NURS FPX 6085 Assessment 2 Problem Statement (PICOT)

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Capella university

NURS-FPX6085 MSN Practicum and Capstone

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Date

NURS FPX 6085 Assessment 2 Problem Statement (PICOT)

Healthcare organizations are increasingly challenged by persistent nurse burnout and ongoing staffing shortages, both of which compromise patient safety, care quality, and organizational efficiency. Bedside registered nurses are particularly vulnerable to emotional exhaustion, disengagement, absenteeism, and high turnover rates. These workforce issues not only elevate operational costs but also disrupt continuity of care.

This quality improvement initiative evaluates whether implementing a structured nurse retention strategy leads to improved workforce outcomes compared to standard organizational practices. The intervention integrates mentorship, wellness resources, flexible scheduling, and leadership engagement. The primary aim is to reduce burnout, enhance job satisfaction, strengthen retention, and ultimately improve patient outcomes within a six-month timeframe.

Existing evidence supports the effectiveness of multi-component retention strategies in improving staff morale, reducing turnover intentions, and enhancing care delivery. Accordingly, this proposal emphasizes practical, evidence-based interventions applicable in high-stress hospital environments.

PICOT Question

What is the structured clinical question guiding this project?

The PICOT framework outlines the key elements of the proposed intervention:

PICOT Element	Description
Population (P)	Hospital-based registered nurses experiencing burnout and staffing shortages
Intervention (I)	Comprehensive retention strategy (mentorship, wellness programs, flexible scheduling, leadership engagement)
Comparison (C)	Standard practice without structured retention initiatives
Outcome (O)	Reduced burnout and turnover, improved job satisfaction, enhanced patient care quality
Time (T)	Six months

Full PICOT Question

Among hospital-based registered nurses experiencing burnout and staffing shortages, how does implementing a retention strategy that includes mentorship, wellness support, and flexible scheduling, compared to existing practices without such supports, affect burnout levels, turnover rates, and job satisfaction over six months?

Need Statement

Why is this project necessary?

This initiative addresses a critical healthcare workforce issue: the intersection of nurse burnout and staffing shortages. When hospitals fail to retain experienced nurses, several risks emerge, including compromised patient safety, increased workload burdens, and reduced service reliability.

Burnout is strongly associated with:

• Emotional exhaustion

• Reduced engagement

• Increased medical errors

• Higher intent to leave the profession

The American Nurses Association (ANA, 2024) reports that inadequate staffing remains a primary contributor to burnout among hospital nurses.

What outcomes justify intervention?

• Improved workforce stability

• Reduced recruitment and training costs

• Enhanced nurse well-being

• Better patient safety and satisfaction

• Strengthened organizational resilience

Given the central role of nurses in healthcare delivery, retention strategies are no longer optional—they are operational imperatives.

Population and Setting

Who is affected?

The target population includes registered nurses working in high-acuity hospital units, such as:

• Intensive care units (ICUs)

• Emergency departments (EDs)

• Medical-surgical units

• Step-down or telemetry units

These environments involve high patient acuity, frequent interruptions, emotional strain, and heavy documentation demands, all of which contribute to burnout (Galanis et al., 2023).

Where will the intervention occur?

The proposed setting is a mid-sized urban hospital network experiencing elevated levels of burnout, turnover, and staffing challenges. Urban healthcare systems often manage diverse patient populations and complex care demands, making them ideal environments for testing scalable workforce solutions.

Intervention Overview

What components make up the intervention?

The intervention consists of three integrated components targeting both emotional and operational contributors to burnout.

1. Wellness and Resilience Support

This component includes:

• Counseling services (on-site or virtual)

• Stress management training

• Mindfulness-based resilience programs

• Mental health referral pathways

Evidence suggests such programs reduce compassion fatigue and emotional strain (D’Antoni et al., 2025).

2. Mentorship and Professional Support

Structured mentorship connects experienced nurses with early-career staff, promoting:

• Professional development

• Increased confidence

• Sense of belonging

• Career progression

Leadership recognition and coaching further strengthen engagement.

3. Flexible Scheduling and Staffing Optimization

This component focuses on:

• Equitable shift distribution

• Reduced overtime burden

• Self-scheduling options

• Improved workload balance

Intervention Impact Summary

Intervention Area	Expected Benefit
Wellness Programs	Reduced stress and emotional fatigue
Mentorship	Increased engagement and retention
Flexible Scheduling	Improved work-life balance
Leadership Support	Enhanced morale and trust

Potential Communication and Collaboration

How will teams coordinate effectively?

Successful implementation depends on structured communication across disciplines.

Key Strategies

Strategy	Strength	Limitation
Multidisciplinary Meetings	Enhances shared decision-making	Time constraints
Digital Communication Platforms	Improves real-time coordination	Technology adoption barriers
Mentorship Networks	Strengthens professional support	Requires mentor availability

Regular interdisciplinary collaboration improves workflow clarity and patient-centered care (Baek et al., 2023).

Comparison of Approaches

How does this intervention compare to alternatives?

An alternative approach is shared governance, which emphasizes nurse autonomy and participation in organizational decision-making (McKnight & Moore, 2022).

NURS FPX 6085 Assessment 2 Problem Statement (PICOT)

Approach	Primary Focus	Time to Impact
Retention Strategy (Wellness + Scheduling)	Burnout reduction and retention	Moderate
Shared Governance	Organizational culture and autonomy	Long-term

While shared governance fosters sustainable cultural change, it often requires longer implementation timelines. Combining both approaches may yield optimal results.

Initial Outcome Draft

What outcomes will be measured?

The primary objective is a 25% reduction in nurse burnout scores within six months.

