Nursing Shortage

The shortage of qualified health sciences professionals is most often associated with the demand for nursing staff. Nurses represent hospitals’ largest labor expense, comprising the single greatest component of hospital staff. The country is facing a nursing shortage that grows more pressing with each passing year. A steep population growth, a declining number of applicants to nursing schools, an aging workforce and a baby boom generation that will require concentrated healthcare services in the coming years are all contributing to this situation. Nurse to patient ratios are being compromised, patient care is in jeopardy and the overall quality of care nurses can provide is retreating. Given the importance nurses have in health care delivery,

Nursing is demanding, and the education required is rigorous, in terms of both its duration and the level of specialized knowledge required. For those who are prepared to commit, there is a shortage of clinical-training slots, and of teachers. Every year, thousands of applicants to nursing programs are turned away because there were simply not enough teachers for them. As faculty age continues to climb; higher compensation can be found elsewhere luring potential educators away from teaching. Another problem that relates to the nurse shortage is that nurses often need to work long hours under stressful conditions, which can result in fatigue, injury, and job dissatisfaction. Nurses suffering in these environments are more prone to making mistakes and medical errors. “In hospitals which had higher proportions of nurses working longer shifts, higher percentages of patients reported that nurses sometimes or never communicated well, pain was sometimes or never well controlled, and they sometimes or never received help as soon as they wanted” (Stimphel,

This shortage is not exclusively a nursing issue, but will require a collaborative effort among nursing leaders, practitioners, health care executives, government, and the media. The American Nurses Association Magnet hospital program has had a proven success in raising the standards of nursing practice and improving patient outcomes. Magnet facilities are characterized by strong administrative support, adequate nurse staffing, strong communication, nurse autonomy, better control, and a vital focus on the patient and their family. Research is proving that through this program, nurses are having increased satisfaction as well as increased perceptions of productivity and the quality of care given. Studies also indicate that these facilities have lower incidence of needle stick injuries, lower burn out rates, and double the retention of non-Magnet facilities. By adopting the characteristics of Magnet hospitals, facilities will be able to create a culture of retention that empowers and is respectful of nursing