QUALITY OF NURSING CARE AND ITS RELATIONSHIP TO WORK ENVIRONMENT FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF BEDSIDE NURSES

Abstract

Abstract Quality of nursing care has become an important when looking at patient outcomes and the impact it has on long-term care of the patient. Quality can be defined in many ways. Defining quality of nursing care can be a diverse approach based on the perspective of many individuals, including the perspective of nurses. Quality of nursing care from the nursing perspective is complex and has many variables that influence that perspective. Variables include nursing work load, patient acuity, supportive administration, teamwork within the facility/unit, patient/family conflict, and overtime shifts. Patients are the individuals that nurses commit to caring for and throughout research; the patient identifies the quality nursing care provided. Facilities often utilize patient satisfaction and patient outcomes when evaluating nursing care. The purpose of this research is to explore how quality of nursing care is defined historically and how the nurse perceives quality of nursing care and its relationship to work environment. Additionally, how their perception may change based on the COVID-19 pandemic. Existing evidence indicates that if nurses have a supportive or positive work environment, then a nurse is motivated to provide quality of nursing care. Healthcare presents its own unique stressor to nurses in their attempt to provide quality care. Healthcare is constantly changing, and it impacts the work environment of the nurse. There is a significant shortage of the nursing workforce. More nursing jobs will be needed in the United States than any other profession through 2022. 11 million more nurses are needed to prevent a further shortage. The aging population, aging workforce, workforce burnout, violence in the health care setting, and growth in certain regions make it difficult to provide the support nurses need in health care facilities. Measuring quality from the nursing perspective is complex. Ways to measure quality address the connection of quality of nursing care and nurse work environment. The hypothesis is supportive that quality of nursing care is given if there is a supportive work environment. The challenge is what a nurse identifies as a barrier, in giving quality of nursing care and what their facilities identify as quality of nursing care.