Using the legislative worksheet SBAR format identify a problem or concern in your community, organization[nursing], that has the capacity to be legislated.

Situation:
In the community, nursing staff are faced with long work hours and an excessive workload while trying to survive on low wages. It has led to a high nursing staff turnover, which leaves patients without caretakers who can provide continuity or understand their specific needs. This has also led to fatigue and burnout among nurses. These issues have further impacted morale, and the quality of care provided by nursing staff.

Background:
Current nursing salaries do not adequately reflect the time and effort needed to deliver quality patient care. Financial constraints often force nursing staff to work longer hours than their schedules allow, resulting in a lack of focus when it comes to providing high-quality care to patients. There is also no current system in place to ensure that nurses are compensated adequately when they have additional duties or tasks outside the standard care of patients.

Assessment:
Nurses are underpaid for their contributions to the community or organization. The lack of sufficient pay leads nurses into positions where they cannot financially support themselves nor can they effectively provide quality patient care – creating a situation where both nurse’s well-being and patient health outcomes suffer.

Recommendation/Action Plan: Establish wage standards that offer competitive salaries reflective of the amount of time and effort it takes to provide quality healthcare services within a given community setting while also accounting for overtime pay or any other additional duties requested from supervisors outside standard patient responsibilities (this could include legislative regulations ranging from increasing minimum wage levels upstate-wide). Enacting legislation to prevent excessively long work shifts that can lead to burnout is also important. Lastly establish internal mechanisms ensuring employee’s complaints regarding unfair labor practices receive due attention with viable solutions proposed when needed (e.g., grievance procedures).