Publication Date
2026
Presentation Length
Poster/Gallery presentation
College
Gordon E. Inman College of Nursing
Department
Nursing, School of
Student Level
Undergraduate
Faculty Mentor
Linda Wofford
Metadata/Fulltext
Fulltext
Presentation Type
Poster
Summary
This change project proposes implementation of the CAMEO (Complexity Assessment and Monitoring to Ensure Optimal Outcomes) acuity-based staffing tool in a local critical care unit to improve patient safety, nurse wellbeing, and organizational outcomes (Hurtig et al., 2021). Current staffing practices rely on floating nurses from other units during census fluctuations, creating skill mismatches, increased burnout, and risk for adverse events. Evidence links inadequate staffing with increased mortality, infections, length of stay, and nurse turnover, revealing the need for a more systematic approach (Elmdni, 2025). The CAMEO tool quantifies cognitive workload across 18 domains of care and aligns nurse expertise with patient acuity to guide assignments. Domains of care for this unit likely include IV-line titrations, hemodynamic monitoring, patient hygiene care, and ambulation. Implementation will include baseline assessment of workload and outcomes, manager training, budget allocation, and a three-month pilot in one ICU sector before full adoption within one year. The tool will be printed for each patient and nurse at an estimated cost of $0.10 per copy, totaling approximately $4,000 annually (HP Inc., 2023), and scanned into the electronic record. The desired outcomes are a 10% decrease in float nurse utilization in addition to a 10% increase in nurse satisfaction which will be evaluated through a pre and post implementation evidence-based nurse feedback survey and analysis of staffing data. Sustaining this model will promote safer staffing practices, strengthen retention, and support high-quality, cost-effective critical care delivery in the long term.
Recommended Citation
Watson, Grace; Nazha, Rachel; Ruffin, Madeline; and Lewis, Evvy, "Acuity-Based Staffing Tool: Improving Patient Outcomes and Nurse Wellbeing in a Local Critical Care Unit" (2026). SPARK Symposium Presentations. 1125.
https://repository.belmont.edu/spark_presentations/1125
