One step at a time towards better well-being at work for nurses
News about nursing shortages as well as stress and burnout among nursing staff is being published around the world. Unfortunately, this is nothing new and the issue has been making headlines for a long time.
However, the COVID-19 pandemic has been the last straw for many nurses – they can no longer cope. There are many more people to care for than resources allow. Due to these pressures, the number of people leaving the profession has increased enormously.
Efficiency also includes quality!
The nursing shortage has forced healthcare organisations to reduce the number of available beds. In other words, organisations cannot admit patients they do not have the time to treat. Patients will inevitably have to wait longer to access treatment. This is unfortunate but understandable in terms of the quality of care.
The efficiency of providing treatment can be influenced, but efficiency should not be achieved at the cost of nurses, let alone patients. True efficiency also means providing treatment in line with the sector’s shared code of conduct.
Reducing workload is one of the contributing factors
The starting point for improving nurses’ well-being at work is to think about why nurses have chosen their profession and to what extent their dreams are being realised in their day-to-day work. Nurses often say they chose their profession out of a strong desire to help others. For them, the meaningfulness of the work comes from interactions with patients and their loved ones. From having a positive impact on their lives and supporting them during a crisis.
One might think that nurses spend most of their time by their patients’ side. Doing the things that made them want to become a nurse in the first place. However, nursing also involves a lot of other work outside the patient’s room [1]. This is exactly the kind of work that is the source of stress. Advances in technology can help ease the workload of nurses, but workload is only one of the contributing factors.
In addition to the increasing workload, other reasons for leaving the profession include the low pay in the nursing sector, especially in relation to how much responsibility and challenge the work involves, increasing violence and threats towards nurses and a worsening workplace atmosphere. All of these issues require action to be taken.
We want to tell nurses that you are in our thoughts. We are continuously developing our solutions together with you to make your work easier. Our work is guided by the goal of reducing nurses’ workload. This way, we can take one important step towards your well-being at work.
Medanets
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