Nursing Shortages and Nurse Turn-Over: Effective Approaches in Leadership and Management
Nursing shortages and nurse turn-over is a growing issue among the nursing profession. The main reason for this growing problem seems to be dissatisfaction among nurses with some aspect of their job. Nursing leaders and managers play a vital role in job satisfaction and ultimately nurse retention. Through this paper, I will identify the roles of nursing leaders and managers and examine the different approaches that each take to ensure job satisfaction among their staff and co-workers, as well as how they manage nursing shortages and nurse turn-over.
Nursing Leadership
In today’s rapidly changing healthcare environment, it is important to develop strong, creative and effective nursing leaders. Leaders are those who possess certain characteristics such as motivation, commitment, autonomy, integrity, courage, initiative and the ability to handle stress (Huber, 2010). Good nursing leaders have the ability to encourage and inspire those around them to work as a team to achieve a common goal. Effective nursing leaders are respected and admired by their co-workers. They are able to think critically, set goals and have good communication skills which make those around them want to follow their lead. “Nursing leaders do more than just delegate, dictate and direct. Leaders help others achieve their highest potential” (ANA, 2014).
Nursing Management
Just like nursing leaders, nursing managers are equally as important to the nursing profession. The role of nursing managers is not only to promote and deliver safe, quality nursing care but also to facilitate and manage the environment of the health care setting. Nursing managers are responsible for the...
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Duffield , C., Roche, M., Blay, N., & Stasa, H. (2010). Nursing unit managers, staff retention and the work environment. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 20, 23-33. Retrieved from http://library.gcu.edu:2048/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com.library.gcu.edu:2048/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ccm&AN=2010882967&site=eds-live&scope=site
Huber, D. (2010). Leadership and nursing care management. (4th ed., pp. 2-298). Maryland Heights: Saunders Elsevier
Morgan, J., & Lynn, M. (2009). Satisfaction in nursing in the context of shortage. Journal of Nursing Management, 17, 401-410. Retrieved from http://library.gcu.edu:2048/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com.library.gcu.edu:2048/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=37814776&site=eds-live&scope=site
Whitehead, D. K., Weiss, S. A., & Tappen, R. M. (2010). Essentials of nursing leadership and
job satisfaction and nurse retention rates saving on the cost of hiring and training new staff.
Recent literature reports that there is a nursing shortage and it is continually increasing. Data released by the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (2011) projects that the shortage, would increase to 260,000 by the year 2025. AACN (2011) also reported that 13% of newly registered nurses changed jobs and 37% were ready to change within a year. A study conducted reports that there is a correlation between higher nursing workloads and nurse burnout, retention rates, job dissatisfaction and adverse patient outcomes (Vahey & Aiken, 2004). Among the nurses surveyed in the study, over 40% stated that they were suffering from burnout while 1 in 5 nurses intended
In healthcare it is very important to have strong leaders, especially in the nursing profession. A nurse leader typically uses several styles of leadership depending on the situation presented; this is known as situational leadership. It is important that the professional nurse choose the right style of leadership for any given situation to ensure their employees are performing at their highest potential. Depending on which leadership style a nurse leader uses, it can affect staff retention and the morale of the employees as well as nurse job satisfaction (Azaare & Gross, 2011.) “Nursing leaders have the responsibility to create and maintain a work environment which not only promotes positive patient outcomes but also positively influences teams and individual nurses” (Malloy & Penprase, 2010.) Let’s explore two different leadership styles and discuss how they can enhance or diminish the nursing process.
There are several factors that are considered the causes of the nursing shortage. Literature suggests that the shortage is linked to factors related to current population trends and the nature of the health care e...
