinical staff placement-a key factor to the holistic healthcare structure and the clinical nursing field (Dagestad & Grassley, 2019). The nursing staff placement affects all the nurse capacity, such as influencing the standard and secure management in the clinical environments.

The use of a staffing matrix also helps in eliminating unsafe policies and staffing practices. Therefore, it assists in offering better patient care and patient satisfaction. The nursing staff also has more possibility of higher performance since the responsibilities can be assigned depending on their capabilities. Therefore, the use of the staffing matrix has budgetary implications since it assists the staff in financial allocation and management. The staff develops a clear picture of how to manage human resources, cut costs, and develop the unit (Riley et al.,2021). The leaders also do away with resource duplication, hence appropriate human and financial resource allocation.

Description of The Staffing Matrix and FTEs

This is a staffing matrix for a 30-bed capacity inpatient unit with the assumption that the beds are full. It covers a seven-day shift. The total number of nurse assistants is seven, the number of registered nurses is twenty, and the unit coordinators are four. There are two shifts, night shift and day shift which have sixteen and four nurses, respectively. In addition, while four nurse assistants serve during the day, three attend to the patient’s needs during the night shift, while two unit coordinators are required to serve in the night and day shifts. The table below shows staffing matrix as extracted from Excel

One of the assumptions made in formulating this matrix is that no sick day-off exists, and if there is any, then a compensation plan is put in place, and there is a time-out adjustment used to cover every kind of leave. It is important to calculate the FTE needed to cover the needs. From the matrix

The total number of hours worked by employees = 7.5 h per day as day shift. In one week, the total hours will be 7×7.5, which is 52. 5 hours. However, there are a total of 20 full-time registered nurses; hence the FTE will be 20x 52.5x 52 weeks annually. Thus the value comes to 54,600. In the case of the nurse assistants, the value will be obtained by 7 x 52.5 x 52, which gives a total of 19,110. In addition, the FTE for the unit coordinators is obtained by 4 x 52.5 x 52, which is 19,110. As such, the total sum of FTE is 84630.                                                                                                                                                   

The Sound Financial Management Principles Used in Determining the Matrix

The care hours per patient day was applied in determining the FTE. The reason for using this approach emanates from its consistency and also supports the process of deployment and nurse reporting. Midnight census as a measurement was shunned as it is less reliable and fails to account for the variations in the care of every patient. The financial management principle applied in the development of the matrix is justification, timelines as well as consistency (Henson, 2023).

Staffing Adjustments Based On the Patient Census Changes

Patient census change means that appropriate strategies should be used to adjust staffing. The case in the matrix shows a constant census of 30 for the seven days. As such, in case of fluctuations, appropriate staffing adjustments are needed. The nurses offering care can be reduced in the night shift since the activities at night are fewer than during the day. In addition, based on the changes, such as increased patient numbers during the day, then more nurses will have to be assigned to work the day shift (Griffiths et al.,2020)

Staffing Adjustments Based on the Patient Acuity Changes

Change in patient acuity also requires staffing adjustments. High patient acuity requires an increased number of nursing staff since a high acuity means that the patient’s conditions are severe and may easily turn dangerous. On the other hand, a reduction in acuity may mean that less nursing staff is needed (Johnson et al.,2023). Therefore, in such a case, the number of nurses assigned to work in either shift has to reduce.

Conclusion

The use of the staffing matrix enables nurse leaders to determine the stages of every nurse staff is needed to help carry out the care activities. Appropriate adjustments can be carried out based on the patient acuity as well as census. Therefore, a staffing matrix has been formulated for a 30-bed inpatient facility with the assumption that all the beds are full.

References

Butler, M., Schultz, T. J., Halligan, P., Sheridan, A., Kinsman, L., Rotter, T., … & Drennan, J. (2019). Hospital nurse‐staffing models and patient‐and staff‐related outcomes. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, (4). https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.CD007019.pub3

Dagestad, A. J., & Grassley, S. (2019). Embracing Change by Moving Forward With an Activity-Based Staffing Matrix. Journal of Obstetric, Gynecologic & Neonatal Nursing, 48(3), S73. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jogn.2019.04.126

Griffiths, P., Saville, C., Ball, J., Jones, J., Pattison, N., Monks, T., & Safer Nursing Care Study Group. (2020). Nursing workload, nurse staffing methodologies, and tools: A systematic scoping review and discussion. International Journal of Nursing Studies, 103, 103487. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijnurstu.2019.103487

Henson, C. R. (2023). Healthcare Financial Management: Applied Concepts and Practical Analyses. Springer Publishing Company.

Johnson, K., Haines, J., Woock, L., Madden, B., Sundstrom, G., & Razo, S. (2023). Implementing a patient acuity tool: Perceived effectiveness for more equitable staff assignments. Nursing2023, 53(3), 53–58. 10.1097/01.NURSE.0000919000.40286.de

Riley, Y., Stitt, J., Hill, C. M., Stutzman, S. E., Venkatachalam, A. M., Aguilera, V., & Ifejika, N. L. (2021). Implementation of the MATRIX Staffing Grid Improves Nurse Satisfaction with Rehabilitation Unit Staffing. Journal of Neuroscience Nursing, 53(4), 183-187. https://doi.org/ 10.1097/JNN.0000000000000593

Sample Answer 2 for NUR 621 Benchmark – Staffing Matrix 

Financial management is important in every sector, including healthcare and nursing. As such, it is vital for nurses and nurse leaders to possess the required skills to make budgeting decisions concerning different functionalities, such as staff, based on sound financial management principles and compliance guidelines (Harrington et al.,2020). Therefore, the purpose of this assignment is to develop a staffing matrix based on a 30-bed inpatient unit with the assumption that the beds are full. In addition, this assignment will explore the difference between a staffing matrix and a model, why it is important to use a staffing matrix in the healthcare setting, a description of the staffing matrix, and an explanation of how staffing can be adjusted based on patient census and patient acuity.  

