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Short Staffing In Nursing

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By the year 2020, it is predicted that there will be a 20% shortage of nurses in hospitals in the United States (Punnakitikashem 1). Short staffing in nursing has been a recurring problem since 1998 (Buerhaus et al. 854). With a constantly growing population comes an increasing number of newborns and elders that demand care from nurses around the world (Punnakitikashem vi). This constant demand places a heightened stress upon nurses in hospitals. Because a shortage is present in the United States, nurses are faced with an excessive workload and the demand from patients cannot be met with complete satisfaction. Research shows this conflict leads to a decreased quality of care given to patients in hospitals. Also, it creates a higher chance of …show more content…
In the Journal of Clinical Nursing, James Buchan and Linda Aiken explore the main causes. According to their research, the biggest cause is improper scheduling and planning (3263). It is dire to have enough people to complete all of the tasks in a shift and provide patients with enough attention to satisfy all of their needs. “An undersupply of new staff” also contributes to short staffing (Buchan and Aiken 3263). This is a result of poor employment strategies. When there is a shortage of staff available to work, nurses feel obligated to cover more shifts and take on extra responsibilities. Potential frustration leads to excessive workloads and nurse burnout, which are two major effects of short staffing (Buchan and Aiken …show more content…
In fact, Punnakitikashem articulates that short staffing also affects the quality and amount of work nurses are expected to do (2). When given more patients than they can handle, nurses are “more likely to suffer from job dissatisfaction and burnout” (Punnakitikashem 2). A great amount of work causes nurses to become extremely stressed and fatigued (Punnakitikashem 2). When these feelings of anguish are prolonged, nurses experience an overwhelming sensation that causes them to not want to return to their occupations. Punnakitikashem also reports, “more than 40% of nurses in the United States have suffered from work burnout and one-fifth of all nurses planned to leave their job within the next year” (1). When one nurse quits due to burnout, the other nurses at the hospital feel the immediate repercussions, because the responsibilities of the now absent nurse are still expected to be taken care of. This leads to a never-ending cycle of constant burnout and

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