A Shortage in the World of Nursing

The World of Nursing: What Is Causing the Shortage? 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. The medical community has changed since the 1980s, as positions and duties has changed. Each position contains specific duties to help with patient care and outcome. Just like a pyramid, each position holds a superior rank to the other. The doctors are at the peak and control the patient care. They make the decisions based on the information provided to them by the nurses. The registered nurse (RN) is at the next level and communicates between the doctors and the supporting staff. The supporting staff, the final level, assist the patients on a one on one basis. This pyramid of positions alters depending on the specialty or facility that an individual is employed, and condition of the patient. One without the other is an impossible task... ... middle of paper ... ...taff but reduce the hours, so that the staff is available when needed. Keeping the staff available also reduces the cost for replacement. In an article by Kovner, Brewer, Greene, & Fairfield “the estimated cost to replace a registered nurse is 1.2 to 1.3 times a nurse’s salary which is from 40,000 to 65,000” (as cited in Edwards, 2011). The recession is also affecting the patients as well, with more and more individuals being laid off and having difficulty procuring a new position. Fewer and fewer to seek medical care, especially when there is no insurance to assist with the billing. With all the over-the-counter medications, patients are relying on internet sites such WEB MD to diagnose and treat their symptoms. Ultimately leading hospitals to make hard decisions on how to stay afloat in a crumbling economy. How are New Nurse Graduates Affected? ses would decrease.