Question

7.12 The Orthopedic Surgery department at the Monterey Health System is experiencing staffing and scheduling problems that include short-staffed nursing shifts, increased incidence of injury to the nursing staff, and decreasing nurse satisfaction. To address these issues, the department head is considering making adjustments to the staffing model and utilization targets, and has tasked an analyst with assessing FTE requirements under four different staffing models. The current time requirement for progressive care nurses (PCNs) is twenty-four hours, 102 hours for RNs, and fifty-one hours for care partners. The current utilization target is 90 percent. The benefit package for all three positions consists of an average paid time off of 9.69 days (based on nurse tenure). A. Determine the core level of FTEs for each position. B. Determine the final core levels of FTEs if all positions work on a 5/40 plan. C. Determine the final core levels of FTEs if all positions work on a 3/36 plan. D Determine the final core levels of FTEs if PCNs and care partners work on a 3/36 plan and RNs work on a 5/40 plan. E. Determine the final core levels of FTEs if PCNs and care partners work on a 5/40 plan and RNs work on a 3/36 plan. Repeat parts (a) through (e) to determine the core levels of FTEs given an 80 percent utilization target. Discuss the implications of this change in utilization rate on staffing levels.

Answer 1

FTEs; Full time equivalents measure how many employees are needed assuming that all employees work a full time schedule.

It's a necessary standard at the medical center because they have different types of employees who work different shift lengths.

Developing and monitoring the staffing budget is one of the most, if not the most, difficult responsibilities of the nurse leader. Labor consumes the majority of the financial resources of the organization. Therefore, everyone must act responsibly in order to ensure the financial health of the organization and to.know the staff needed to meet the demands of a respective department. The successful nurse leader learns to find the right balance between quality, safety, staff satisfaction, and fiscal responsibility in providing the most effective staffing plan.

And here in this case the scenario is in the orthopedic surgery department as FTE requirements under four different staffing models i.e; for progressive care nurses (PCNs) is twenty-four hours, 102 hours for RNs, and fifty-one hours for care partners.

The annual FTE count is considered to be 2,080 hours, which breaks out into eight hours per day, five days a week. FTE is used to convert the hours worked by part-time employees into those worked by full-time employees. This is for ease of calculating the cost — in time, money and personnel — of the project, since it standardizes the measurement.