Answer to Question 1
Ans: B
Feedback:
The first step in the process is to learn more about staffing ratios via the American Nurses Association Web site. There the nurse will find research articles to support adopting safe staffing ratios in order to decrease errors with client care, decrease nurse burnout, and increase retention of nurses. After this first step, the nurse may gather information from staff nurses regarding the issues related to the change in staffing and take the concerns and the research findings to administration to present the case. Next the nurse could contact the professional organization and state legislators to exercise political voice.
Answer to Question 2
Ans: D
Feedback:
Causes for nurses leaving the profession include job dissatisfaction, nurse burnout, and compassion fatigue. The nurse's best way to help decrease leaving the profession is by recognizing and acting upon the early signs of burnout and compassion fatigue. Other interventions the nurse could do to help decrease exiting nursing is to communicate with staff and management to decrease bullying and be active to improve the work conditions on the particular unit the nurse works. High wages and quality benefits do not guarantee happiness because other work conditions may be unbearable, such as staffing, job expectations, lack of mentoring and support, etc. Tuition payback may help lessen the financial burden, but the nurse may not be happy at the institution if other work-related issues are unbearable. Switching to another institution is not always the best solution because learning to work through conflicts and reach a resolution is a lifelong skill nurses that stick with the profession have used.