Reasons For Nurse Shortage

1423 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Nursing shortage concerns

Nursing Shortage It is likely that most people have heard about the nursing shortage for years now, and perhaps they believe it’s been fixed. However, the nursing profession is experiencing a reoccurring deficiency. According to Brian Hansen, (2002), there was a nation wide shortage in 2001 of 126,000 full-time registered nurses, but the shortage will surge to 808,000 by 2020 if something isn't done. This pattern is a persisting cycle of high vacancies followed by layoffs and a high over supply of registered nurses. Various factors contribute to the lack of nurses within the health care facilities, but today’s shortages are a little different. Many feel that this scarcity is severe and long-drawn-out. The four major issues contributing to the nursing shortage include demand, supply, educational preparedness, and job satisfaction. Demand The demand for nurses is growing at an alarming rate. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, registered nursing employment rates will increase by 26% from 2010 to 2020. Meeting the projected demand for nurses will require a significant amount in nursing graduates to fill these spots. In addition, filling the occupancies with the aging nursing workforce will also need to be addressed. This coincides with the increasing need for the nursing faculty. . In addition, health care reforms are providing more people with health care. Therefore, causing a huge upsurge need for more nurses. Aging Workforce Many nurses are simply getting old and retiring from their professions. The overall nursing workforce age has risen steadily from 49 years of age in 1993 to 54 in 2004 for doctoral faculty and 46- 50 years of age for master’s faculty (“American Association”, 2005). Barely nine percent of the curr... ... middle of paper ... ...ook Handbook: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2012, March 29). Retrieved October 28, 2013, from http://www.bls.gov/ooh/Healthcare/Registered-nurses.htm Report to Congress on Nursing Faculty and the Intergovernmental Personnel Act Mobility Program: The Forum, Findings, and Recommendations. (2010, April). Retrieved November 1, 2013, from https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/hiring-authorities/intergovernment-personnel-act/nursing.pdf So, you’re a new nurse. Now what? | Scrubs – The Leading Lifestyle Nursing Magazine Featuring Inspirational and Informational Nursing Articles. (2010, October 21). Retrieved from http://scrubsmag.com/so-youre-a-new-nurse. -Now-what/ Wood, D. (2009). Why Have Nurses Left the Profession? - Nurse Zone. Retrieved November 3, 2013, from http://www.nursezone.com/nursing-news-events/more-news/Why-Have-Nurses-Left-the-Profession_29118.aspx

Show More
Related

  • Recruitment And Retention Of Nurses

    1259 Words  | 3 Pages

    “In 2010, the US Department of Labor Statistics (DLS) projected a 22 percent increase in the demand for RNs or 581,500 new jobs by 2018, to total a projected 1,039,000 jobs needed to be filled by 2018” (Cottingham, DiBartolo, Battistoni, and Brown, 2011, p. 250). It is imperative that strategies be implemented to improve the recruitment of nurses to meet the needs. Without improvements in the recruiting of new grads or seasoned nurses, organizations will need to rely on expensive agencies and traveling nurses; therefore, causing a financial burden on organizations (Cottingham et al., 2011).

    Read More

  • Long-Term Care and the Shortage of Nurses

    2331 Words  | 5 Pages

    Daniel P. Wright, K. M. (2010). Strategies for Addressing the Nursing Shortage: Coordinated Decision Making and Workforce Flexibility. Decision Sciences , 373-401.

    Read More

  • The Nursing Shortage

    2492 Words  | 5 Pages

    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).

    Read More

  • Nurse Shortage in America

    2249 Words  | 5 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • America's Nursing Shortage Analysis

    1181 Words  | 3 Pages

    The shortage of registered nurses (RNs) in the United States has been a cyclical topic dating back to the 1960s. Only recently have employers in certain regions of the nation stated a decline in the demand for RNs. Consequently, according to the American Association of Colleges of Nursing’s (American Association of Colleges of Nursing [AACN], 2014) report on 2012-2013 Enrollment and Graduations in Baccalaureate and Graduate Programs in Nursing, American nursing schools denied admission to 79,659 qualified applicants from baccalaureate and graduate nursing programs in 2012. The reported decrease in job availability and rejected admissions has left many individuals to question if the nursing shortage still exists. On the other hand, some experts project that the United States will be short more than one million RNs by 2020 (Dolan, 2011). Although some parts of the country are in less of a demand than others, it is undeniable that there is a national shortage of RNs.

