REFELECTIVE JOURNAL # 1 February 01, 2011 Chapter 2 While reading chapter 2 in Contemporary Nursing: Issues, Trends, & Management, I came across the topic The Nursing Shortage. This topic captured my interest because when there’s a nursing shortage, it affects everyone. I’ve had times when there’s a shortage of staff and it was tough to deliver care to all the patients on the floor. In 2020 the United States is projected to have only 64% of the registered nursing workforce required to meet the demand for RNs (Cherry, 2008). In other words, this means that they would need 36% more nurses in the workforce which will add to the nursing shortage.
The shortage was further worsened after the Second World War. Currently, America experiences an acute shortage of nurses within the healthcare facilities. The shortage is caused by different factors that include aging workforce, reduction in number of graduates from nursing schools, poor remuneration and other job working conditions making nurses to look for other better paying jobs in other service sectors like insurance or private practice nursing. This paper discusses ways of reducing nursing shortage in America and focuses mainly on three key issues of reducing the shortage. The issues are financial assistance programs for nursing students, creating a retention environment and strengthening the infrastructure.
In fact, 30 U.S. states today have nursing shortages. And by 2020, the government projects, 44 states plus the District of Columbia will have shortfalls. Many people don’t want to do this job anymore because it’s demanding work and can be dangerous. Diana Mason, editor in chief of the American Journal of Nursing says, “we will never have enough nurses unless we fix the work environment.” In order to address this problem, some facilities have tried out some different solutions, for example, more than 1,000 nurses from the Philippines were hired in the U.S. in the last five years. Other facilities are increasing salaries, and providing better hours and working conditions.
THE NEED FOR HIGHLY EDUCATED NURSES Abstract The Need for Highly-Educated Nurses In the 21st century, the health challenges facing the nation have shifted dramatically. The American population is older—Americans 65 and older will be nearly 20 percent of the population by 2030—as well as more diverse with respect not only to race and ethnicity but also other cultural and socioeconomic factors. In addition to shifts in the nation’s demographics, there also have been shifts in that nation’s health care needs. Most health care today relates to chronic conditions, such as diabetes, hypertension, arthritis, cardiovascular disease, and mental health conditions, due in part to the nation’s aging population and compounded by increasing obesity levels. While chronic conditions account for most of the care needed today, the U.S. health care system was primarily built around treating acute illnesses and injuries, the predominant health challenges of the early 20th century.
Staffing issues Sandra Terry Drexel University Critical issues facing most hospitals and long term facilities today is staffing correctly on nursing units for the number of patients and acuity of patients. What happens when the nursing units are not staffed adequately from budget cuts, illness or nursing shortage, and what can be done? When units are not properly staffed, there is an increase in mortality nurses run the risk of medication errors, missed charting, decreased patient satisfaction, and the possibility of having a hospital stay longer than necessary. These issues are usually the result of nurses unable to take the time needed to assess their patients. When there are more patients to handle than time allows nurses might take short cuts in their nursing care.
McConnell (et al, 2010) suggests that “The sheer size of the gap between what we have and what we need to ensure adequate nurse staffing in LTC is staggering”. She points out that the nurses who work in LTC face daily challenges: chronic staff shortages, limited access to expertise that is needed to deal with clinical and social problems, unrealistic work assignments, low pay, little respect, and few opportunities for career advancements. In short, what McConnell (et al, 2010) is saying in her article is that if these challenges were overcome than maybe more nurses would chose a career path in LTC and there would not be this vast gap to deal with. McConnell (et al, 2010) goes on to say that because of the scientific advances in medicine and geriatrics, people with complex chronic diseases will be living longer therefore, if we do not create a working environment where graduate nurses will want to work, then we will certainly be facing more problems. It was interesting to read in this article of the need for LTC and health professions schools to create a partnership that might encourage nursing students to focus their attention to LTC settings and even to enter innovative academic programs.
The Healthcare Worker Shortage: Retention and Recruiting The Healthcare Worker Shortage: Retention and Recruiting Our healthcare system is currently, and has been for some time, experiencing a worker shortage. This shortage has risen due to various challenges imposed by the industry growth and demands for reform. The biggest challenge our healthcare system is faced with is meeting the demand of a rapidly aging population and a population of people who are gaining access to healthcare through governmental healthcare reform. Healthcare systems are now posed with the obstacle of going outside the realms of the typical recruiting platforms of outsourcing to other recruiting organizations, relying on employee referrals or using online advertisements.
Policy Priority: Safe Staffing for Nurses Stephanie Minervini Chamberlain College of Nursing NR506: Health Care Policy July 2013 Introduction Inadequate staffing is becoming an increasing concern for not only nurses but the public as well. Research has found a strong connection between low nurse staffing and higher rates of patient complications. A study from the New England Journal of medicine determined that patient mortality was significantly related to nurse staffing levels. Staffing the right number of nurses with the right knowledge and skill base to meet the needs of patients is essential to achieving optimal nursing outcomes. Sources that can help us plan staffing models or determine appropriate nurse-to-patient ratios include standards defined by professional nursing organizations and regulatory agencies, and benchmarks from the American Nurses Association’s National Database of Nursing Quality Indicators.
Nurses: The Victims of the NHS Overworking nurses is putting patients at risk. Yet it happens in many NHS hospitals on a daily basis. As people begin to live longer the NHS is beginning to feel the pressure of the increasing number of patients treated in hospital but since there is no shortage of nurses this should easily be dealt with, right? Wrong. Many wards, though not all, find themselves understaffed with a higher patient to nurse ratio that there should be in a developed hospital in the western world.
Seth Siddle-Mitchell Expository Writing Synthesis Essay October 18, 2011 Health Care in America In the late 1940’s through the early 1960’s, America experienced a rapid growth in the birth rate. This increase in births is referred to the baby boomer era. What was not thought about during these times was about who was to take of these people when they grew old and dependent. America has reached these time and resources such as money and facilities are dwindling. Major health care plans, such as Medicare and Medicaid, are being drawn from by the elderly, as they are supposed to, but at a rate to greater than taxpayers are paying for the programs.