Letter to the Editor: Perspectives of Oncology Unit Nurse Managers on Missed Nursing Care: a Qualitative Study

Dear Editor, In regard to the article, perspectives of oncology unit nurse managers on missed nursing care: A qualitative study, My heart goes out to my global nursing family who are represented in this article. I want them to know, they are not alone! This is truly a pandemic issue! Missed nursing care is happening globally. There are several reasons why this is occurring, but the one that shares a common theme is, the impact of the shortage of registered nurses. Data from the multinational RN4Cast study found a two‐fold variation between European hospitals in the reported incidence of missed care. Missed care has consequences. According to the study, missed care resulted in a decreased patient safety and increased rate of patient falls. In the United States, missed nursing care has been linked to mortality. In 2016, it was reported that medical errors are the 3 leading cause of death in the United States. This was supported by a study conducted at Johns Hopkins University, and the research study was published in the British Medical Journal. What can Leaders do to decrease the amount of missed nursing care? This has to be addressed from a multi‐system level. Stakeholders must come to the table and be open to discussing every opportunity related to missed care. No stone should be left unturned because this is everyone’s issue. The discussion must include resources and workloads of every department. It will take buy‐in from every department to be vigilant and supportive. Next, explore opportunities with Universities to increase the numbers of student nurses completing nursing programs and passing the licensure examination. In addition, initiatives must be put in place to increase the number of applicants applying to nursing programs and increase the number of students completing the programs. Using nursing students to provide basic care needs is an innovative idea, but one that could prove costly if they are providing care without supervision. Therefore, guidelines should be constructed that clearly states the duties that can be delegated to nursing students. Strides must be made by increasing the number of nurses, so they can concentrate their time on providing care to fragile patients who require more complex care. Remember, it takes a Village! Financial support and sponsorship Nil.