Abstract
The number of hours and days that medical experts such as nurses and physicians spend in healthcare facilities has a direct impact on the quality of care. The field currently experiences a colossal case of understaffing, which leads to the available practitioners working for five days a week. This situation is a big problem since the professionals end up being overburdened. The more extended periods of attending to patients result in fatigue and anxiety and stress, which makes many to deliver poor results. What is more, others feel like quitting a few years after getting into the profession. This field worth studying as solutions to this issue will guarantee the safety of the whole nation. The research proposes that eth medical staff work three days a week instead of five days so that they can get enough space to recover from the strain of working. Achieving this feta is not burdensome since the government at the moment is spending a tremendous amount of money to pay worker overtime. That money can be directed to recruiting more staff as there is a considerable number of unemployed qualified medical personnel. Therefore, this research is worth the focus of research as it offers sustainability in the medical field.
Identification of the problem
The healthcare industry is one which requires constant reviews and evaluation to ensure that everything runs well. One area that has received considerable attention is the relationship between the working houses of medical experts and patient outcomes. Most studies reveal that the long working hours and the days the medical staff is on call in a month are too much thus leading to poor health outcomes ( Stimpfel, Sloane, & Aiken, 2012 ). The situation arises since many medical professionals such as nurses and physicians, work nine-hour days and are expected to undertake at least sixty hours every month. However, these experts are exposed to mandatory overtime in many states. The result of this situation is too much pressure on these workers thus leading to extreme exertion, fatigue, anxiety, and stress which results in medical errors and poor health conditions on their parts ( Rosta & Aasland, 2011 ). Therefore, a successful rendition of this research will ensure solve a significant problem as there will be enough medical staff who will attend to patient soberly and energetically and still get time to draft policies that will improve service delivery.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
SWOT Analysis
|
STRENGTHS Huge Market Growing Private sector |
WEAKNESSES Inadequate support system for R&D Untapped rural markets Low per capita expenditure |
|
OPPORTUNITIES Laws to safeguard local manufacturers Markets in foreign countries such as India Increasing mergers and acquisitions |
THREATS Regulation policies A disorganized market |
The environmental can of the health care industry using eth SWOT tool reveals weaknesses and threats that can only be solved by having an organized workforce. If the medical staff is overworked and pressured to the extent of not participating in the developing of policies, there will be reduced research and development, untapped markets and poor budgeting and oppressive regulations ( Caruso, 2014 ). Therefore, seeking for ways to have a more robust workforce will be a great starting point to ensuring that the problem in the healthcare sector starts getting solutions from within the individual facilities.
Description of the Solution
The recommendations of this study will be presented in various medical conferences in colleges and community set-ups so that the message reaches policymakers. This route is likely to succeed since the report will relay the specific ways in which the problem of medical staff overworking impacts ion health. The solution to this mess will be based on available statistics, which will make it more realistic, relevant, and credible. The suggestion to reduce the medical staff working days from five days a week to three days a week will be plausible since it ensures that the professional on duty has all the right kind of motivation to attend to patients.
Significance of the Research
This research is relevant as it will be essential in extending new knowledge in the field of human medical resources . First, the amount used for overtime is excessive, and it can be directed to employing more staff. Van Way (2018 ) notes that overtime cost at least 50% of an experts salary and up to 183% of the yearly pay. This money can be transferred to the recruitment of more staff. Secondly, the medical expense of treating overworked workers is excellent, and it can be directed to other areas in the healthcare sector ( Aasland & Rosta, 2011 ). Lastly, medical resources would be in safer hands as placing an employee who is fresh and energetic will reduce medical errors ( Caruso, 2014 ). It is the patient who will benefit the most as the services delivered will be better.
Methods
Secondary sources will be vital in collecting information for this research. This option will be helpful as information from various stakeholders, geographical areas, experts, and scholars will be used to conclude. This choice will offer recommendations that can find application in the broader scope of the market. Therefore, the researcher will consult, medical journals, studies, websites, and experiments that are credible. Using digital platforms to search for secondary sources will be less time-consuming and cost-effective. The technology will also make it easy to use keywords to search from relevant resources.
Problems/Limitations
The limitations of this project are that it would take a considerable period to collect the relevant resources and filter the appropriate ones. The other disadvantage is that the current research on solutions about working hours is minimal. In this regard, getting industry-based metrics to guide in the implementation process of the proposed solution may be minimal.
Budget
| Category | Item | Cost($) |
| Services | Storage of materials | 5.00 |
| Computer Use | 3.00 | |
| Duplication | 10.00 | |
| Photographic services | 10.00 | |
| Data Analysis | 7.00 | |
| Publication | 20.00 | |
| Materials and Supplies | Office supplies | 10.00 |
| Data access | 3.00 | |
| Electronic devices access | 10.00 | |
| Reporting materials | 5.00 | |
| Communication devices | 30.00 | |
| miscellaneous | 10.00 | |
| Travel | Mileage for consultants | 20.00 |
| Library visits | 15.00 | |
| conferences | 30.00 | |
| Supervisor meetings | 10.00 | |
| consultation | 10.00 | |
| TOTAL | 198.00 |
Timeline
| Activity | Timeline |
| Identification of the problem | Day1-Day2 |
| Presentation of proposal to school administration for approval | Day 3- Day5 |
| Collecting resources for the project | Day 6- Day 10 |
| Writing the proposal | Day 10- Day15 |
| Presentation of the project for evaluation | Day15-Day 20 |
| Editing the Research | Day 21-Day 25 |
| Approval by the school administration | Day 26- Day 30 |
| Presentation to the first conference | Day 31 –Day 40 |
References
Aasland, O. G., & Rosta, J. (2011). The working hours of general practitioners 2000-2008. Tidsskrift for den Norske laegeforening: tidsskrift for praktisk medicin, ny raekke , 131 (11), 1076-1080.
. Caruso, C. C. (2014). Negative impacts of shiftwork and long work hours. Rehabilitation Nursing , 39 (1), 16-25.
Rosta, J., & Aasland, O. G. (2011). Work hours and self rated health of hospital doctors in Norway and Germany. A comparative study on national samples. BMC health services research , 11 (1), 40.
Stimpfel, A. W., Sloane, D. M., & Aiken, L. H. (2012). The longer the shifts for hospital nurses, the higher the levels of burnout and patient dissatisfaction. Health affairs , 31 (11), 2501-2509.
Van Way III, C. W. (2018). Unemployed Physicians. Missouri Medicine , 115 (4), 310
