Constrained nurse staffing analysis

Nurse work force management has been described as a multi-phase sequential planning and control process. Previous research has addressed this process by focusing on the development of phase-specific problem solving methodologies. For practicing managers, it may be more beneficial to evaluate various policy options that management may pursue in addressing the nurse work force issue in light of the nationwide shortage of qualified nurses. This research evaluates management policy at the staffing phase since these decisions have the broadest impact on nurse work force utilization. The impact of nurse staffing policy options on annual nursing labor costs are evaluated for a large public hospital in the State of Florida. A linear programming staffing model served as the research vehicle for the study and response surface methodology was used to investigate the relationship between labor costs and the policy options. Service level, nurse labor availability, nurse staffing mix and flex-staff assignment had the most significant effects on annual nursing labor costs. The implications of these findings for work force management and suggestions for future research are presented.