...NURSE SHORTAGE STRATEGIES The nursing shortage has been around for the greater part of the 20th century, and now into the 21st century, and has placed the healthcare system under some significant strain The number of patients with age-related health needs are exploding, just as a large number of health professionals are retiring. Unmet health care needs are fast approaching. There simply are not enough health professional students "in the pipeline" to meet the oncoming demand for care. The result? An impending health workforce shortage of unprecedented proportions. Nurse leaders are challenged to identify creative solutions to the issue of nursing shortage. There are many contributions to the nursing shortage. In a sense, the nursing shortage is simply from the spread of nurses that lack skills that are needed for the growing population and individual patient care. The work that nurses are hired to do is not that well understood, even by educators that are members of today’s nursing society. There is a vast gap in what the public thinks skilled nurses actually do. This reason alone is one of the causes of the nursing shortage that is happening. The nursing shortage also includes: (1) poor working conditions, (2) inadequate resources for nursing research and education, (3) nursing workforce aging, (4) women having expanded career options, (5) nursing...
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...Nurse Shortage in Nursing Homes Nursing shortages have been an issue in the health care field for a few years now. This shortage is seriously impacting nursing homes and the elderly in our society today. With a shortage of 8.1% of nurses in 2008, it is important to understand what is happening to nurses (Addressing the Nursing Shortage, 2010). To help one understand the nurse shortage more, this paper will discuss resource scarcity, stakeholders, economic flows, changes in supply and demand, pricing decisions, along with a business proposal. The business proposal will discuss where the market has a shortage of providers, list of services the firm will provide, explanations of set prices, and who will be hired and how much one will be paid. Resource Scarcity and Stakeholders Economic Flows According to Jacobs & Rapoport, “Economic flows can involve both money and services.” There are a couple of economic flows that could affect the nursing home and the nursing shortage. The first would be how the nursing home provides health care to the elderly. If the firm does not provide good service to the patients and customers, most nurses and patients would not want to stay at the nursing home. The second economic flow that could affect a nursing home is money. If the nursing home does not have the right amount of money, patients are not going to get the service they require. The same could be said about the nursing shortage in nursing homes. If the money is not there, then the nurses...
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...Nursing Shortage Janice Boserman HCS/552 April 7, 2014 Nursing Shortage Shortages of registered nurses have taken place repeatedly in the past. Agencies have examined the reasons for the decline in the supply of nurses. There seems to be a cycle of nursing shortages in the United States. “Economist argue that the shortages are related to the lack of increase wages, an imperfectly competitive market, geographic distribution problems, or the delay between salary increases and the ability to afford the education needed to enter the job market,”(ACHE, 2013). Other resources site the nursing shortage on the aging nurse population or the “baby boomers” leaving the workforce. The decrease individuals attending the nursing programs due to not enough professors to teach are causing a reduction in the number of graduate nurses. This paper will discuss two economist tools used to understand the nursing shortage. The two tools are supply and demand and marginal analysis. How the nursing shortage can affect the economy will also be discussed. Supply and Demand Nursing shortages are a predictable occurrence in healthcare. In the United States alone, five significant shortages have happened in the last 50 years (Censullo, 2008).The lack of nurses lasts 1 to 2 years. It is predicted the by the year 2016 nearly 587,000new jobs will be on available for new nurses (Aiken, Cheung, & Olds, 2009); the United States Bureau of Labor and Statistics have determined there will be a shortage...
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...IMPACT OF NURSE SHORTAGE ON HOSPITAL‐BASED PATIENT CARE AND NURSES 1 Literature Review Nursing shortage is acknowledged nationwide as a problem in the health care sector that has generated a body of research by various scholars. A review of the existing literature was done using EBSCO Host and Cochrane data bases with the goal of exploring the nature of nursing shortages in hospitals and other health care facilities. The search keywords include nursing shortage, stress, work environment, job satisfaction, economic crisis and hospitals, and quality of patient care. The body of literature reviewed indicated that nursing shortage impacts on the quality of patients’ care, as well as the nurses who feel the direct impact of these shortages. A major research gap in the body of literature was found to be the failure to examine the role of the poor economic conditions that all sectors are being faced with, including the health care sector, in exacerbating the nursing shortages since 2008, which is worsening by the day. Framework This review of literature on nursing shortage was done within the frame work of the general theory of nursing, which explains the purpose of nursing as that of assisting patients to achieve their highest possible level of physical, mental/emotional and spiritual well being. Simply put, the nursing theory is about facilitating healing. But the reality is that some nurses, in no small percentage, are working in conditions that do not lend credence to this nursing theory...
