The nurse managers are discussing the various staffing methodoligies that can be used to develop a staffing plan. Which of the following statements about these concepts is the most accurate?

Question

1. "The industrial engineering methodolgy seems to be based mostly on the nurse manager's insight and experience about what will work best for the unit."
2. "The management engineering methodolgy uses only work sampling and time-and-motion studies to help determine a staffing plan."
3. "It's really difficult to rely totally on the industrial engineering methodology because sometimes we need to use some subjective information to staff our units well."
4. "Descriptive methodology uses an expert panel to examine staffing patterns throughout the organization."

Answer 1

Answer: 3

Rationale: The descriptive methodology relies heavily on the nurse manager's subjective feelings, intuition, and previous experience. The industrial engineering methodology is not well suited to a staffing needs of nurses. It was developed for use by industries. This methodology is based entirely on objective measurements. This methodology uses time-and-motion studies and work sampling to understand how long it takes to perform a task. The management engineering methodology uses a staffing index model and includes the use of an expert panel of nursing leaders. The expert panel examines staffing patterns throughout the organization. This is a meld of subjective feelings about staffing and objective measurements. This methodology seems to work best for developing a staffing plan for nurses.