NR 703 Week 3 Assignment; Organizational Needs Assessment..

NR 703 Week 3 Assignment: Organizational Needs Assessment An organizational needs assessment is a process that provides a framework for performing skills, knowledge, or practice assessment in an organization. Its purpose is to help an organization identify the gaps that might be preventing it from achieving its desired objectives. A needs assessment helps an organization to know what is working well and what needs improvement. This paper identifies the practice problem facing the geriatric unit using a practice gap assessment tool in my local hospital. The PICOT framework is also used to define the practice question for the organization. Problem The geriatric unit at my local hospital is experiencing an increase in the number of patients falling. The problem is attributed to inadequate staffing which makes it impossible for the current nursing staff to conduct hourly rounding. According to the facility’s quarterly reports on patient falls, there has been a rise in falls. Patients have also complained of a lack of attention from 3 nurses. Nurses too complain they have excessive workloads making it impossible for them to conduct purposeful hourly rounding. As explored in Table 1, the practice gap relates to an insufficient workforce to optimally monitor at-risk patients. Practice Gap As evidenced in Table 1, a significant issue with patient falls was identified. The issue is caused by the inability of the staff members (unit managers, supervisors, nurses, or nurse assistants) to conduct regular rounds of every patient, especially those who are disoriented and therefore at a higher risk of falls. The practice gap is caused by inadequate staffing at the geriatric unit and in the facility in general, which makes it impossible for a nurse or another staff member to see each patient every hour. Practice Question Population: Elderly patients aged 65 years and above admitted to the geriatric unit with chronic diseases. Intervention: Purposeful hourly rounding. According to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, this is the best practice to reduce falls. It involves ensuring that a staff member such as a nurse, nurse assistant, or unit manager visits every patient at least once every hour to attend to the patient’s needs. During such rounds, the staff member assesses the patient’s position, pain, possessions, and the need to visit the restroom, and then helps him/her as needed (Gliner, et al., 2021). Comparison: Hourly patient rounds as compared to the current practice of irregular patient rounds. The current strategy means some patients stay for too long without being attended to, which increases their risks of falling as their needs go unattended for long durations. 4 Outcome: Hourly rounding helps reduce patient falls significantly. According to research, hourly rounding resulted in a 52% decline in inpatient falls. It also leads to an increase in patient satisfaction. Purposeful hourly rounding also improves nurse efficiency as it eliminates inefficient movement (Saul, 2018). Time: The project will be implemented over six months. Because the organization has inadequate staff, it needs adequate time to recruit additional staff members to ensure they