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...Nursing Shortage: A Comparative Analysis James Baptiste Walden University NURS 3001 Section 3, Issues and Trends in Nursing Prof. Sonya Blevins December 9, 2012 According to international journal of nursing the shortage is a global challenge, affecting every country in the world. However each country experiences it according to its own domestic issues. The purpose of this paper is to analyze three countries nursing population United States, Philippines and South Africa where nursing shortage has affected their health care quality. This article investigates the impact of the nursing shortage in three different countries United States with a rapid aging of its population which has an effect on the health care system, Philippines with the policy of exporting a massive of nurses oversees by the government which in return creates a vacuum in the country for skilled nurses, and South Africa where poor working condition, low wage and social unrest distress the health care system. By using literature as research tools to be able to describe what nursing shortage means for those countries and strategies that they use to address the situation. In United States the nursing shortage is more relate to an aging population. The professional issues in nursing (2009) state that between now and 2015, the population aged 85 years and older will increase by 40%. Therefore not only more nurses will be needed but also due to increase in technology the 21st century patients have shifted...
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...The Nursing Shortage The history of nurses in our textbook, “Policy and Politics for Nurses and Other Health Professionals”, seems to suggest a deficit in nursing staff since the early 1900’s (Nickitas, Middaugh & Aries, 2016). As healthcare has transformed from the late 1800’s to the 2010’s, nursing has had to alter its practice to remain relevant and current with each era. This paper will share insight into the potential causes of the current nursing shortage, offer awareness of how nurses are preparing themselves to work in this setting and suggest methods through legislation to alleviate safety concern produced by limited staffing. Events Leading to the Nursing Shortage Current predictions by the American Healthcare Association (2009)...
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...Renfrey Memorial Hospital Proposal Name here MHA 601 Principles of Healthcare Administration Prof. Rashida Biggs June 9, 2014 The United States has experienced shortage of nurses in the past and then there was a surplus of nurses. However, the present shortage of nurses has been totally different from what has been experienced in the past. The present problem of nurse shortage is due to the declining enrollment, the new requirements that are asked from medical aids to qualify for enrollment in nursing schools, also the aging of Registered Nurses (RN) in the workforce, and the restricted supply of vacancies available will be like a new element to an ancient problem that has to be fixed in the near future. Nurses need to be strong and proactive and help each other by securing their future and forming partnership and associations within their profession. (Goodin, 2003) The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate in a small way how some hospitals in the United States have found a solution to the nurse staffing shortage they have face in the past or are facing in the present or will face in the near future. This paper will also try to provide a recommendation, and solutions that have been implemented by other hospitals that faced the same problem that Renfrey Memorial Hospital is facing with their shortage of nurses. Solutions that is viable and easy to implement in the next two years, solutions that will cover a few of the stakeholders groups and their interests. Executive...
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...Resources Article For many years now the shortage of nurses has been a difficult global issue that is affecting many countries. Ever since I started high school about 11 years ago, we always here that there is a shortage of nurses. Even till this day, there is a shortage of nurses and it continues to grow. According to (Buchan, 2008), “A nursing shortage is not just an organizational challenge or a topic for economic analysis; it has a major negative impact on health care (Buchan 2006). Failure to deal with a nursing shortage – be it local, regional, national or global – will lead to failure to maintain or improve health care.” Influencing factors to Nursing Shortage There are several reasons why there is such a shortage of nurses that are available. This can be due to heavy population growth resulting in the need of more health care services, not enough nursing students, budget cuts in the hospitals, stress levels that are affecting current nurses which impact job satisfaction which causes them to leave and also the aging of the current nurse workforce. From experience, nurses usually leave their profession due to dissatisfaction. Dissatisfaction can be caused from nurse’s inability to provide excellent quality of care to patients, insignificant change in job performance. Another reason why there is shortage of nurses is due to the lack of students that are unable to take certain classes to meet nursing requirements and there are some who...