Secondary outcomes include:

• Reduced turnover intention

• Improved job satisfaction

• Increased staff engagement

• Lower absenteeism

• Enhanced patient care indicators

These outcomes align with the broader goal of building a resilient and sustainable nursing workforce.

Time Estimate

What is the projected timeline?

Planning Phase (4–6 Weeks)

Key activities:

• Program design

• Stakeholder engagement

• Data review

• Leadership approval

• Evaluation tool development

Implementation Phase (6 Months)

Key activities:

• Launch mentorship programs

• Deliver resilience training

• Adjust scheduling systems

• Monitor workforce metrics

Potential Barriers

• Resistance to change

• Scheduling conflicts

• Resource limitations

Early stakeholder involvement is critical to mitigating these risks.

Literature Review

What does current evidence suggest?

Research consistently supports multi-component strategies for improving nurse retention.

Key Findings

• Leadership and retention: Transformational leadership and career growth improve retention (AbdELhay et al., 2025).

• Post-pandemic burnout: COVID-19 significantly intensified nurse stress (Martin et al., 2023).

• Retention drivers: Leadership quality and work environment are critical (Pressley & Garside, 2023).

• Burnout causes: High workload and staffing shortages are major contributors (Shah et al., 2021).

• Effective strategies: Mentorship and wellness programs enhance retention (Simonsen & Fleischer, 2024).

• Workforce shortages: Linked to job dissatisfaction and limited growth opportunities (Tamata & Mohammadnezhad, 2022).

• Overtime impact: Long hours increase burnout and turnover (Bae, 2024).

• Resource allocation: Strategic workforce planning is essential during crises (Butler et al., 2022).

• Policy solutions: Evidence-based retention policies improve workforce stability (Lasater, 2024).

Conclusion

Nurse burnout and staffing shortages require immediate, evidence-informed interventions. A structured retention strategy that integrates wellness programs, mentorship, leadership engagement, and flexible scheduling offers a practical and scalable solution.

Empirical evidence demonstrates that investing in nurse well-being leads to reduced burnout, improved job satisfaction, and stronger retention. Implementing this six-month initiative can enhance workforce resilience, stabilize staffing levels, and improve patient care outcomes. Healthcare organizations that proactively address these challenges are better positioned to deliver safe, high-quality care.

References

AbdELhay, E. S., Taha, S. M., El-Sayed, M. M., Helaly, S. H., & AbdELhay, I. S. (2025). Nurses retention: The impact of transformational leadership, career growth, work well-being, and work-life balance. BMC Nursing, 24(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12912-025-02762-1

American Nurses Association. (2024, April 25). Nurse burnout: What is it & how to prevent it. https://www.nursingworld.org/content-hub/resources/workplace/what-is-nurse-burnout-how-to-prevent-it/

NURS FPX 6085 Assessment 2 Problem Statement (PICOT)

Bae, S.-H. (2024). Nurse staffing, work hours, mandatory overtime, and turnover in acute care hospitals affect nurse job satisfaction, intent to leave, and burnout: A cross-sectional study. International Journal of Public Health, 69. https://doi.org/10.3389/ijph.2024.1607068

Baek, H., Han, K., Cho, H., & Ju, J. (2023). Nursing teamwork is essential in promoting patient-centered care: A cross-sectional study. BMC Nursing, 22(1), 433. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12912-023-01592-3

Butler, C. R., Webster, L. B., & Diekema, D. S. (2022). Staffing crisis capacity: A different approach to healthcare resource allocation for a different type of scarce resource. Journal of Medical Ethics, 50(9). https://doi.org/10.1136/jme-2022-108262

NURS FPX 6085 Assessment 2 Problem Statement (PICOT)

D’Antoni, F., Matiz, A., & Crescentini, C. (2025). Mindfulness-oriented professional resilience training to reduce compassion fatigue in healthcare workers: A pilot study. Healthcare, 13(2), 92. https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare13020092

Galanis, P., et al. (2023). Increased job burnout and reduced job satisfaction for nurses compared to other healthcare workers after the COVID-19 pandemic. Nursing Reports, 13(3), 1090–1100. https://doi.org/10.3390/nursrep13030095

Knapp, T. C. (2022). The nurse staff pandemic. Journal of Radiology Nursing, 41(2), 74–75. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jradnu.2022.02.007

Lasater, K. B. (2024). Addressing the nurse retention crisis—Leveraging policies supported by evidence. JAMA Network Open, 7(7). https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.21635

Martin, B., Kaminski-Ozturk, N., O’Hara, C., & Smiley, R. (2023). Examining the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on burnout and stress among U.S. nurses. Journal of Nursing Regulation, 14(1), 4–12. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2155-8256(23)00063-7

NURS FPX 6085 Assessment 2 Problem Statement (PICOT)

McKnight, H., & Moore, S. M. (2022). Nursing shared governance. StatPearls Publishing. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK549862/

Pressley, C., & Garside, J. (2023). Safeguarding the retention of nurses: A systematic review on determinants of nurses’ intentions to stay. Nursing Open, 10(5), 2842–2858. https://doi.org/10.1002/nop2.1588

Shah, M. K., et al. (2021). Prevalence of and factors associated with nurse burnout in the U.S. JAMA Network Open, 4(2), 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2020.36469

Simonsen, M. K., & Fleischer, M. (2024). Building a strategy for the recruitment and retention of nurses in healthcare: A contemporary issue. Nordic Journal of Nursing Research, 44. https://doi.org/10.1177/20571585241276740

Tamata, A. T., & Mohammadnezhad, M. (2022). A systematic review study on the factors affecting the nursing workforce shortage in hospitals. Nursing Open, 10(3), 1247–1257.