Nurse leaders often face ethical dilemmas when balancing competing needs and limited resources. For example, while 12-hour shifts help with nurse retention, evidence shows this increases medical errors. This discussion examines how competing priorities around workforce needs, resources, and patient care impact developing policies for a selected national healthcare issue. Specifically, commenters should discuss these competing needs and how policies could address them related to their chosen healthcare stressor.

1. Discussion: Organizational Policies and Practices to Support
Healthcare Issues
Quite often, nurse leaders are faced with ethical dilemmas, such
as those associated with choices between competing needs and
limited resources. Resources are finite, and competition for
those resources occurs daily in all organizations.
For example, the use of 12-hour shifts has been a strategy to
retain nurses. However, evidence suggests that as nurses work
more hours in a shift, they commit more errors. How do
effective leaders find a balance between the needs of the
organization and the needs of ensuring quality, effective, and
safe patient care?
In this Discussion, you will reflect on a national healthcare
issue and examine how competing needs may impact the
development of polices to address that issue.
To Prepare:
· Review the Resources and think about the national healthcare
issue/stressor you previously selected for study in Module 1.
· Reflect on the competing needs in healthcare delivery as they
pertain to the national healthcare issue/stressor you previously
examined.
Post
an explanation of how competing needs, such as the needs of
the workforce, resources, and patients, may impact the
development of policy. Then, describe any specific competing
needs that may impact the national healthcare issue/stressor you

2. selected. What are the impacts, and how might policy address
these competing needs? Be specific and provide examples.
Required Readings
American Nurses Association. (2015).
Code of ethics for nurses with interpretive statements
. Silver Spring, MD: Author. Retrieved from
https://www.nursingworld.org/coe-view-only
Note: Review all, with special attention to “Provision 6” (pp.
23–26).
Kelly, P., & Porr, C. (2018). Ethical nursing care versus cost
containment: Considerations to enhance RN practice.
OJIN: Online Journal of Issues in Nursing, 23
(1), Manuscript 6. doi:10.3912/OJIN.Vol23No01Man06.
Retrieved from
http://ojin.nursingworld.org/MainMenuCategories/ANAMarketp
lace/ANAPeriodicals/OJIN/TableofContents/Vol-23-2018/No1-
Jan-2018/Ethical-Nursing-Cost-Containment.html
Milliken, A. (2018). Ethical awareness: What it is and why it
matters.
OJIN: Online Journal of Issues in Nursing, 23
(1), Manuscript 1. doi:10.3912/OJIN.Vol23No01Man01.
Retrieved from
http://ojin.nursingworld.org/MainMenuCategories/ANAMarketp
lace/ANAPeriodicals/OJIN/TableofContents/Vol-23-2018/No1-
Jan-2018/Ethical-Awareness.html