Essay On Nursing Shortage

932 Words2 Pages

The prolonged shortage of skilled nursing personnel has been a serious concern to the healthcare industry, and this shortage has impacted the quality of care delivery. In addition, nursing turnover has also exacerbated the problem of nursing shortage. Nursing shortage has been blamed on many nurses retiring and less younger nurses joining the occupation. There is also an increase in life expectancy (baby boomers) leading an increase in both physical and mental ailment with subsequent demand in nursing care. Nurses are also leaving nursing profession because of inadequate staffing, tense work environment, negative press about the profession, and inflexible work schedules. Even though nursing is a promising career and offers job security, the …show more content…

Patient’s safety will be compromised because increase of patient to nurse ratio will lead to mistakes in delivering quality care. In 2007, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) conducted a metanalysis and found that “shortage of registered nurses, in combination with increased workload, poses a potential threat to the quality of care… increases in registered nurse staffing was associated with a reduction in hospital-related mortality and failure to rescue as well as reduced length of stay.” Intense workload, stress, and dissatisfaction in one’s profession can lead to health problems. Researchers found that maintaining and improving a healthy work environment will facilitate safety, quality healthcare and promote a desirable professional avenue. 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,

Show More
Related

  • Article Analysis: The Nursing Shortage

    1692 Words  | 4 Pages

    Many health care professionals are wondering why shortage transpired when managed care cost initiatives, implemented throughout the country, are dramatically decreasing the length of patient stays (Upenieks, 2003). In fact, such a situation should be resulting in a nursing oversupply. As the nursing shortage ensues, the need for recruiting and retaining highly skilled nurses committed to the organization will become necessary to maintain high-quality patient care. The recent national nurse shortage has resulted in higher nurse workloads; fewer support resources, greater nursing dissatisfaction, and burnout, making it more difficult to provide optimal patient care (Upenieks, 2003). The primary role of nursing is to provide the best possible care to patients.

    Read More

  • Concept Analysis Of Nurse Burnout

    1116 Words  | 3 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • The Nursing Shortage

    2000 Words  | 4 Pages

    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).

    Read More

  • Nurse Burnout Essay

    1355 Words  | 3 Pages

    However, upon securing a job, they find that things on the ground are not as they had expected them to be and this results in some of them deciding to leave the profession early. Research shows that turnovers within the nursing fraternity target person below the age of 30 (Erickson & Grove, 2011). The high turnover within the nursing fraternity results in a massive nurse shortage. This means that the nurses who decide to stay have to work for many hours resulting in exhaustion. A significant percent of nurses quitting their job sites exhaustion and discouragement as the reason that contributed to their decision. In one of the studies conducted on the issue of nurse turnover, 50% of the nurses leaving the profession argued that they felt saddened and discouraged by what they were unable to do for their patients (Erickson & Grove, 2011). When a nurse witness his/her patients suffering but cannot do anything because of the prevailing conditions he/she feels as if he/she is not realizing the reason that prompted him/her to join the nursing profession. The higher rate of nursing turnover is also affecting the quality of care nurses provide to

    Read More

  • Nursing Staffing Issues In Healthcare

    1458 Words  | 3 Pages

    Advocacy in action paper is to examine various issues in nursing staffing in the hospital and the impact of this issue on the patient’s care and patient satisfaction. Every nurse role and mission is to take care of a patient and advocate for a safe and healthy work environment. It is very important for all nurses to work together, successfully advocate for nurses and the profession to achieve a safer work environment. My role in this paper is to advocate for improvement, practicing safe in the hospital to improve patient satisfaction and reduction in nurse burnout.

    Read More

  • The Nursing Shortage

    1263 Words  | 3 Pages

    For many years, the nursing shortage has been a relevant topic in today’s society. The nursing shortage is defined as a lack of trained nurses to provide care for ill individuals. Nursing schools inability to grow programs quickly enough to meet demands (Nursing Association of Colleges of Nursing, 2014). The shortage is not only an issue in the United States but all over the world. This problem affects a wide range of people from current registered nurses, patients, and other members of the healthcare team. According to the Nursing Association of Colleges of Nursing (Rosseter, 2014), the nursing shortage is due to the expansion of healthcare and nurses who are baby boomers beginning to retire. The Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Employment reports,

    Read More

  • The Nursing Shortage

    1904 Words  | 4 Pages

    Since the 1990’s, the interest in nursing and the profession as a whole has decreased dramatically and is still expected to do so over the next 10-15 years according to some researchers. With this nursing shortage, many factors are affected. Organizations have to face challenges of low staffing, higher costs for resources, recruiting and reserving of registered nurses, among liability issues as well. Some of the main issues arising from this nurse shortage are the impact of quality and continuity of care, organizational costs, the effect it has on nursing staff, and etc. However, this not only affects an organization and community, but affects the nurses the same. Nurses are becoming overwhelmed and are questioning the quality of care that each patient deserves. This shortage is not an issue that is to be taken lightly. The repercussions that are faced by both nurses and the organization are critical. Therefore, state funding should be implemented to private hospitals in order to resolve the shortage of nurses. State funds will therefore, relieve the overwhelming burdens on the staff, provide a safe and stress free environment for the patient, and allow appropriate funds needed to keep the facility and organization operational.

    Read More

  • Nurse to Patient Ratios and Safety

    528 Words  | 2 Pages

    Evidence shows that nurse to patient ratios impacts patient safety. The analysis titled "Nurse-to-Patient Ratios Must Increase to Improve Safety" was chosen for review as possible research material for my chosen health care topic of nurse to patient ratios (Duffin, 2012). The analysis is a concise glimpse of the problems that occur with high patient loads and those that suffer because of it. However, the analysis is just that, a glimpse. It is too short to provide any substantial new evidence or add to any existing research on this topic. This essay will evaluate the targeted audience or discourse community as well as the author's relevance or kairos in the writing of this brief analysis.

