Nevidjon, B., Erickson, J. (2001). "The Nursing Shortage: Solutions for the Short and Long Term". Online Journal of Issues in Nursing. Vol. 6 No. 1, Manuscript 4. Retrieved November 2, 2013, from www.nursingworld.org/MainMenuCategories/ANAMarketplace/ANAPeriodicals/OJIN/TableofContents/Volume62001/No1Jan01/NursingShortageSolutions.aspx
The effects of having a deficient nursing staff are explored in this paper. By reducing the number of nurses in a healthcare facility the quality of care is no longer at its peak. If healthcare facilities were to hire an adequate number of nurses the quality of care would return to its peak. However, as the number of nurses continues to deteriorate current health care team nurses are forced to work with a soaring nurse-to-patient ratio. As the quality of care diminishes hospital stay is extended, which increases the cost of care for the hospital and patient. The severity of the issues that an inadequate nursing staff have are substantial and need to be resolved. This paper examines the abounding effects associated with inadequate
The nursing shortage is divided into four different categories. The four categories are as follows; "willing nurse" shortage, funding or perceived funding shortage, shortage of understanding that nurses are needed to deliver care, and nurse education and empowerment shortages (What is the nursing shortage and why does it exist?., 18 October, 2007). To be able to repair this major problem, all four segments of shortages need to be addressed. The first nursing shortage, A "willing nurse" shortage, is the simple fact of not enough supply to fill the demand of nursing positions. This shortage occurs either because there are simply not enough nurses to fill the open positions, or because experienced nurses are opting out of nursing and the willingness to provide care due to the current occupational environment. The second nursing shortage is the funding or perceived funding shortage. This shortage is merely due to nurses not feeling as if they are being compensat...
“What is a nurse?”. Denotatively, a nurse is “a person trained to care for the sick or infirm, especially in a hospital”; But nurses are far than just a trained individual, nurses are far more important which is why they are in such high demand. Nurses have always been in high demand. For hundreds of years now nursing has played a very important role in health care and the lives of numerous individuals. “The United States alone plans to add more than 382,000 nursing jobs in the next 10 years”. Four factors explaining why nursing jobs are currently in such high demand are: The academic selection process is very rigorous, the growing number of retiring nurses, nurses not having what it takes to keep up, also to prevent the doctors from getting
In fact, the nurse shortage is just one of the many causes of the phenomenon appears not have been complex. First, the nursing schools do not have enough faculties. Secondly, the over 65 elderly increase and they became requires a workforce of more and more nurses for receive health care. Third is the large number of nurses will soon retire due to the average age of the current nurse 47 years old. For these reasons is revealed is a shortage of nurses.
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).
West (2012) stated that currently, nurse staffing is defined in many ways- as the “presence” of staff, as total nursing care hours per patient per day, or as nurses’ expertise level or educational level (p. 24). These three factors strongly impact the way a patient is cared for. Without enough nurses there are not enough to go around to each patient and spend enough time caring for them. Hospital nurse are often forced to work short staffed, providing care in environments that place patients and even nurses themselves at risk (West, 2012, p. 24). Nurses with a lower education sometimes cannot provide the best care to patients due to the fact that they are not at that skill level. Studies have shown that hospitals with lower proportions of RNs have higher rates of death overall, death following complications, and other adverse events. (West, 2012, p. 24). It is really important that every hospital, nursing home, and other health care unit has enough staff on duty, and that a majority of those staff have a bachelor’s in nursing or higher.
Lack of nurses is dramatically affecting patients’ health care to suffer and death. Nursing is the prime attention to patient care that is in need, and when nursing is a shortage, the population decreases. “Nursing today is more difficult than ever, among patients are giving more complex health care requests.” “Healthcare reforms have aimed to put patients at the heart of the health service” (Delves-Yates, 6). A person may ask himself or herself: Does a person have compassion for people? Is a person able to work overtime and weekends? Most importantly, does a person have the competence to think critically when surrounding in crisis? These questions are important to ask himself or herself if he or she is flexible to do it. In that case, he or she can pursue his or her
Contrary to hiring more nurses to address the numerous issues connected to excellence and gainful care delivery, highly educated nurses are needed to cope with intricate population of patients with escalating levels of unceasing diseases and acutely sick while getting health care. With the current social, economic, political and technological trends, a more diverse workforce is needed. Changes in; population demographics, pressures of cost lowering, rational staffing levels, and technological advancements among other trends, necessitates a transformed nursing workforce (...
The nursing profession that has a workforce of over three million registered nurses is the backbone of the United States of America’s healthcare system that efficiently responds to the nations’ health needs. However, the nursing fraternity faces a number of challenges that make it strenuous for it to meet the present and future needs of the health care sector. Shortage in the number of nurses, a fewer number of experienced nurses in terms of advancing education as well as technological change pose a great danger for the future of nursing and the healthcare sector as a whole. Thus, these challenges have to be solved so as to ensure a reliable, stable and competent nursing workforce functioning at all levels of health
Per an article written by Carrington College, the United States faces an unprecedented shortage of heath care professional. Registered nurses are in high demand, but the hole in our health care system is getting deeper. The nursing workforce is aging and in 2006 a survey showed that 55% of nurses reported intentions to retire by 2020. Then, there are fewer nursing students because nursing schools are turning down candidates because of staff difficulties. And lastly the baby boomers need increased health care. Due to the shortage, nurses often need to work long hours under stressful conditions, which can result in health issues and job dissatisfaction. This makes it more prone for nurses to make mistakes and medical errors. That can lead to a very devastating outcome for
In the most practical terms, the United States is still facing a major shortage of nurses. Simultaneously, the U...
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.
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.