In most aspects of life the saying “less is always more” may ring true; however when it comes to providing quality care to patients, less only creates problems which can lead to a decrease in patient’s quality of life as well as nurse’s satisfaction with their jobs. The massive shortage of nurses throughout the United States has gotten attention from some of the most prestigious schools, news media and political leaders. Nurses are being burnt out from their jobs, they are being overworked and overlooked. New nurses are not being properly trained, and old nurses are on their way to retirement. All the while the rate of patient admissions is on the rise. Nurses are reporting lower satisfaction in their job positions and hospital retention rates are at an all-time low, conversely this is affecting all patients’ quality of care. As stated in the article Addressing The Nurse Shortage To Improve The Quality Of Patient Care “According to an Institute of Medicine report, Nurses are the largest group of health care professionals providing direct patient care in hospitals, and the quality of care for hospital patients is strongly linked to the performance of nursing staff”.
The nursing shortage most likely does not mean a great deal to people until they are in the care of a nurse. The United States is in a severe nursing shortage with no relief in sight due to many factors compounding the problem and resulting in compromised patient care and nurse burnout. Nursing shortages have been experienced in the past by the United States and have been overcome with team effort. However, the current shortage is proving to be the most complex and great strides are being made to defeat the crisis before it becomes too difficult to change. Researchers anticipate that by 2010, the United States will need almost one million more registered nurses than will be available (Cherry & Jacob, 2005, p. 30).
Sullivan, E. J., & Decker, P. J. (2009). Effective leadership and management in nursing (7th ed.).
One of the problems that faces most health care facilities are being able to recruit and retain their nurses. Nursing shortage and turnover are a complex issue that is affecting healthcare delivery. Nurses form the majority in healthcare and mostly direct caregivers, its deficit poses a dangerous effect on the care of the sick and the disabled. Curbing the nursing shortage and turnover is important for facilities to hire and train their leaders and managers. A good leader or manager should be creative, effective, committed, initiative, motivated, and can handle stress (Huber,
As the forthcoming nursing shortage threatens the United States, organizations must be knowledgeable in the recruitment and retention of nurses. The challenge facing health care organizations will be to retain sufficient numbers of nurses to provide safe, efficient, quality care to patients. Organizations will look to recruit and attract quality nurses to fill vacancies. As turnover in nursing is a recurring problem, health care organizations will look for strategies to reduce turnover. The rate of turnover for bedside nurses in 2013 ranged from 4.4 to 44.6% (American Nurses Association, 2013). Nurse retention focuses on keeping nurses in the organization and preventing turnover. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the significance of recruitment and retention of nurses, review the literature, and explore how recruitment and retention apply to nursing.
Spinks, N., & Moore, C. (2007). Nursing Leadership. The Changing Workforce, Workplace and Nature of Work: Implications for Health Human Resource Management, 20(3), 26-41.
Singh and Loncar utilized information from two hundred registered nurses who are union members to gain insight upon the changes nursing and hospital management should make to reduce turnover among the nursing staff and gain the maximum benefit from their employee investment. Employees who become disproportionally dissatisfied with their employment fail to strive for the best possible output and instead perform to the bare minimum of standards. This may cause failure to meet service standards, leading to customer dissatisfaction.
Nurses are uniquely qualified to fill a demand for change through leadership. Unlike business minded individuals whose primary outcome concern is monetary, a nurses’ primary concern is organic: a living, breathing, tangible being. In a leadership role, a nurse might consider an organization as if it were a grouping of patients, or perhaps an individual patient, each limb with its own characteristics and distinct concerns. They can effectively categorize and prioritize important personal and professional matters and are therefore ideally positioned to lead change efforts. Perhaps most importantly, effective nurse leaders can provide clarity to the common goal and empower others to see their self-interests served by a better common good (Yancer, 2012).
Sieloff, C. L., & Raph, S. W. (2011). Nursing theory and management. Journal of Nursing Management, 19(8), 979-980. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2834.2011.01334.x
These characteristics of a nurse manager show how their leadership plays a role in their position in the nursing field. Without this position in the nursing structure, it would be very difficult to produce positive results in providing optimal patient ca...