Understaffing Case Study

The lack of support, the lack of recognition and appreciation and fewer resources to be able to do their job correctly is frustrating and causing problems physically and mentally for the nurses and hindering patient care. The impact on nurses is very individualized to them so not one person can react the same or heal the same. Symptoms unfortunately caused discerning fatigue emotionally and physically, relationship struggles and burnt out nurse syndrome to the point of wanting to leave the profession (Mendes, 2014). The preventive measures must continue and be creative on ways to allow the nurse to distress. Extreme fatigue emotionally and physically can cause anger, tears for no reason, pain and a foggy memory (Peate, 2015).

Another reason for nursing turnover is staffing. In staffing, nurses may feel that their personal standards are not met by other workers and feel unworthy. Hospitals may also have acceptable staffing levels but unsystematic units, which can make giving orders a pain. The last reasons that many nurses leave their jobs are due to personal reasons. A nurse’s job is very stressful and can cause nurses to become fatigue, and dislike their current jobs; nurses are prone to making mistakes and medical errors (ANA, 2014).

1) Research Problem: The problem evident in the article, “Nurse was managing Limpopo Hospital (1),” is that due to the fact that there is poor management in the clinics and hospitals is causing problems in the health of the patients. This is due to the fact that poorly managed hospitals are leading to doctors as well as other staff being absent from work or being late. Another problem is that due to poor management the treatment is not appropriate when patients are very ill. It is evident that this is causing problems in the health of patients, as there have been four infant deaths. This is as a result of incompetent managers leading to nurses having to manage the hospital when they should be treating patients.

The administrators must reduce the ratio of nurse to patient because the current nurses' workload can lead to nurses' burnout, patient dissatisfaction, and negative patient outcomes. Thousands of nurses throughout the nation are exhausted and overwhelmed due to their heavy workload. The administrators do not staff the units properly; therefore, they give each nurse more patients to care for to compensate for the lack of staff. There are several reasons to why

A nurse working in a hostile environment can feel stress and overwhelmed, which can lead to an altered emotional state. Blevins (2015) reports in Impact of Incivility in Nursing that nurses working in this type of environment can “experience stress-related disorders and physical illness” which can decrease work attendance. A nurse or healthcare provider providing patient care in this emotional state can turn their negative feelings into uncivil behavior toward the patient or miss something critical to patient care, leading to patient harm or death. For example, if a nurse is upset about being disrespected from a fellow healthcare worker the nurse might turn her emotions on the patent by not asking the right assessment questions, or writing off a critical detail the patient is reporting. Incivility can also reach the patient level when a nurse is afraid to ask questions regarding patient care to the charge nurse as a result of recent bullying.

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.

Staffing and Safety The shortage that the nursing division faces can be because of the lack of people working in the field (Hassmiller & Cozine, 2006). In likeness of the nursing shortage, sufficient care of patients have been on the decline, and the staff that is present incurs abysmal work environments (Hassmiller & Cozine, 2006). Because of the substandard working conditions, nurse leave the work force thus creating shoddier work environments (Hassmiller & Cozine, 2006). Encouraging new nurses to join the task force in such array proves to be difficult as the effort to comply with the job’s demand is challenging with an insufficient number in staffing (Hassmiller & Cozine, 2006). The sequence will continue in this manner until the issues

Nursing Shortage is a problem we all should be aware of. There are many factors that may lead to a nursing shortage, such as having stressful and unsafe working environments, and our nurses are being overworked. This is a problem we should be aware of because it is affecting the patient care. Nurses would not have enough time to stay with a patient if they have more patients to worry about. Nurses play a big role in our hospitals and communities, “Nurses play significant roles in hospitals, clinics and private practices.

Tersigni speaks for nurses, “I was always stressed when I worked, afraid to get sued for making a mistake or medical error,” says Tersigni, who was working in the heart transplant unit of a North Carolina hospital. “Plus, working the night shift caused me to gain weight and stop working out” (Gupta).Nurses stress over their work because of the decisions they make. One small decision can mean someone's life on the line. Also working on different occasions can cause nurses to be tired after not enough sleep. Patients cause stress to, as it says, Negative patients may be mean to nurses and waste time, which will ruin the reputation of the hospital also if the nurse is not in the room quick enough when the patient needs them (“10 Ways Overworked Nurses Are Hurting Hospitals”).

2). The purpose of this paper is to discover the issues of the nursing shortage affecting society, the solutions to overcome the shortage, and how the shortage affects quality of care. Issues of the Nursing Shortage that affect today’s Society The media frequently portrays nurses’ inability to provide adequate patient care. People do not feel it is safe to be admitted hospitals. Unfortunately, the public is unaware of the responsibilities, medical knowledge, and skills required for proper care.