addresses concerns of the RN's by providing protection for whistle-blowers who may file a complaint regarding staffing.

Answer Discussion Question

Question:

Please respond to these two separate response and no plagerism.

respond to two or more of your colleagues’ summaries by asking each colleague at least two probing questions. The probing questions may address the summary of a single paragraph, or you may ask one question for each paragraph in the summary. The questions you ask may solicit the writer’s stance and reasons behind that stance or may serve to clarify the content in the summary or the paragraph.

Please respond to each of the questions you are asked by your colleagues during the online discussion.

1. Safe Patient Handling Movement

While supporting the elimination of manual patient handling, the ANA is lobbying for Safe Patient Handling (SPH) legislation. This legislation will include more assistive equipment and devices to help with patient handling. Health care, particularly the nursing field, has become one of the most dangerous industries in the United States. Nurses are prone to musculoskeletal disorders, more particularly back injuries, and the recent downsizing has required more strain on individual nurses. With technology, more lifting and transferring equipment is being used to help with lifting and moving the patients.

Funding for Nursing Workforce Development

Nursing shortage is a growing problem, and is predicted to reach 1 million by the year 2020. In order to address this issue, the ANA is lobbying for Congress to increase funding for Nursing Workforce Development programs. There are six major grant programs in Title VIII that would benefit from the increased funding and could make an impact on some of the nursing challenges.

Second student post

Safe Patient Handling and Movement

The ANA supports elimination of manual patient handling in an effort to reduce work related injuries among nurses, other healthcare workers and patients. The goal of the Safe Patient Handling and Movement (SPHM) program is to protect nurses, healthcare workers and patients from injuries sustained during patient transfers by using assistive devices and in doing so will cut work related healthcare costs and improve overall safety of said parties. The implementation of the SPHM program also aims at reducing the nursing shortage by prolonging nurse’s careers that may have been cut short by injuries sustained at the workplace.

Nurse Staffing

The ANA supports the Registered Nurse Safe Staffing Act by holding hospitals accountable for requiring an adequate number of nurses available for staffing and ensuring theRN’s have proficient skills for providing safe and reliable care. The act requires Medicare participating hospitals to establish a staffing plan specific to the unit comprised by direct careRN’s and or representatives. Among the criteria for the staffing plan includes a minimum number of RN’s per patient numbers and choosing RN’s who are trained and experienced to work within the units. The act also addresses concerns of the RN’s by providing protection for whistle-blowers who may file a complaint regarding staffing.