Difference between Staffing Model and Staffing Matrix and The Staffing Model to be Used

            Both the staffing matrix and staffing model are vital in the patient care environment, especially in managing the workforce. However, there are notable differences. The staffing model is used in the management and planning of staffing needs or requirements. Hence, leaders can know the number of staff required to help the facility achieve its goals and objectives. As such, it has parts such as the anticipated workload, productivity standards, budget constraints, and goals. Comparatively, a staffing matrix is used to determine staffing levels for a hospital unit or facility and includes elements such as the staff numbers, the number of individuals required for a specific period or shift, and the respective roles (Yinusa & Faezipour, 2023). Different staffing models exist. The model used is the nurse-patient model.

Importance of Using Staffing Matrix in Health Care Setting and The Budgetary Implications

            As earlier highlighted, the staffing matrix is important in the healthcare setting. One of the importance is that it helps promote care quality and patient safety by ensuring that the number of staff present is enough and qualified. The staffing matrix also supports the appropriate allocation of reasons since it guides the nurse leaders to use patient needs, acuity, and workload to ensure that resources are well allocated (Bettencourt et al.,2020). By avoiding overstaffing or understaffing, the use of the tool also fosters cost control. Cost control is also promoted through an alignment of the staffing levels with patient demand and budget constraints.

            The use of a staffing matrix also promotes workload by considering patient acuity, nurse skills, and expected workload. This approach leads to a balanced workload, which in turn helps fight undesirable effects such as burnout. Its use also promotes patient-centered care by ensuring that the staffing levels used are in proportion with the patient’s needs (Bettencourt et al.,2020). Using a staffing matrix has several budgetary implications. For instance, it can lead to waste reduction and cutting of costs since the available resources are appropriately allocated. Such an approach also ensures that there is no duplication of resources, hence cost management.

Description of the Staffing Matrix, the FTEs, and Sound Financial Management Principles Used

            The staffing matrix under consideration is that of a 30-bed capacity inpatient hospital, with an assumption that all the beds are at full capacity throughout the week. From the table, twenty registered nurses are required. It is worth noting that five serve during the night shift while the rest are for the day shift due to the higher demands of the day shift. Eight nurse assistants are also required, with half working during the night shift while the remaining half working during the day. Sound financial management principles that were used in formulating the staffing matrix are justification and flexibility. Four unit managers are also required, with two working in each shift.

Eight hours have been considered for the day shift; hence, weekly, 8×7 = 56.

The calculation for FTE for RNs is as follows.

Day shift: 120 hours (15 RNs) + Night Shift: 25 hours (5 RNs) =145 total hours

FTE for the RNs = 145 hours/40 hours per week  =3.6 FTE

Calculations for the Nurse Assistants are as shown below:

Day shift: 20 hours (4 NAs) + Night shift: 20hours (4 NAs)  =40 hours

FTE = 40/40 =1 FTE

The FTE calculation for the Unit coordinators is shown below:

Day shift: 16 hours (2 coordinators) + Night shift: 10 hours (2 coordinators) = 26 hours

FTE = 26/40 = 0.65 FTE.

Adjusting Staffing Based on Changes In Patient Census

            The patient census can be adjusted based on changes such as the patient census. If the patient census increases, the staffing needs are adjusted so that the nurses present can handle the number of patients appropriately (Riley et al.,2021). However, a lower patient census may require a reduction in the number of staff needed. Therefore, leaders should be aware of the changes in patient censuses to adjust staffing needs accordingly.

Adjusting Staffing Based on Changes In Patient Acuity

            Apart from patient census, patient acuity can also lead to adjusting staffing needs. When there is patient acuity is reduced, implying that the patients are more stable, they may not need comprehensive and elaborate care. Hence, staffing needs may be adjusted downwards, leading to reduced staff (Riley et al.,2021). On the other hand, an increase in patient acuity may require an increase in the staffing needed to support comprehensive and elaborate care.

Conclusion

This benchmark assignment has focused on the staffing model and staffing matrix. In particular, the staffing matrix has been covered in more detail. A matrix table has been formulated to help calculate the FTEs required for the unit coordinator, nurse assistants, and registered.

References

Bettencourt, A. P., McHugh, M. D., Sloane, D. M., & Aiken, L. H. (2020). Nurse staffing, the clinical work environment, and burn patient mortality. Journal of Burn Care & Research, 41(4), 796-802. https://doi.org/10.1093/jbcr/iraa061

Harrington, C., Dellefield, M. E., Halifax, E., Fleming, M. L., & Bakerjian, D. (2020). Appropriate nurse staffing levels for US nursing homes. Health Services Insights, 13, 1178632920934785. https://doi.org/10.1177/1178632920934785

Riley, Y., Stitt, J., Hill, C. M., Stutzman, S. E., Venkatachalam, A. M., Aguilera, V., & Ifejika, N. L. (2021). Implementation of the MATRIX Staffing Grid Improves Nurse Satisfaction with Rehabilitation Unit Staffing. Journal of Neuroscience Nursing, 53(4), 183-187.

https://doi.org/ 10.1097/JNN.0000000000000593.

Yinusa, A., & Faezipour, M. (2023). Optimizing Healthcare Delivery: A Model for Staffing, Patient Assignment, and Resource Allocation. Applied System Innovation, 6(5), 78. https://doi.org/10.3390/asi6050078