A system thinking approach to staff sizing in health care institution

Human talent is the cornerstone of any health system. Without suitable staff, a quality service cannot be provided to the needy. Therefore, methods that facilitate and improve the planning and management of the support staff in health services should be available. Using simulations, this article presents a resource planning model that adopts the paradigm of system dynamics as a tool. The objective is to support the decision making process of those in charge of developing policies and plans at health care institutions regarding the human talent to hire in order to provide a timely, quality service.