Factors that guide nurse managers regarding the staffing of agency nurses in intensive care units at private hospitals in Pretoria

Abstract

Staffing needs affect the nursing department's budget, staff productivity, the quality of care provided to patients and even the retention of nurses. It is unclear how the role players (the nursing agency manager, the nurse manager and the agency nurse) perceive the staffing of agency nurses in intensive care units (ICUs). The purpose of this study was to explore and describe the factors that guide nurse managers regarding the staffing of agency nurses in ICUs at private hospitals in Pretoria. A quantitative exploratory and descriptive design was used. A survey by means of a structured questionnaire was carried out. Probability sampling was implemented to obtain a study sample (n=124). One similar self-administered 5-point scale instrument was completed by the participants. Data was analysed by means of descriptive and inferential statistics. The principles of validity and reliability were adhered to and ethical considerations were also taken into account. The results indicated limitations in the determining of posts, recruitment and advertising, as well as the selection and appointment of agency nurses in ICUs at private hospitals in Pretoria. Recommendations on staffing are made to nurse managers in ICUs.

The client company marginally utilises the knowledge of highly skilled temporary staff

“…Previous research on numerical flexibility in health care emphasized the importance of nurses hired for highly strategic reasons. Such a practice, when successful, is associated with reduced costs (Jooste and Prinsloo, 2013). A strategic approach also reduces the risk of temporary workers associated with a lack of job skills.…”

Temporary and regular workers fulfill their tasks side-by-side, but in different learning conditions

“…CCs often want temps to learn (Garsten, 2004) and have a rarely spoken need to select the right temp and to give that temp necessary preconditions for a good job (Jooste and Prinsloo, 2013). This makes it crucial to better understand the learning context employees and managers in CCs require for temps.…”

“…This is a relatively unexplored topic: most research on temping so far has primarily concerned temps' disposability (see for example Atkinson, 1984;Boyce et al, 2007;Burgess and Connell, 2006;Degiuli and Kollmeyer, 2007;Garsten , 2004), not about the mutual learning relationship a client company (CC) expects with its temps as shown in Jooste and Prinsloo (2013). Garsten (2004) underlines the importance of temp learning and Jooste and Prinsloo (2013) give attention to the need of deeper knowledge exchange between a CC's specific setting and the temp in question. A combination of their results reveals a gap in knowledge worth filling by looking more closely at leaders and employees' expectations of temps.…”

How do nurses' work arrangements influence nurse managers' communication? A qualitative study

“…Staffing is a common concern among international nurse managers because staffing not only affects the placement of nurses and the organisation of nursing teams (Cupit, Stout‐Aguilar, Cannon, & Norton, ; Holm‐Petersen, Østergaard, & Andersen, ; Jooste & Prinsloo, ; Maenhout & Vanhoucke, ; North et al, ), but it also influences how nurses relate to and support one another (Feather, Ebright, & Bakas, ; Gazaway, Anderson, Schumacher, & Alichnie, ; Gittell, ; Holland, Cooper, & Sheehan, ; McCabe & Sambrook, ). Despite the burgeoning interest in how managers communicate and support their nurses (Brunetto, Farr‐Wharton, & Shacklock, ; Hartung & Miller, ; Marx, ; Rouse & Al‐Maqbali, ; Timmins, ), the literature offers limited insights into how the proliferation of nurses' varied work arrangements affects the mentoring and support that nurses receive from their managers (Gan, ; Jones, ).…”

“…Nevertheless, that approach limits knowledge on the implications of nursing shift work (Harris, Sims, Parr, & Davies, ; Stimpfel, Fletcher, & Kovner, ), and it leaves a research gap in the relational implications that alternative work arrangements impose on the management of off‐shift nurses. Given the growing international trend in employing temporary nurses and the rise in agency/travel nursing (Berg Jansson & Engström, ; Jooste & Prinsloo, ), sparse scholarly knowledge on the effects of alternative work arrangements limits scholarly and practical insights into nurse managers' communication as a function of unit/department management.…”