Reaction to Health Care Shortage Projected shortages in the health care industry is the buzz of politicians, providers, health organizations, insurers, and other stakeholders. It is not a secret that physicians and nurses are stretched to their limits while trying to provide quality health care services to patients. Frankly, there are not enough physicians and nurses to provide high quality health care to the population. There are several factors that contribute to the shortage of medical professionals to include the retirement of baby-boomer aged physicians and nurses, recent changes in health care law, and more people have access to health insurance. It is important for policymakers and leaders in health care shape the health care workforce to handle the predicted influx of patients. If policymakers and leaders in health fail to develop a workforce to meet the need of the population, there will continue to be overworked physicians and nurses. In addition, …show more content…
The first step is to educate more providers and nurses while also placing an emphasis on retention programs. Medical institutions are not producing enough physicians to ensure broad access to health care services. In fact, even with current enrollment increases, the demand for providers will outweigh the supply of physicians by 2025 (Anderson, 2014). The next step is to use other health professionals to fill in gaps in health care delivery due to shortages. Of course, it takes several years to adequately educate physicians and nurses. In the meantime, there should be an increase in the number of Physician Assistants, Nurse Practitioners, Certified Nurses Assistants, and Licensed Nurses Assistants to fill in gaps health care delivery due to shortages. According to this week’s article, “What works: Healing the healthcare staffing shortage (2007)”, the use of temporary nurses is no longer to fill in
The Affordable Care Act (ACA) was passed in 2010 with the goal of expanding healthcare coverage to all Americans by reforming insurance policies and practices (Tillett, 2011). The ACA upsurges the demand for an increase in primary care providers in order to supply quality care to the much larger population that will have coverage and therefore acquiring healthcare. The Institute of Medicine (IOM) through its report The Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health has generated a solution to the shortage of primary care providers by promoting a transformation of the nursing profession to fill the gap.
There has been a shortage of physicians, lack of inpatient beds, problems with ambulatory services, as well as not having proper methods of dealing with patient overflow, all in the past 10 years (Cummings & francescutti, 2006, p.101). The area of concern that have been worse...
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.
There is a shortage of all health care professions throughout the United States. One shortage in particular that society should be very concerned about is the shortage of Registered Nurses. Registered Nurses make up the single largest healthcare profession in the United States. A registered nurse is a vital healthcare professional that has earned a two or four year degree and has the upper-most responsibility in providing direct patient care and staff management in a hospital or other treatment facilities (Registered Nurse (RN) Degree and Career Overview., 2009). This shortage issue is imperative because RN's affect everyone sometime in their lifetime. Nurses serve groups, families and individuals to foster health and prevent disease.
The number of doctors that present in the United States of America directly affects the communities that these doctors serve and plays a large role in how the country and its citizens approach health care. The United States experienced a physician surplus in the 1980s, and was affected in several ways after this. However, many experts today have said that there is currently a shortage of physicians in the United States, or, at the very least, that there will be a shortage in the near future. The nation-wide statuses of a physician surplus or shortage have many implications, some of which are quite detrimental to society. However, there are certain remedies that can be implemented in order to attempt to rectify the problems, or alleviate some of their symptoms.
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).
Current literature continues to reiterate the indicators of a major shortage of registered nurses (RNs) in the United States. The total RN population has been increasing since 1980, which means that we have more RNs in this country than ever before (Nursing Shortage). Even though the RN population is increasing, it is growing at a much slower rate then when compared to the rate of growth of the U.S. population (Nursing Shortage). We are seeing less skilled nurses “at a time of an increasingly aging population with complex care needs and an increasingly complex technological care environment” (Mion). According to recent data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Department of Health and Human Services, it is estimated that “more than a million new and replacement nurses will be needed over the next decade” (Diagnosis: Critical).
It is no secret that the current healthcare reform is a contentious matter that promises to transform the way Americans view an already complex healthcare system. The newly insured population is expected to increase by an estimated 32 million while facing an expected shortage of up to 44,000 primary care physicians within the next 12 years (Doherty, 2010). Amidst these already overwhelming challenges, healthcare systems are becoming increasingly scrutinized to identify ways to improve cost containment and patient access (Curits & Netten, 2007). “Growing awareness of the importance of health promotion and disease prevention, the increased complexity of community-based care, and the need to use scarce human healthcare resources, especially family physicians, far more efficiently and effectively, have resulted in increased emphasis on primary healthcare renewal.” (Bailey, Jones & Way, 2006, p. 381).
According to the American Nurse Association, nursing has the second greatest job growth in all US professions. However, the number of nursing shortage is only increasing as the years go by. During the hard times that many Americans have been facing in this economy, there have been lots of nurses whom have been let go from their work field, have re-entered their field just so they can provide for their families, or even nursing students whom have felt discouraged from entering their field professionally because of the nursing shortage situations. To specify in a field, the reason for nursing shortage in the OR can be because of lack of peroperative education or experience, nurses wanting to work in other areas, or the trouble of drawing nurses into this field.
These articles have many similarities when discussing the issue of staffing shortages. For patients, their loved ones and the general population, they don’t understand the ramifications and strain that staffing shortages have on nurses. People expect and deserve complete, competent and safe care when they are patients. These articles bring to light all the struggles that nurses have to deal with. Nurses are fearful that they will make mistakes, will harm patients, and will harm themselves. (Bae, 2012; Erlen, 2001; Martin, 2015) Overtime can be overwhelming and exhausting, which can lead to errors being made. (Bae, 2012; Erlen, 2001) These articles perceive that it may be beneficial for nurses, patients, and healthcare facilities to decrease the nurse-to-patient ratio, however, this option is not always
In spite of the shortage among nurses, there are number of options and recommendations that can better help to maintain an adequate staff level and provide greater strategies needed to increase nursing. The choices open to cover for insufficient staff range from reallocating and postponing work, relocating staff within unit or from other units, to employing temporary additional nurses according to Buchan and Seccombe (1995). In health care, some of these options may not be available because ...
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
Regardless of the best attempts of medical professionals and educators to increase the workforce over the past, shortages are anticipated in every health care profession. The estimated supply of workers fails to meet the need related with population growth and aging of the population. With the continuous necessity for medical services for the millions who are projected to sign up for Medicaid and the federal and state insurance exchanges, the labor force shortages could become devastating.
There are new challenges every year in the health care field. Research on the future of the U.S. Healthcare System is of paramount importance to the entire health care industry as well as the citizens of the U.S. To begin with, the research will discuss how challenges for future healthcare services can be enhanced by reducing the costs of medication. By creating a better quality of health care, Information technology advancements, including future funding, lower rising costs, the Medicare and Medicaid programs. The research will also discuss the challenges of market share for different ages of people populating and maintaining a skilled workplace. It will further discuss the tentative solutions to these challenges.
One of the issues involving health care and the aging population is majority of health profession employees being a percentage of the aging population. With the knowledge of health profession employees being a factor in the aging population puts a strain on doctors and nurses that come into the workforce after ones have retired. The fewer employees there are, the greater the work load will become on one person. It is imperative for each nurse in a unit to have four patients maximum. Giving more responsibility to one employee does not make the situation less of a challenge, it more so puts people’s lives at a greater risk of danger. The new demands placed on the health care system for health services will not only include a need for more workers, but also require changes in the way services are provided.