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Exploring the Team Model in Nursing Services

As a result of the initial influx of COVID-19 patients in March of 2020, many healthcare facilities partnered with experienced nursing service providers to implement new staffing approaches. These facilities aimed to handle the demand for qualified and trained nursing staff while providing patients with safe and effective care.

With hospitals and other health care facilities now in recovery mode, they are struggling with issues like nursing staff shortages and the need for innovative staffing approaches to maintain a higher standard of patient care. This is where the team nursing model is proving itself a viable solution. Let’s explore what team nursing is, how the model works and how your facility can put implement it.

Why team nursing?

At the height of the pandemic, the unprecedented demand for registered nurses, ward aids, home care nurses and nursing assistants increased alongside the urgency for solutions to help address these shortfalls. Team nursing emerged as a strategy that would address a shortage of qualified staff and improve patient care by delivering it in the most cost-effective way.

The team nursing model may be deemed necessary in settings such as intensive care units that add beds to accommodate more patients. In contrast, the number of critical care nurses often remains the same or decreases due to staff exposure to COVID-19 or infection, rendering them unable to work.

Multiple factors may be contributing to the implementation of team nursing strategies across health care facilities and an overall increase in the demand for nursing services, including but not limited to:

The global nursing shortage caused by burnout, stress, COVID-19 infection and an ageing nursing workforce
A lack of qualified and experienced doctors
An increased number of chronic and acute medical conditions leads to more complex care needs
Limited hospital budgets and resources in small hospitals and clinics

Home care nurses have also been in high demand due to the above factors. The team model may also be applied to the home care setting where all team members, including the patient and family, work together to ensure the best possible care for the patient.

What is team nursing?

Historically, nurses have been assigned to a single patient, requiring the nurse to provide direct and indirect care for the patient for an extended period. Health care facilities are now operating at maximum capacity or near capacity due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent recovery period. They may struggle to sustain a primary nursing care model in the face of increases in the number of critically ill patients. They must instead find ways to leverage existing critical care expertise to serve greater numbers of patients.

Forward-thinking institutions have resurrected the team-based model from the 1970s to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. Nurses’ roles and responsibilities have shifted from direct, hands-on care to having a leader guiding the health care team in caring for patients and managing the care process.

Using a team-based approach to patient care allows for the reallocation of resources previously used to care for less urgent needs, such as those of patients with COVID-19 who are in critical condition. This teamwork approach entails delegating certain aspects of care for critically ill patients to personnel without expertise in critical care so those with such skills can concentrate on patients who need it most.

Team nursing leaders

The ideal candidate for the team leader role in a critical care unit is a seasoned nurse who is well-versed in management and organisation. It must be a person who can think critically about patient care and assignments, with excellent interpersonal skills to delegate tasks effectively and deal with conflicts.

Primary nurse: The primary nurse frequently serves as the team’s second-in-command. The team member can help with medication administration, decision-making and provide backup support for the team leader. Primary care nurses are also responsible for assessing and reassessing patients, implementing care plans and reporting status updates to the team leader and other health professionals.

A primary nurse with less experience is often paired with a more seasoned nurse leader in the operation. This strategy helps the less-experienced nurse learn from the more knowledgeable practitioner and the team leader by sharing some of the load.

The nursing team

Building a productive and skilled nursing team requires the combined efforts of everyone involved. Everyone must commit to working together as a team, from the chief executive officer and hospital administrators to medical personnel. Team members will change based on resource reallocation and staffing levels but may consist of:

Registered nurses
Ward aides
Enrolled nursing assistants
Personal care assistants
Homecare nurses
Nursing students
Medical/surgical nurses
Perioperative nurses
Pediatric nurses

Other members of the healthcare team can include:

Patient Care Technicians
Pharmacists
Respiratory Therapists
Physical Therapists
Dietary
Unlicensed assistive personnel

Team nursing strategy

When a healthcare facility is structured using a team model, registered nursing staff spend most of their time at the nursing station, while enrolled nursing assistants take care of patients at the bedside. The nursing team will work in defined groups, each caring for a predetermined number of patients.

The groups must have a leader accountable for their success and a ward supervisor is ultimately responsible for the entire ward’s functioning. When the responsibilities of each group are identified, and the ward supervisor is aware of their position concerning those groups, healthcare facilities can effectively structure their staff with registered nurses and nursing assistants.

One of the main advantages of the team nursing model is that the nurses form strong bonds with each other and those in their care. Healthcare facilities that implement a team nursing model experience the higher levels of teamwork and collaboration required in today’s challenging environment.

One healthcare unit implemented team nursing in response to high turnover and a decline in staff morale. The result was increased nurse satisfaction because nurses felt supported in this collaborative environment driven by enhanced staff communication.

Responding to the increased demand for nursing staff was critical to the success of the implementation of the nursing team solution. This investment in additional nurses may have contributed to the success of team nursing in this unit.

Is team nursing for you?

Staffing with the aim to employ only critical care professionals is likely impossible for many healthcare systems. In the current economic climate, nurse managers must decide whether to stick with the status quo and use fewer nurses or take advantage of nursing services to increase staffing levels.

Developing the best nurse staffing strategy to meet your current and future patient needs may present an overwhelming challenge at first. That’s why forward-thinking health care organisations are partnering with experts in this field to develop and implement the ideal staffing models for their facilities.

Greys Nursing Agency has successfully placed thousands of nursing professionals into hospitals, care homes, doctors’ practices and private homes. Our extensive vetting, continuous training and vast pool of candidates ensure that you can hire the optimal number of nursing staff equipped to support and empower your healthcare company.

