INSTRUCTIONS Data-Driven Nurse Staffing in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit

TEST INSTRUCTIONS

* Read the article. The test for this nursing continuing professional development (NCPD) activity is to be taken online at http://www.nursingcenter.com/CE/MCN. Tests can no longer be mailed or faxed.

* You'll need to create an account (it's free!) and log in to access My Planner before taking online tests. Your planner will keep track of all your Lippincott Professional Development online NCPD activities for you.

* There's only one correct answer for each question. A passing score for this test is 7 correct answers. If you pass, you can print your certificate of earned contact hours and access the answer key. If you fail, you have the option of taking the test again at no additional cost.

* For questions, contact Lippincott Professional Development: 1-800-787-8985.

* Registration deadline is September 5, 2025.

PROVIDER ACCREDITATION

Lippincott Professional Development will award 3.5 contact hours for this nursing continuing professional development activity.

Lippincott Professional Development is accredited as a provider of nursing continuing professional development by the American Nurses Credentialing Center's Commission on Accreditation.

This activity is also provider approved by the California Board of Registered Nursing, Provider Number CEP 11749 for 3.5 contact hours. Lippincott Professional Development is also an approved provider of continuing nursing education by the District of Columbia, Georgia, New Mexico, West Virginia, South Carolina, and Florida, CE Broker #50-1223. Your certificate is valid in all states.

Payment: The registration fee for this test is $29.95.

NCPD TEST QUESTIONS

Learning Outcome:

Seventy-five percent of participants will demonstrate knowledge of infant factors, nurse factors, and unit factors that influence pre-shift neonatal intensive care (NICU) staffing and how intra-shift variability of these and other factors must be accounted for to maintain effective and efficient assignments by achieving a minimum score of 70% on the outcomes-based posttest.

Learning Objectives:

After completing this continuing professional development activity, the participant will apply knowledge gained to:

1. Identify the general models for quantifying nursing workload.

2. Select the infant factors that affect staffing in the NICU.

3. Choose the administrative and organizational factors that affect staffing in the NICU.

1. The approach to nurse staffing that uses patient acuity scores, disease conditions, or treatment type to classify patients and develop safe and effective nurse staffing levels is called

a. ratio-based.

b. volume-based.

c. situation-based.

2. The approach to nurse staffing that uses not only the number of patients assigned to a nurse and the classification of those patients, but also the facilitators and barriers that contribute to the work experience of the nurse is called

a. ratio-based.

b. volume-based.

c. situation-based.

3. The approach to nurse staffing that uses minimum staffing policies, historical data, and core staffing figures as a basis for the staffing plan is called

a. ratio-based.

b. volume-based.

c. situation-based.

4. Core staffing refers to the number of nurses needed on each unit for each shift, based on a predetermined number related to a unit's

a. census history.

b. patient complexity.

c. emergency and elective patient mix.

5. The most widely explored component of infant acuity is

a. severity.

b. time sensitivity.

c. intensity of clinical workload.

6. An example of an extrinsic factor driving infant-level workload is

a. the plan of care.

b. parent involvement.

c. the need to find equipment.

7. Griffiths et al. (2020) noted that setting a lower core staffing level based on efficiency of a more experienced team is recognized as

a. rewarding excellence.

b. applying efficiency.

c. punishing success.

8. The most direct impact of organizational structure on the planning and provision of patient care is from

a. shift length.

b. nurse staffing protocols.

c. the physical configuration of the NICU.

9. At the organizational or unit level, the most common impact to variability is from

a. risk stratification.

b. the overall census.

c. the families' needs.

10. Which of the following nursing models has the potential to improve the need to match new admissions to NICU with an appropriate nurse, rather than blindly assigning a newly admitted patient to an individual nurse?

a. team nursing

b. primary nursing

c. functional nursing