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TITW1Sub1.docmProfessor’s Comment:
Post 1:
There are a variety of factors that have contributed to the nursing shortage. Facets that are related to the nursing shortages include the aging population, complex conditions that accompany the aging population, shortage of nursing school faculty, nursing enrollment not increasing as fast as needed to meet the demands of the population, current nurses approaching retirement, burnout/turnover, and increased levels of stress/anxiety resulting in low staffing (Whitney, 2018). As people continue to age, health conditions and nursing care becomes even more multifaceted and complex. The array of health conditions and complications that arise continue to increase which adds to work overload/stress of nurses if staffing issues are not resolved. Understaffing is disadvantageous for both the patient and the nurse and can also relate to lower levels of high-quality nursing care (Longmore, 2022). Safety may also be compromised if staffing shortages continue to present. Nursing shortages are occurring in different departments and in varying degrees across the nation. There are some states that will be faced with a larger nursing staff deficit than others. For example, data regarding the supply and demand of RNs in 2030 note that California will have a deficit of 44,500 RNs, Texas will have a deficit of 15,900 RNs, and New Jersey will have a deficit of 11,400 RNs (Burger, 2022). The demand for nurses continues to increase and the nursing profession is trying to address and resolve this issue. Effective communication between nursing staff and hospital administration/stakeholders can serve as beneficial. Nurses and administrative staff must communicate openly and honestly to facilitate change within the workplace. Comments and concerns should be addressed to administration immediately and each inquiry should be thoroughly analyzed and discussed among the necessary personnel. Nurses’ voices need to be heard as nurses advocate for themselves, their patients, and the nursing profession as a whole. Policy change, staffing ratios, PPE access, break time, and more can be addressed if open, direct, and respectful communication is present. Continuing education to advance professional degrees is another way to resolve the staffing shortage issue. If nurses continue to advance their degrees from ADN, to BSN, to MSN, and so on, nursing skills improve, nursing management and leadership knowledge increases, and nurses are able to provide more well-rounded care (Zhavoronkova et al., 2022).
References
Burger, C. (2022). The Places with the Largest Nursing Shortages. RegisteredNursing.org.https://www.registerednursing.org/articles/largest-nursing-shortages/
Longmore, M. (2022). Dunedin nurse takes short-staffing into her own hands with home-made poster. Kai Tiaki Nursing New Zealand, 1–3. https://web-s-ebscohost-com.lopes.idm.oclc.org/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=15&sid=6f4a3e78-232b-45b1-b37e-ab69e6f0881a%40redis
Whitney, S. (2018). The Future of Nursing in an Evolving Health Care System. In Grand Canyon University (Ed). Trends in Health Care: A Nursing Perspective. Retrieved from https://lc.gcumedia.com/nrs440vn/trends-in-health-care-a-nursing-perspective/v1.1/#/chapter/1
Zhavoronkova, M., Custer, B., Neal, A., Schweitzer, J., & Bombardieri, M. (2022). How To Ease the Nursing Shortage in America. Center for American Progress. https://www.americanprogress.org/article/how-to-ease-the-nursing-shortage-in-america/
Post 2:
Nationwide nursing shortages are a significant issue that forces firms to reduce the nursing workforce to boost profits. To boost profitability, hospitals facing financial difficulty have tried to reduce nurse staffing. However, ensuring high-quality patient care and successful outcomes depends on having enough nurses on duty. To reach their financial objectives, organizations hire the fewest number of nurses possible and require them to perform a variety of jobs in a variety of areas.
Nursing staff reductions as a means of increasing profitability for organizations are a significant issue that is still present and will continue to add to the nursing shortage. To boost profitability, hospitals facing financial difficulty have tried to reduce nurse staffing. However, ensuring high-quality patient care and successful outcomes depends on having enough nurses on duty. Many organizations claim to put their patients first and advocate for them.
However, these organizations do not hire enough nurses to care for their patients. Instead, to meet the organization's financial objective, they hire the fewest number of people possible and need their nurses to perform a variety of activities in a variety of areas. We cannot provide effective, high-quality patient care if we are consistently understaffed. If we don't have enough time or assistance to turn our patients in every two hours, we can't prevent skin pressure injuries.
To keep the patient alive, we must prioritize and do the most important work first. In some areas, these nurses typically look after four to eight patients, all of whom are high-acuity patients with serious trauma, a high risk of falling, bleeding, and hazardous arrhythmias. It becomes impossible when only one nurse is attempting to complete everything because there is no one else to assist. Patient outcomes suffer greatly as a result.
If nurses aren't given breaks, meals, or even time to use the potty, how are they ever supposed to work and care for patients? I've been thinking about this continuous problem since I started working as a medical/surgical nurse. Nothing has changed despite my efforts to advocate for the safety and outcome of our patients as well as for us nurses.
Unions lack the authority to bargain with management or the company. It is troubling that after knowing about the act, the patient's poor outcome, and the misallocation of cash; management, and the organization continues to blame the nursing staff and make more demands, putting nurses and patients through hardships.
There is room for proper staffing. We always have more than enough assistance for four straight months before the joint commission comes to the hospital, and everything appears to be running smoothly because everyone is performing their duty. When the joint commission's work is finished, people's hours are abruptly reduced, and the problem of insufficient staffing returns until the joint commission visits the hospital the following year.