    Read More

  • The Nursing Shortage

    2000 Words  | 4 Pages

    Zerwekh, J., Claborn, J. (2006). Nursing today: Transitions and trends (pp. 343-346). St. Louis, Missouri:

    Read More

  • The Nursing Shortage

    1904 Words  | 4 Pages

    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 ...

    Read More

  • Nursing Shortage In Nursing

    1433 Words  | 3 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 makes some of the hospitals to close the 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 nursing but also the fact that the existing nurses are not going into education. 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 due to the advancing technology, and it

    Read More

  • Article Analysis: The Nursing Shortage

    1692 Words  | 4 Pages

    JAMA, 288(16), 1987-1993. Buerhaus, P.I., Staiger, D.O., & Auerbach, D. (2000). Implications for an aging registered nurse workforce. JAMA, 283(22), 2948-2954. Borman, W., Hanson, M.A., & Hedge, J.W. (1997).

    Read More

  • Nurse Educator Shortage: A Case Study

    850 Words  | 2 Pages

    Nurses have always been an undervalued asset to the health care industry; however, there is always a great need for them. With more uninsured Americans requiring safe, affordable medical care, the pressing issue of nursing education is not a priority (Aiken, 2011). Recently, there have been modifications taken place toward the current nursing shortage, the decrease of nursing graduates, a workforce that is becoming older, and other factors that influence nurse educator shortage (Baker, Fitzpatrick, & Griffin, 2011). Nurse educators are required to advise students, complete research, and perform committee work all while teaching (Baker, Fitzpatrick, & Griffin, 2011). They also have multiple jobs outside of practicing nursing and teaching. Nurse educators have stressful roles that hold many expectations, yet there is no independence in making their own decisions concerning things. Aiken (2011) suggests that the best way to begin combatting this shortage should include increasing the number of nurses who hold a bachelor’s degree in nursing from 50% to 80% by 2020 (p. 196). Forty-eight percent of nurse instructors are expected to be aged 55 and older and are predicted to retire by this time. (Baker, Fitzpatrick, & Griffin, 2011).

    Read More

  • Essay On Nursing Shortage

    932 Words  | 2 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

    Read More

  • My Discourse Community Essay

    1674 Words  | 4 Pages

    The nursing community is rapidly growing and in needs of nurses to take over positions of the older nurses who are retiring, but there is a shortage of nurses due to the shortage of teachers to teach larger groups of candidates who want to become part of this Discourse community. Tiffin, Charles PhD “Beyond the Bedside: The Changing Role of Today’s Nurses” The nursing field is growing so fast, also more opportunity for more health care professionals to advance in their careers. Technology is also allowing this discourse community to create opportunities.

    Read More

  • Nursing Turnover In Nursing

    1514 Words  | 4 Pages

    Nurses are considered as the largest population of professionals in the health care systems. The nursing population currently confronts sever shortages especially of younger and RNs nurses that could threaten the quality of care and patients’ safety, nurses’ job satisfaction, and organizational productivity. According to Flinkman and others’ fact that “Most countries within the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) have reported a nursing shortage, which is predicted to get worse because the current nursing population is aging”. Even nursing education institutions could not fill healthcare organizations demands of graduated nurses because they also suffer from shortages of nursing faculty (Erlen, 2004).

    Read More

  • Nurse Staffing In Nursing Case Study

    1943 Words  | 4 Pages

    The risk for patient health has been increasing while the nurse staffing levels are decreasing, throughout the world patient care is at risk due to the shortage of staffing in the nursing industry. Many, including the nurses who are being greatly impacted by this situation believe that changes need to be made to increase nurse staffing levels to better the lives of every individual involved in such a massive problem that can affect many innocent lives. Although, some might argue against finding a solution to the problem and bettering the staffing levels by stating that the nursing field doesn’t have a low employment rate and is projected to grow in the near future, however, the situation remains to be impacting nurses and patients in negative

    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

More about Reasons For Nurse Shortage

Open Document