Question

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You are a nurse manager hired for a newly created 45-bed oncology unit. Chemotherapy is to be administered by the registered nurses (RNs) who work on the unit. The expected ADC is 40. The clients admitted to the oncology unit have complex health care needs.
Address these questions:
1: What factors should be considered when determining the staffing needs of the unit? Why are these factors important?

2: What process should you use to establish the staffing needs of the oncology unit? What are the steps of this process?

3: Should variable or fixed staffing be used? Why?

4: Can unlicensed assistive personnel be used safely, effectively, and efficiently on the oncology unit? What tasks could they perform? Who would supervise them?

Answer 1

1) The factors that should be considered when determining the staffing needs of the unit are :-

Number of patients

Intensity of care required

Staff experience and preparation

Geography of the environment

Available technology

These are important because they are the base on which the allocation of staffs depends

2) Functional Nursing Care Delivery Model because of its Advantages :-

Provided economically and efficiently

Minimum number of RNs required for patient care

Tasks completed quickly; little confusion about responsibilities

3) Variable staffing must be used so that there is no similarity, reduces stress , variety of nursing skills and also allows staff to take breaks .

4) Yes,unlicensed assistive personnel can be used safely, effectively, and efficiently on the oncology unit. The tasks that could be performed are assessing vital signs , hygiene part . RN would supervise them.