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...Literature Review One nursing issue that I am passionate about is the shortage of nurses. This has been a long standing problem, even in the days of Ms. Florence Nightingale, when she and her nurses "used limited resources to address unlimited wants for healthcare (Cherry & Jacob, 2014)". They did the best they could and were able to improve the soldiers' condition dramatically. Agreeably, the situation is far better today. This topic is of great importance because, a shortage of nurses means that the ratio of patient to nurse increases and this can result in nurses being overwhelmed. It also affects the every aspect of patients’ care and it increases the risk of negative patients’ outcomes. It makes nurses apprehensive when they are going to work and that is not a good way to feel on a regular basis. Some of the reasons listed as causes of shortage of nurses include lack of good role models and early professional socialization, unrealistic workload, an aging workforce, negative work environment, retention problem, and insufficient nursing faculty staff. I chose the first article "Becoming a nurse: a meta-study of early professional socialization and career choice in nursing," because it attempts to deal with the issue of nursing shortage by investigating what motivates young people to choose nursing as a career and early professional socialization (Price, 2009). It highlighted the need to have good mentors, peers and role models, especially as new nurses are transitioning...
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...The Nursing Shortage The nursing shortage has been a highlight of discussion for years. With healthcare reform now happening, the nursing shortage has become more urgent. Baby boomers are retiring making the nursing work force dwindle even further. More patients have insurance and are seeking care. Healthcare facilities are struggling with regulatory agencies that are directly linked to reimbursement and are try to do more with less staff which is leading to burn out. To further compound the issue, nursing professors are retiring and there is a decrease in the number of nurses entering the education work force due to lack of pay, increased amount of stress, and the increase in responsibility (Duvall & Andrews, 2010). With fewer professors, colleges are unable to accept as many students into nursing programs. The nursing shortage is a vicious cycle that needs to be broken. There are a number of factors that are influencing the nursing shortage. First is the lack of nursing professors. With fewer professors, nursing programs cannot accept as many students, which contributes to lacking numbers. Second, many nurses are at or nearing retirement age. 55% of the workforce is over the age of 50. Third, is the demand for nursing is increasing as more patients are obtaining insurance and as the population ages. Fourth, is burnout. Nurses are working short staffed, causing increased stress levels, decreased job satisfaction, and a decrease in quality care. Finally, there is a high...
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...The Nursing Shortage The nursing shortage has been a highlight of discussion for years. With healthcare reform now happening, the nursing shortage has become more urgent. Baby boomers are retiring making the nursing work force dwindle even further. More patients have insurance and are seeking care. Healthcare facilities are struggling with regulatory agencies that are directly linked to reimbursement and are try to do more with less staff which is leading to burn out. To further compound the issue, nursing professors are retiring and there is a decrease in the number of nurses entering the education work force due to lack of pay, increased amount of stress, and the increase in responsibility (Duvall & Andrews, 2010). With fewer professors, colleges are unable to accept as many students into nursing programs. The nursing shortage is a vicious cycle that needs to be broken. There are a number of factors that are influencing the nursing shortage. First is the lack of nursing professors. With fewer professors, nursing programs cannot accept as many students, which contributes to lacking numbers. Second, many nurses are at or nearing retirement age. 55% of the workforce is over the age of 50. Third, is the demand for nursing is increasing as more patients are obtaining insurance and as the population ages. Fourth, is burnout. Nurses are working short staffed, causing increased stress levels, decreased job satisfaction, and a decrease in quality care. Finally, there is a high turnover...
