Here are the questions surveyors will ask
To assess compliance with new staffing standards, surveyors from the Oakbrook Terrace, IL-based Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations will be asking the following questions, says Kathleen Catalano, RN, JD, director of administrative projects at Children’s Medical Center of Dallas:
- What method do you use to determine the appropriate staffing in this department?
- What measures do you use to determine if staffing is effective?
- Are there a sufficient number of staff in the ED?
- What are the peak periods?
- How do you ensure staffing is adequate for peak periods?
- What steps do you take if your ED is completely full?
- How do you assure yourself and the hospital that the staff have the requisite knowledge and skills to care for the patients treated?
To assess whether staffing is adequate, Catalano recommends choosing from the following screening indicators. "These are probably most pertinent to the ED," she says.
For clinical/service indicators:
- family complaints;
- adverse drug events;
- injuries to patients;
- shock/cardiac arrest.
For human resources indicators:
- overtime;
- staff vacancy rates;
- staff satisfaction;
- staff turnover rate.
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