Contact us to access flexible, on-demand nursing services from a flexible and permanent healthcare staffing provider with over 40 years in the industry.

Human Resources: Measuring the ROI of HR in Your Organisation

in General

In today’s business climate, CEOs and top executives continuously look for quantifiable results from every department in their organisation, this is especially true for the human resources department. The stakeholders expect concrete figures to back up their assumptions about which human resources initiatives deliver tangible business benefits and which do not.

HR is at the centre of almost every vital business initiative and decision, so this function must be able to prove its worth continuously and demonstrate its impact on company performance.

This article breaks down the concept of ROI in the context of HR and discuss how organisations can measure and improve this for the better.

What is ROI in HR?

ROI stands for “return on investment” and refers to the potential financial gains of a particular business decision or action.

In the HR content, “ROI” refers to the ability of the human resources division to contribute to the organisation’s bottom line. The human resources division of an organisation performs essential tasks and the critical question facing organisations is whether these tasks contribute to the bottom line – in other words, do they have a ROI?

An organisation’s HR team must establish metrics or key performance indicators (KPIs) to track its progress to measure ROI successfully. This could include measures such as:

Employee retention rates
Employee engagement levels
Employee training costs
Time to fill open positions.

Once an organisation’s HR division has established these metrics, it can begin tracking and quantifying its results over time to ensure that the HR function provides value.

How can companies measure and improve ROI?

There are multiple ways that companies can measure and improve ROI in their HR departments. One way is to conduct regular audits of HR processes and procedures. These audits can help identify areas where HR falls short and recommend improvement. Additionally, many organisations choose to outsource their HR function to third-party HR service providers. Outsourcing can help reduce costs and increase efficiency within the department, leading to a higher ROI.

Tips for tracking human resource metrics

HR metrics should be simple, straightforward, and alligned to your organisation’s goals and priorities. Here are six tips for tracking HR data to assist you in considering which data points matter to your organisation.

1. Know why each HR metric matters

As you collect and track HR data, keep in mind the real reason behind collecting the data and why this data is vital to your organisation. If the data isn’t alligned to an organisational priority, time spent tracking or analysing the data is wasted. Without a good idea of why your ROI and metrics matter, you won’t be able to develop a cohesive business strategy and achieve sustainable success on business goals.

2. Keep it simple

HR metrics shouldn’t be complicated. If the metric isn’t simple, straightforward and quickly gathered and calculated it shouldn’t be used. The aim should be to track and collect simple, concise information that will provide valuable insights into your HR and organisational objectives.

3. Identify how you will track data

Many tools are available to track HR data, from spreadsheets to comprehensive human resource management systems. An important step is to identify which data you will collect and how.

4. Know your audience

As you collect HR data, some information will be more insightful to HR, and others will be more insightful to stakeholders like the owner or CFO. Remember the metrics that matter most to your audience as you present information.

5. Connect HR metrics to organisational objectives

The most potent and significant HR data connects HR metrics to business objectives. Ensure that the data can be put to practical use once collected.

6. Don’t just file data away – share it

You’ve collected useful HR data, so don’t just file it away. The data you have collected should be analysed and shared with your leadership team in a user-friendly presentation. This step will allow you to start creating an action plan for achieving your HR goals.

HR data that leads to action

Data without analysis and action is just numbers on a screen. Use your HR data to understand trends, issues and opportunities within your workforce. Next, take action to make changes based on your learning.

To make the most of your HR ROI calculations:

Connect the HR data to business objectives and goals.
Use the data to drive organisational improvements. Learn what is working and what not, then make the necessary changes.
Schedule regular times to review the data and get your team involved to focus on any trouble areas. Strong habits produce strong results.
Communicate your findings and recommendations to key decision-makers.

Measuring the ROI of human resources isn’t as easy, simple or straightforward as some other business areas, but it’s doable. The aim is to take stock of where you are, set clear objectives and KPIs and adopt a broad, multifaceted approach to evaluating the impact of HR in your business. Mastering these steps will give you a better sense of how your investment in your team, your culture and your organisation is paying off – and the value of ROI that your HR department is driving.

How can outsourced human resources increase this ROI?

Not every organisation is in a place where it can effectively and continuously evaluate the ROI of its HR department and take action to improve it. This might be because it is too early in the journey or simply due to a lack of tools, processes and resources.

Organisations investing in outsourced human resources services usually experience essential benefits that result in a higher return on investment and business success, such as:

Saving money by reducing or eliminating the need for in-house staff
Improving efficiency by providing access to expert tools and technologies
Freeing your internal team to focus their attention on strategic initiatives that drive business growth
Driving business growth by providing access to a highly-skilled, engaged workforce of HR experts
Ensuring regulatory compliance and mitigating various legal risks surrounding HR

An organisation can make measurable improvements in its HR ROI by partnering with an outsourced service provider like MASA. We have over 40 years of established credibility and extensive experience supporting organisations with the best human resources solutions in South Africa.

Spending on HR services is an investment which should provide a return and we structure all human resources services to ensure maximum ROI. The MASA HR division offers a complete solution for any HR-related tasks- from crafting a unique strategy to payroll services and all other HR processes.

Every business is unique. No matter how complex or large the task, we develop a tailored approach designed and managed by market-leading human resources and industrial relations experts. We are passionate about using the best people to drive the best outcome.

Reach out to us if increasing your HR return on investment is a top priority or if you’re looking for a trusted partner to help you access the right people, resources and strategies to concentrate on your core business.