Complete your Week 6 required discussion prompt.

• An 86-year-old male parishioner is on hospice care at home, and his daughter, who is a nurse, has been trying to meet all his physical needs around the clock. The pastor, who made a home visit, calls the faith community nurse to express his concern that the daughter is becoming “burned out.” How can the faith community nurse engage the faith community as a whole to provide volunteer support to this family?

Employee Retention Issues in Workplaces

Employee retention in workplaces remains one of the main issues human resource managers are dealing with for decades. That is why, in 2016, the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) reports that 46% of HR managers deem employee turnover as their top concern (Lee et al., 2018). Therefore, many programs have been experimented to improve employee’s turnover in workplaces. This situation is also common in the healthcare system. This situation has brought many harmful consequences to workplaces. The lack of experienced workers and the increase in the cost of human resources in new employees’ orientation are the main issues that workplaces are dealing with regarding employee turnover. That is why it is understandable that the issue presented in chapter 60 of the textbook refers to programs that may help retain health care professionals in workplaces.

The main issues that make up the author’s concern are reducing employee turnover in healthcare workplaces and retaining nurses in those settings. Their approaches were trying to find some loyalty programs that may help experienced nurses and new nurses.

The finding was not easy since a program that may work for new nurses may not impact professional nurses’ interest. For instance, a study published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine has shown that young nurses from 33 years old or younger do not plan to stay in workplaces and are determined to have their own business (Sellers et al., 2020). That is proof that policies that address the interest of experienced nurses may not influence younger nurses. One focus of professional nurses is a healthy workplace. If the environment does not protect employees, experienced nurses may leave their workplaces and look for a better one. This health protection may include better health insurance provided by the workplace.

 The student believes that those issues persist in workplaces today. Many reasons make her understand that workplaces are still suffering from this persistent situation. If we analyze the causes, one should admit that young nurses are dealing with issues like the need to feel part of an organization that will help them grow professionally. They also have concerns about their childcare system. However, they share with the experimented nurses the need for the management to value them. Those are current issues that the healthcare workplaces are dealing with. As good responses to those issues, the enforcing of the emerging nurse leader program and the magnet recognition program may bring solutions that meet nurses’ interest in the current healthcare workplaces

We can make a difference in participating in nurses’ organizations that provide ideas to help sustain the healthcare system with experienced and educated nurses. That will help solve the issues related to nurse’s turnover in workplaces that will positively impact the patient outcome.

References

Lee, T. et al. (2018). Managing Employee’s Retention and Turnover with 21st Century Ideas. Retrieved from http://assets.humanresourcesonline.net/conferences/2019/TMA/TMA%20MY%20Pre-Reading%20Articles/Journal4.pdf (Links to an external site.)

Sellers, K. et al. (2020). Using Public Health Workforce Surveillance Data to Prioritize Retention Efforts for Younger Staff. Retrieved from https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0749379720301756nu

Begin reviewing and replying to peer postings/responses early in the week to enhance peer discussion. See the rubric for participation points. Participate in the discussion by asking a question, providing a statement of clarification, providing viewpoints with a rationale, challenging aspects of the discussion, or indicating relationships between two or more lines of reasoning in the discussion. Always use constructive language, even in criticism, to work toward the goal of positive progress.

TASK

Post your initial response to one of the two topics below.

Topic 1

Age related changes can affect the lifestyle/quality of life of the elderly.

• What do you think are the two most prevalent age-related changes that affect the lifestyle of the elderly?
• How would you help an elderly patient adjust to the two changes you identified?

Peer 1

  Working on the med/surg unit as a Registered Nurse has given me many opportunities to interact with the elderly patient. A common change that I’ve noticed was loss of balance cause by muscle weakness. “The major age-related physiological change in older people frequently encountered skeletal muscle mass loss, known as sarcopenia” (McGinley, 2017). Second change in the elderly was loss of appetite which causes poor nutrition. Poor nutrition can be caused by loss of taste buds.

 An elderly patient can be adjusted to these changes by recommending increased activity which is the best intervention for muscle weakness.  A short walk outside or even gardening in yard are examples of increased activities.  A membership at the local gym can also help increase with strengthen exercises. Elderly patient can be given brochures with exercises that are easy to follow and read. “All this type of activity, together with protein rich die, helps prevent further losses and functional decline” (McGinley, 2017). Interventions that can be done with an elderly person’s appetite loss are teaching them about eating small serving sizes and consuming meals when awake and energized. When making the selection of food, pick foods that are soft in consistency and even having a meal with family and friends might encourage the elderly to eat.

References

Mayo Clinic. (2014). Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation: Slowing or Reversing

                Muscle Weakness. Retrieved from https://www.mayoclinic.org/medical-

                professionals/physical-medicine-rehabilitation/news/slowing-or-reversing-

                muscle-loss/mac-20431104

McGinley, E. (2017). Supporting older patients with nutrition and hydration.

                Journal of Community Nursing, 31(4), 54-57. Retrieved from https://search-

                ebscohost-com.su.idm.oclc.org/login.aspx?direct=true&db=rzh&AN=12466

                7326&site=ehost-live&scope=site

Peer 2

Age related changes are inevitable as we get older. Two prevalent changes in the elderly are decreased bone density leading to frail bones, and decreased hearing and vision (Mayo Clinic, 2020). Decreased hearing and vision which happens with aging contributes to the loss of independence because it removes the ability to drive. Losing the ability to drive many elderly people have to rely on family or friends to help them get to what they need. Although these changes are common, there are vitamins and supplements that can help improve overall health; additionally, patients can be educated on different exercises that can be done to increase strength and decrease the risk of falls. Helping our patients and  providing them with resources that help them maintain their health is essential for providing a good quality of life in the elderly. 

Reference:

Mayo Clinic. (2020). Aging: What to Expect. Retrieved from https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/healthy-aging/in-depth/aging/art-20046070

 1- Discussion question: You are taking care of an 80 African-American-year-old male patient in a medical-surgical unit who was hospitalized with congestive heart failure. He is being discharged with multiple medications and home health care. Describe the steps you would take to provide patient education including cultural considerations. 

2- 3 paragraphs of 3 sentences each

3- 2 references

4- APA Style