Staffing and Quality of Care in Hospitals

Judies faces a difficult situation at her workplace which makes it difficult for her to carry out her duties as a nurse manager effectively. She is dedicated, loyal and willing to serve the needs of patients despite the she works in. However, she has a lot of stress which affects her ability to perform her responsibilities as a mother to her two children effectively. The main ethical concern that arises out of the case study is the failure by the hospitals administration to to staff members to enable them to attain positive outcomes in their workstations (Fremgen, 2009, p. 65). Therefore, this paper will discuss how ethical concerns related to the case study can be addressed to make Judie and other people she works with to overcome their stress.

Discussion
The failure by the hospital to hire adequate nursing staff and to avail adequate resources makes it difficult for Judie to give quality care to all patients that require managed care. As a nurse, Judie has a responsibility to give high quality care to all patients that visit the hospital but her efforts are being eroded by the administrations incompetence. This is an ethical dilemma of care because she is likely to be held responsible for in the institution (Garrett, Baillie & Garrett, 2009. p. 74). Therefore, this situation exposes her and other nursing staff to the likelihood of making mistakes as they care for patients and this is an ethical dilemma of justice.

The failure by the hospital to increase the number of nurses to care for its patients shows that is negligent and does not care for its patients welfare. Judie and other employees in the institution are forced to work under a lot of pressure to satisfy the expectations of the hospitals management, and this has affected their morale. The case shows that the hospital is violating its patients rights to quality healthcare by failing to provide adequate resources to nurses. It is also violating the labor rights of its nurses (Nairn, 2012, p. 8). Therefore, there is a possibility that Judie and other nurses are being overworked. Consequently, this may have a detrimental effect on overall performance attained by all departments in the institution.

The first ethical concern that is presented in the case is poor resource allocation by the hospital which has made it difficult for nurses to perform their duties effectively. This situation is likely to in the institution because they are likely to be attended to by nurses who are not able to give them a lot of attention because they are overworking. The second ethical concern that is presented in the case study is the violation of labor rights (Wong & Cummings, 2007, p. 513). The hospitals administration has instituted staffing cuts which compel Judie and other employees to work harder in order to satisfy patients needs. As a result, the administrations failure to consult Judie regarding these drastic changes has made her feel betrayed.