As a nurse manager of a med/surg unit with 30 beds, answer the following questions:

1. Determine the average daily census.
2. Determine nursing care hours = NHPPD (nursing hours per patient day)
3. Determine 8-hour vs. 12-hour shifts as the unit staffing baseline
4. Will you consider the combinations of 4-hour and 6-hour shifts?
5. Discuss any trends in peak workload hours that impact unit staffing, provide examples
6. Determine baseline number of FTEs = full-time equivalents
7. Determine appropriate staffing mix (RN vs. LPN vs. UAP) for each shift, provide a rationale
8. Develop a safe staffing plan, assuming the unit is at full capacity each day, every shift. Discuss the following if relevant to your plan: Automated scheduling, Manager scheduling, Self-staffing and scheduling, Open shift management, Shared schedule, Weekend staffing plan
9. Determine initial and final budget
10. Determine a performance improvement (PI) plan for urinary catheter infection issues in this med/surg unit using the (plan-do-study-act) PDSA cycle