From a policy perspective, research has provided scientific proof of how nursing affects care quality and economical results. Although precise nurse-to-patient ratios have not been evaluated in research, recent nursing shortages and unsuccessful strategies to boost the supply of nurses make additional interventions necessary to assure increased staffing levels in hospitals and other healthcare settings. As a result, hospital-associated injuries and infections are avoided, and patient outcomes are generally improved. Studies show that a hospital increase of just one full-time RN per 1,000 inpatient days can contribute to a 4.3 percent decline in the death of patients, and conversely, hospitals with fewer nurses show a 2-7 percent increase in mortality.
According to Bradley University, 2018, "there is a direct correlation between patient mortality (risk of death) and shortage of nurses". The patient ratio for nurses based on their level of acuity is crucial. We must speak up for our patients, our family, and even for ourselves. Governmental organizations may be required to help this nation maintain a sufficient supply of nurses.
More evidence-based studies must be done to expose the genuine situation to the state board and the joint commission and finally, find a solution to this continuous issue.
Reference
Bradley University. (2018, June 15). The nursing shortage and how it will impact patient care. Bradley University Online. Retrieved November 28, 2022, from https://onlinedegrees.bradley.edu/blog/the-nursing-shortage-and-how-it-will-impact-patient-care/
Whitney, S. (2018). The Future of Nursing in an Evolving Health Care System. Trends in health care: A nursing perspective. Retrieved November 28, 2022, from https://lc.gcumedia.com/nrs440vn/trends-in-health-care-a-nursing-perspective/v1.1/#/chapter/1
Post 3:
Nurses make up the largest section of the health profession. One can say that nurses are the main providers that spend the most time with the patient while the patient is hospitalized. Unfortunately, the nursing shortage is a national and serious problem that we are currently facing. Research shows that nursing shortages lead to errors, higher morbidity, and mortality rates (Haddad, Annamaraju & Toney-Butler, 2022). There are many reasons that have led to this current situation we are in, however, I would like to focus on two. Many nurses are nearing retirement age. Research shows that in 2013, 55% of nurses were 50 years of age or older (Finkelman, 2016). Replacing the nurses we are losing in the workforce has been difficult especially since there are other factors causing nurses to leave the profession. The next factor influencing the nursing shortage is stress levels and insufficient staffing which reduces job satisfaction and decreases the quality of patient care (Whitney, 2018). The COVID-19 pandemic truly pushes nurses to their limits, having to do the unimaginable. Not only were nurses forced to work without proper PPE to protect themselves, but there was also a lack of staff, and nurses witnessed a great amount of death (Faueux, 2021).
One of the recommendations for the Improvement of Nursing as a Discipline from the IOM report (2021), recommends that hospitals implement nurse residency programs. Nurse residency programs help new nurses transition into clinical practice areas with more ease as they tend to support nurses in a creative and engaging way. Indeed, the goal is to fill the position of those leaving, but it must be done in a purposeful way where new nurses feel ready to deliver the highest level of care.
References
Fauteux, N. (2021). COVID-19: Impact on Nurses and Nursing.
Finkelman, A. (2016). Leadership and management for nurses: Core competencies for quality care (3rd ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson.
Haddad, L., Annamaraju, P., & Toney-Butler, T. (2022). Nursing Shortage. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK493175/#:
Institute of Medicine. (2011). The future of nursing: Leading change, advancing health. (2011). Retrieved from https://www.nap.edu/read/12956/chapter/1
Whitney, S. (2018). Trends in Health Care: A Nursing Perspective. The Future of Nursing in an Evolving Health Care System. Retrieved from https://lc.gcumedia.com/nrs440vn/trends-in-health-care-a-nursing-perspective/v1.1/#/chapter/1
Post 4:
The Future of Nursing
Caring for patients is a top priority in the medical business, and nursing is a vital part of that. As a result of a precipitous decline in the nursing workforce in recent years, a severe shortage of registered nurses now exists. The following are only some of the reasons that have been identified as contributing to the nursing shortage. Because of low enrollment, a lack of nursing schools contributes to the nursing shortage. One reason for the scarcity is the absence of suitably competent nursing educators as well as professors in educational institutions (Haddad et al., 2022). There is a severe shortage of nurses for a number of reasons, including the fact that many nurses are compensated poorly relative to the number of hours they put in at work and the risk they face of contracting a wide variety of contagious diseases. Most of them go in quest of higher wages and safer environments, where they will not have to worry about contracting deadly infections.
Professional nurses have developed solutions to the issues that contribute to the lack of nurses. So that more nurses are encouraged to work as well as provide their best, it has taken measures such as raising their pay and providing work-hour bonuses. The nursing community has also taken precautions against infectious diseases by investing in protective equipment like gloves and masks in light of the recent CORONA virus outbreak. The subsequent illustrations attempt to alleviate the nursing shortage. By spreading awareness about the significance of the nursing profession, the nurses were used to generate interest from potential new recruits. Nursing advocacy groups have also conducted campaigns in high schools to encourage students to pursue careers in nursing. These efforts have paid off, as many recent high school graduates are now enrolled in nursing programs (Scogin, 2022).
References
Haddad, L. M., Annamaraju, P., & Toney-Butler, T. J. (2022). Nursing shortage. In StatPearls
[Internet]. StatPearls Publishing.
Scogin, A. (2022). Nursing Staff Shortage and Patient Outcomes.
