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A human resources decision support model: nurse deployment patterns in one Canadian system.
A Kazanjian1, I R Pulcins, K Kerluke
1Department of Health Care and Epidemiology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver.
Hospital & Health Services Administration
|October 1, 1992
Summary
Maximizing current nursing staff through strategic deployment, focusing on stability, mix, and hours, is key to addressing nurse shortages. This multidimensional approach optimizes resources better than solely relying on full-time staff numbers.
Area of Science:
- Healthcare Management
- Nursing Workforce Studies
- Health Human Resources
Background:
- Hospitals face persistent nurse human resource shortages, particularly during widespread nursing deficits.
- Optimal deployment of existing nursing staff is a recognized strategy to mitigate these shortages, often favored over recruitment.
Purpose of the Study:
- To present a model for maximizing current nursing staff resources.
- To analyze nurse deployment patterns and their impact on total nurse human resource requirements.
- To demonstrate the effects of alternative management strategies on nurse requirements.
Main Methods:
- Development of a model incorporating workforce stability, employment mix, and average paid hours.
- Analysis of provincial payroll data from British Columbia using three specific indices.
- Construction of hypothetical scenarios to simulate the impact of management strategies.
Main Results:
- Nurse deployment patterns significantly influence total nurse human resource requirements.
- A multidimensional approach to staff deployment is necessary, varying by facility type.
- The size of the full-time nursing component alone is insufficient for all facilities.
Conclusions:
- Effective management of nurse shortages requires a multidimensional approach to staff deployment.
- Innovative management strategies are essential to maximize the utilization of limited nursing human resources.
- Facility type must be considered when developing deployment strategies.