Contemporary Issues in Nursing Practice

3020 Words13 Pages
The medical profession and healthcare is a very complex and rapidly developing arena. Due to pressure of science, improvements of technologies and easy access to information through mass media by the public, more challenges have been created for the nursing profession in maintaining good nursing practice. In Harley & Linsley (2007)’s opinion, current nursing practice requires greater sensitivity towards nursing issues which are happening in social environment. It is only through awareness and understanding of current nursing issues which are challenging nursing education, profession and changing ethical concerns that nurses are able to contribute more effectively to the healthcare system. According to Bartels (2005), the nursing profession is heading towards a known disaster – shortage of nurses, increased demand of society, decreased reimbursement and growing dissatisfaction from patients and professionals. All these factors are threatening nurses in delivering safe and quality care. The prevalence of injury among nurses is increasing to epidemic proportion around the world. According to (Kumar, 2004) cited in Vieira et al (2005), nurses are among those professionals with the highest incident rates of work related injuries compared to other occupational groups. Types of occupational hazards encountered by nurses are numerous and varied. They can be classified into biological, chemical, psychosocial and physical hazards. Needle stick injury and back pain are the most common physical hazards affecting nurses globally. Alamgir et al (2007) explains that both physical and psychological job demands amplify the effects of physical exertion, therefore increasing work related injury risk among nurses. I have decided to take needle stick injury as the contemporary issue for discussion in the hope of creating awareness to the seriousness of the said issue. Needle stick
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