Issues with Current Nursing Shortage

707 Words3 Pages
Issues with Current Nursing Shortage NR101 06/03/2015 Chamberlain College of Nursing

Lubbe and Roets’ article, Nurses’ Scope of Practice and the Implication for Quality Nursing Care, details a major problem in the nursing and medical field today. As the nursing shortage greatens, the more nurses are forced to perform procedures that they are not prepared or licensed to do. This compromises patient safety and the trust that the public has in the nursing profession. The article explores the implications of these problems and uses a study to explain the effects and complications that can come from nurses performing tasks they are not ready to perform. The article promotes safety, delegation, prioritization, and care by focusing on the hierarchy in the nursing system and how the appropriate nurse should be following the required role. This is important in the initial assessment of the patient. Only RNs and their superiors should be assessing patient’s immediate needs in order to ensure the overall care of the patient. The patient’s safety is paramount and having a qualified professional assessing their needs is of utmost importance. After this step, the RN can then delegate the care plan to other nurses that are able to follow through with their care. Lubbe and Roets use the example of the regularity of pressure ulcers in patients. This is an avoidable complication if appropriate care and protocol is used. They discuss a study in which the correct usage of the Waterlow Scale decreases the likelihood of experiencing this complication. The Waterlow Scale is a tool that is used to determine the likelihood of the occurrence of pressure ulcers in patients. If used correctly, it can greatly help reduce the possibility of an ulcer. In numerous cases that were audited by the study, they found that there was a proportional increase in the incorrect use of the

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