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...economic tools and concepts that relate to the health care field. When discussing the current nursing shortage, and the nursing shortage that will continue through the future, scarcity, supply, and demand are just a few of the important concepts to address. According to Explorehealthcareers.org (2012), “The United States has a serious shortage of practicing nurses” and “demand for frontline workers is expected to increase 50% over the next five years.” This paper will explore scarcity, supply, and demand and how these relate to the current and future nursing shortage. Scarcity Scarcity exists when the infinite human wants outweighs the limited amount of resources available ("The Problems of Health Care", n.d.). Scarcity exists within the health care field when discussing the nurses, the need for nurses, and the amount of nurses that are available to fill the number of positions available. There are many reasons that have led to the scarcity of the nursing resource. The amount of nursing schools and nursing instructors are not able to keep up with the amount of potential students, nor the need for more nurses; there are greater opportunities for nurses to expand their careers and move out of hands on nursing; there are more people entering the health care arena who will need health care and nurses to provide that care (American Nurses Association, 2014). The nursing shortage can lead to a decline in quality of care as well. According to American Nurses Association (2014)...
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...approximately thirty seven thousand jobs were added in March 2011 alone (AACN). The staffing of registered nurses has been a long time concern due to the fact the shortage greatly affects patient safety as well as quality of care (nysna.org). Studies have shown that adverse patient outcomes have been related to the ineffective nurse staffing as patients have had longer hospital stays, increased infections, and higher mortality rates (Needleman, et al, 2002). To relieve the pressures put on an organization with the shortage many have begun to substitute people who are not as prepared to care for patients. This has been done by hiring temporary nursing services or recruiting foreign nurses who are not familiar with the facility, policies and procedures or the patients ( nysna.org). The ineffective nurse staffing also leads to retaining issues as nurses experience decreased morale, increased stress and anxiety, increased physical ailments, and burnout. DEFINE THE PROBLEM The problem is that hospitals cannot recruit and/or retain healthcare professionals such as nurses and physicians fast enough in the ever growing healthcare field. With the baby boomers reaching retirement age and becoming eligible for Medicare hospitals need to not only recruit but retain nurses. Nurses are hard to recruit based on low enrollment in nursing school due to low numbers of nurse...
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...The Nursing Shortage Donna Burgess-Bingen Oklahoma City University Abstract Nursing is a very important part of healthcare. What can be learned through the research on the shortage of nurses? There is not just a shortage of nurses, but a problem with retaining nurses after they have graduated from school. Furthermore, how does the shortage effect nursing education. The Nursing Shortage Nursing is a crucial part of healthcare. Historically, nurses were at the bedside and monitored patients on a twenty-four hour basis. Nurses would collaborate with all aspects of the healthcare world in order to provide quality and efficient patient care. Today, the nurse’s role is continually changing with increasing responsibilities made complicated with the ongoing introduction of new-age technology. With so many recent changes and advances realized, it is not hard to imagine the predicated changes that are in store for the nursing profession in future years. Many mechanisms will come into play in the molding of nursing in the future, but a significant key component that could essentially inhibit the growth in the future of nursing lies in the impending nursing shortage. Will we be ready for this? Currently, worldwide research is being conducted in an effort to evaluate the cause of this looming challenge that we are currently facing and are likely to face in the future. Research has shown that the solution to this prolonged shortage is problematic in the sense that there are many...
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...dismal future. The framework of healthcare faces distinct challenges, potentially providing the opportunity for nurse leadership to provide a pathway for the future. One concern is the capacity to prepare the next generation of nurse leaders, both formal and informal, to become effective leaders, contributing to the future health of the workplace. This study is an analysis pertaining to the development of future nurse leaders. The analysis seeks to uncover the challenges of developing nurse leaders, and the necessary requirements for the next generation of leaders within healthcare. The findings suggest that the development of nursing leadership is vital in relation to healthy workplace environments, and quality patient care. Furthermore, a new paradigm and set of competencies necessary to lead nursing into the future. Keywords: leadership, nursing, development, future The Future of Nurse Leadership In today's ever-changing health care environment, nurses, especially administrators and managers, require leadership skills that provide direction for a new generation of nurses. Currently,...
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