Title: Demand of temporary nurse staffing in German hospitals- A qualitative study on the influence on inpatient care

Biography:

Carolin Fasen and Alica Schnitzler are two young health care professionals working for 5 years as travel nurses. They completed their Bachelor of Science at Charité- University of Medicine in Berlin, Europe’s greatest research hospital/university. Combining their interest in bed-side nursing and research supports the adaption of policy to implement new strategies into the daily patient care to improve the outcome. Both researches continue with their graduate programs in Europe and the US. 

Abstract

Changes within the German demographics resulting in an increased need of health care professionals. In times of a nurse shortage this development is a challenge for hospitals to provide adequate nurse staffing for their patients. But the alleged solution to hire temporary nurses impacts the inpatient care. This study presents international and national research on the phenomenon and examines head nurses’ experiences with temporary nurses. Through expert interviews and utilizing qualitative content analysis, themes were identified, such as the impact of temporary nurses on daily routines, health promotion, the nursing profession, staff booking and as well as the future perspectives. The findings of this research indicate that temporary nurse staffing is affecting daily routines and the dynamics in the health care team. The temporary staffs’ influence depends much on if a they are hired short-term or long-term on a ward. Consequently, hospital procedures need to be adapted and regulations on temporary staffing needs to be set in place to guarantee a continuous and high-quality patient care.