The human side of staffing.

While the call for data-driven staffing is loud and even overdue, our approach to it must be harmonized with the human side as well. Discovering the right combination of hard data and soft data may well be the impetus needed to catapult a shift in how we approach staffing to new levels of effectiveness. Nurses should not be apologizing for our focus on quality and the patient experience, but rather leveraging the human understanding that nursing has mastered into our business models, financial plans, and staffing programs. The way human beings respond to something, no matter how grounded in scientific facts and evidence, can mean effectiveness or ineffectiveness, success or failure. In developing staffing strategies, programs, and practices, it can be helpful to consider the "experience impact" as part of the decision-making process.