Affiliation:
1. University of Central Arkansas, USA
2. University of Central Oklahoma, USA
Abstract
Like many healthcare providers, Shepherd's Grace Hospital struggles to appropriately staff their Emergency Room. Electing to follow employment trends, the hospital has engaged with a staffing agency for four traveling nurses. The purpose of this case is to explore the challenges of bringing contingent workers into an organization and how these short-term employees are viewed by the others more permanently embedded in the organization and the community. Also of importance is how social and psychological capital develop within an organization and how these roles can conflict when translated into a leadership role. This case follows four days of events for a traveling nurse, a traditional nurse, the Director of Nursing Services, the Director of Human Resources at the fictional Shepherd's Grace Hospital in the real city of Little Rock, AR. Upon conclusion, readers are asked to analyze the actions of these four characters along with the interactions of their circumstances (personal, professional, and geographic) to make decisions for how the hospital should move forward.