    Read More

  • The Global Nursing Shortage

    1154 Words  | 3 Pages

    According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Registered Nursing is listed among the top occupations in terms of job growth through 2022, with the demand increasing at least 19% by the year 2022 (2012). Particularly in the past decade, there is a serious shortage in the number of nurses to fill the vast amount of open positions available. Why is there such a shortage in the nursing profession, and is the nursing shortage real in this type of economy? Unexpectedly, there are many unemployed nurses today, struggling to find employment. An MPR news article by Annie Baxter stated that she had interviewed many unemployed nurses that claim the shortage is just a myth. She goes on to say “as the recession hit, people used health care less, promoting hospitals to hire fewer nurses” (2012). This information couldn’t be further from the truth. The health care industry is at an all-time high right now and there are a plethora of nursing opportunities out there. The nursing shortage is very real, and the misconception lies in the fact that hospitals are requiring a higher level of education than previously. You might ask, if there is such a shortage, why would they be more selective in their criteria? Due to the shortage, nurses are being forced to be more responsible in their work, more independent, work longer hours, and manage an unfavorable amount of patients at a time. This demanding work is requiring hospitals to become more selective in the types of nurses they hire (Aiken L.H., 2011). In this presentation, I will thoroughly explain these growing issues, how the unavailability of a nursing education is the main reason there is a global nursing shortage today, and voice m...

    Read More

  • The Impact Of The Nursing Workforce

    958 Words  | 2 Pages

    The nursing workforce is particularly challenged when it comes to retaining high quality nurses in the profession. This issue is relevant to new and seasoned nurses alike. There are senior nurses experiencing burnout intending to leave the workforce before retirement age and new nurses leaving the profession prematurely, creating too much nurse turnover. When turnover takes place unexpectedly and prior to retirement, the collective effect is financially and socially detrimental to the nursing profession and healthcare institutions. High nurse turnover can influence a healthcare organization’s ability to provide quality patient care and accomplish the best possible patient outcomes (Hayes et al., 2006). Investigating the sources of high nurse turnover rates and the negative impact on healthcare will bring greater understanding to this nursing workforce issue.

    Read More

  • The Impact Of The Nursing Shortage In Nursing

    1872 Words  | 4 Pages

    The nursing shortage is a growing issue in the United States. The problem began in the 1930s, as there was increased hospital use. Nursing shortage resulted in many hospitals to close beds or hire temporary nurses, which is expensive with the aim of filling the gap and providing less optimal care to the patients (Chan et al., 2013). The issue is not that individuals are not going into the field of nursing. It is the fact that existing nurses are not furthering their education and becoming educators. Shortsightedness and retention concerning retention and recruitment contributed to the beginning of a shortage of nurses in the late 1990s, and the shortfall has lasted for long. Additionally, the lifespan of human beings has increased

    Read More

  • Nursing Leadership Essay

    1132 Words  | 3 Pages

    A nurse has to be a good leader and a knowledgeable manager. The best leadership skills come about by coordinating and collaborating with others. Some good leaders possess innate qualities which make them more qualified at improving patients’ care, and retaining qualified nurse professional (Cheery, 2013). Not everyone has qualities of a leader, and that is why not all leaders are best leaders. This writer prefers of being more of a leader than being a manager in dealing with nurse shortages. It is important to build and inspire nurses so that they can function independently now and beyond, instead of being a manager just to meet the status quo. In addition, this writer also believes that a combination of skill sets one up to be a great leader. This writer also believes that great leaders continue to grow personally and professionally daily during work and play. This writer believes in transformational leadership where the leader works with staff to come up with the needed change, guiding the change through inspiration, and then implementing the change. This student wants to inspire others by leading by example, make followers, and aim to achieve some important goals to benefit

    Read More

  • Recruitment And Retention Of Nurses

    1259 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • A Shortage in the World of Nursing

    1004 Words  | 3 Pages

    One of the few careers left in the United States that is said to be everlasting, seems to be getting a taste of reality. What once was a thriving career has steadily begun to struggle with a call to arms. Hospitals around the world are finding that the need for nurses is increasing as new nurse graduates are decreasing. Nursing schools are unable to produce enough new graduates to meet the need. Which causes a need for adequate instructors with the knowledge necessary to educate nursing students. Even with the rate of nurses graduating each year with Bachelors and Associates, why are we in such a drastic need for nurses? Has the population and illness increased so fast that our current nurses are not able to keep pace? Many researchers have attempted to figure out what may be causing this need. This need for nurses is vital to patient care and outcome, but we still lack consensus. The question that has been asked since the 1980s with no resolution.

    Read More

  • Essay On Nursing

    1313 Words  | 3 Pages

    Nursing, by definition according to ANA is “The protection, promotion, and optimization of health and abilities, prevention of illness and injury, alleviation of suffering through the diagnosis and treatment of human response, and advocacy in the care of individuals, families, communities, and populations.” (cite)Nursing is viewed by some as a lady who just gives shots and takes vital signs. But to millions of individuals out there who know that nurses are way much more. Nursing is the opportunity to help someone restore their health to what it once was. Nursing is going beyond their duty to make sure the patient is stable and comfortable. Nurses are the advocates and the protectors of the patient, the families and the community. Nursing is

    Read More

More about Essay On Nursing Shortage

Open Document