Nurs Econ
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The traditional means of planning nurse staffing for operating rooms are either poorly translated to the setting or do not provide decision makers with a platform to defend their needs, especially in an era of health care reform. The surgical operations department of the Cleveland Clinic initiated a quality improvement project aimed at applying a scientific method to operating room staffing. ⋯ Using an objective, scientific method allows position requests to be approved quickly and allows managers to feel much more comfortable functioning in a "lean" mode because they know needed positions will be approved quickly. Managers and directors also have found that graphically depicting numbers of vacant positions, as well as staff in orientation, could quickly relate a story visually rather than getting "bogged down" in narrative (often losing finance administrators along the way).
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In this presidential election, as the largest group of health care providers, nurses are witness to the impact of effective and failed health care policies across all health care settings on individuals, communities, agencies, and states. Nurses have a responsibility to not only be informed and participating voters, but we also need to inform those around us on how the current health policies are improving or preventing the delivery of access to quality, cost-effective care. Nurses have the opportunity and responsibility to be key informants regarding the impact of health care reform on the health care delivery system, on the profession, and on health care outcomes. The collective voice of 3.1 million nurses could change the results of this close election.