Walden University Registered Nurses Staffing Plan for Patients Questions

As the manager, you have been asked to provide an RN staffing plan for a 40-bed in-patient nursing unit with an Average Daily Census of 40. The proposed staffing ratio is 1:6 (1 nurse for each 6 patients per shift). Using the Nursing Hours Per Patient Day (NHPPD) methodology, calculate the number of FTEs needed to staff the unit for a 14-day pay period. Use the information in the Welch and Smith (2020) article to assist with your analysis.

Nursing Hours per Patient Day (NHPPD) is a measure used to track nursing care. Patient acuity refers to the amount of safe and effective care that is needed based on a patient’s clinical needs. More severe patients’ clinical needs result in increased staff numbers and hours required to provide care for these patients. It is important for nurses to understand how patient acuity impacts NHPPD. The articles in this Activity provide different perspectives and solutions to staffing. In your Assessment, you will examine the effects of NHPPD and patient acuity necessary for developing a staffing plan that addresses patients’ clinical needs.

1. Convert Nurse Patient Ratio to NHPPD.
2. Determine the nursing unit annual volume in patient days.
3. Determine total NHPPD for the previous year.
4. Determine number of FTEs needed to staff the unit.
5. Explain why the unit uses a particular staffing ratio and how that ratio is determined.
6. Explain whether other units in the same facility would have the same staffing ratio or different staffing ratios. Justify your response.
9. Based on the FTEs you calculated in Part I, calculate the salary cost for each nurse FTE using the hourly wage multiplied by 2,080 (number of hours worked per year), then add 30% to cover benefits. Use the following to make your calculations: RN salary: $32.50 per hour + 30% for benefits = $42.25 per hour.
10. 1. Determine the salary per year for one RN FTE.
    2. Calculate the total salary costs for the entire RN staff to determine your initial professional staff budget for the entire year.
    3. Explain the importance of budgeting when making staffing decisions.