Nursing Shortage Essay
Causes That Attribute to the Nursing Shortage
Sheina Serrano
Felician University
Causes That Attribute to the Nursing Shortage
Nursing is a wonderful and reward filling profession to embark on. Nursing programs are becoming more intense and may require a higher degree of education to work in specialty fields. In spite of having many nursing and certification programs available, whether on campus or online, along with many graduates’ yearly, we still have a deficit in this profession. It is apparent that the nursing shortage has been an ongoing problem for countless years. There are several issues that influence this shortage including injuries, mandatory overtime, the aging generation vs. the new generation, and job …show more content…
satisfaction. It is imperative that our nursing profession find a solution to improve this shortage and prevent problems in the future.
While reading this article, it focused on some very interesting and important facts concerning the nursing scarcity. We have many new graduates that are looking for jobs, but still have a global shortage which is hard to comprehend. Nursing requires specialized skills that new graduates have not yet learned or perfected, which can consequently attribute to the nursing insufficiency. To keep a happy and healthy nurse force we must address the contributing factors to the shortage (Dolamo, BL; Masango T 2012). These factors include work-related and non-work-related reasons. Nurses are retiring of old age and because of the major difference in population between the Baby Boomers generation vs. the Generation Xers, there are nearly 20 million people that will not be replaced in the workforce (Dolamo et al., 2012). Furthermore, nurses begin to look at other aspects of the health field due to job dissatisfaction or other personal reasons (Dolamo et al., 2012). Work-related factors also play a big part. Injuries happen over the years on the job that can be caused by the misuse of body mechanics when caring for patients or transporting medical equipment. Mandatory overtime causes fatigue, stress, and eventually burnout (Dolamo et al., 2012).
One concern over the nursing shortage in which we have no control over is the generation gap, retiring nurses, and nursing being a primarily female dominant field. The only positive we can look forward to is the number of male nurses are gradually rising and may help to reduce our shortage. When working in the perioperative department, nurses are constantly challenged with the physical and mental aspects of the field. A physical challenge could be moving patients, medical devices and other equipment (Dolamo et al., 2012). This can affect the nursing profession, for example, say as a result of the constant lifting and positioning of patients’ the nurse’s back becomes damaged over time. This may make the nurse resign from the position or possibly force them to take a different position with lighter duties so they can continue to work. Injuries to the back are the most common reason of forced retirement with nurses (Dolamo et al., 2012). This leaves an open position to fill and the best skills of that nurse gone. Nurses may also injure themselves just by a simple neglect of workplace safety, such as uneven or slippery surfaces (Dolamo et al., 2012). Another issue that stems into greater problems is the managerial use of mandatory overtime to fill shortage of staff (Dolamo et al., 2012). Time and time again, nurses may work double shifts to make up for staffing shortages and still be expected to come back the next morning for their regularly scheduled shift. This leads to fatigue and lack of sleep, which in turn can result in burnout, absenteeism, and job dissatisfaction (Dolamo et al., 2012).
All jobs face challenges, but it should be positive challenges that can help with succeeding and growing in that career or profession.
If nurses are constantly challenged in a negative way, that starts to take a toll on the nurse’s overall well-being. If this continues, it will no longer be that reward filling profession it was once to our nurses. Demands in the nursing profession are very extreme and people also want to live a life outside of work. If mandatory overtime continues in this way due to the shortage, I feel like people will lose interest in this field. Those already working in the field may leave nursing all together for something that is better suited for their lifestyle. Shortage does not only affect the nursing profession, but it is also affecting health care as a whole. It has been found that effects of lack of sleep can be related to being under the influence of alcohol. Depending on the number of hours you have been awake it may be equivalent to having a blood alcohol level of 0.05-0.10 (Dolamo et al., 2012). Extended shifts over 12.5 hours have shown to increase injuries and car accidents (Dolamo et al., 2012). Nurses should not be subjected to this because not only can it be a safety issue for the nurse but the patient as well. With lack of sleep and extreme fatigue it can result in slowed reaction and cause disregard to detail which may cause medication errors and can lead to lawsuits (Dolamo et al.,
2012).
It is extremely important for management to recognize the value of our nurses and work together for a brighter future in this profession. With collaboration and teamwork, we can fix these issues for our nurses and maintain a safe, happy and reward filling work environment. This cannot be fixed overnight, but it will lead to nurses not straying away from the field due to job dissatisfaction and in turn keep our nursing shortage down to a minimum.
Sheina Serrano
Felician University
Causes That Attribute to the Nursing Shortage
Nursing is a wonderful and reward filling profession to embark on. Nursing programs are becoming more intense and may require a higher degree of education to work in specialty fields. In spite of having many nursing and certification programs available, whether on campus or online, along with many graduates’ yearly, we still have a deficit in this profession. It is apparent that the nursing shortage has been an ongoing problem for countless years. There are several issues that influence this shortage including injuries, mandatory overtime, the aging generation vs. the new generation, and job …show more content…
satisfaction. It is imperative that our nursing profession find a solution to improve this shortage and prevent problems in the future.
While reading this article, it focused on some very interesting and important facts concerning the nursing scarcity. We have many new graduates that are looking for jobs, but still have a global shortage which is hard to comprehend. Nursing requires specialized skills that new graduates have not yet learned or perfected, which can consequently attribute to the nursing insufficiency. To keep a happy and healthy nurse force we must address the contributing factors to the shortage (Dolamo, BL; Masango T 2012). These factors include work-related and non-work-related reasons. Nurses are retiring of old age and because of the major difference in population between the Baby Boomers generation vs. the Generation Xers, there are nearly 20 million people that will not be replaced in the workforce (Dolamo et al., 2012). Furthermore, nurses begin to look at other aspects of the health field due to job dissatisfaction or other personal reasons (Dolamo et al., 2012). Work-related factors also play a big part. Injuries happen over the years on the job that can be caused by the misuse of body mechanics when caring for patients or transporting medical equipment. Mandatory overtime causes fatigue, stress, and eventually burnout (Dolamo et al., 2012).
One concern over the nursing shortage in which we have no control over is the generation gap, retiring nurses, and nursing being a primarily female dominant field. The only positive we can look forward to is the number of male nurses are gradually rising and may help to reduce our shortage. When working in the perioperative department, nurses are constantly challenged with the physical and mental aspects of the field. A physical challenge could be moving patients, medical devices and other equipment (Dolamo et al., 2012). This can affect the nursing profession, for example, say as a result of the constant lifting and positioning of patients’ the nurse’s back becomes damaged over time. This may make the nurse resign from the position or possibly force them to take a different position with lighter duties so they can continue to work. Injuries to the back are the most common reason of forced retirement with nurses (Dolamo et al., 2012). This leaves an open position to fill and the best skills of that nurse gone. Nurses may also injure themselves just by a simple neglect of workplace safety, such as uneven or slippery surfaces (Dolamo et al., 2012). Another issue that stems into greater problems is the managerial use of mandatory overtime to fill shortage of staff (Dolamo et al., 2012). Time and time again, nurses may work double shifts to make up for staffing shortages and still be expected to come back the next morning for their regularly scheduled shift. This leads to fatigue and lack of sleep, which in turn can result in burnout, absenteeism, and job dissatisfaction (Dolamo et al., 2012).
All jobs face challenges, but it should be positive challenges that can help with succeeding and growing in that career or profession.
If nurses are constantly challenged in a negative way, that starts to take a toll on the nurse’s overall well-being. If this continues, it will no longer be that reward filling profession it was once to our nurses. Demands in the nursing profession are very extreme and people also want to live a life outside of work. If mandatory overtime continues in this way due to the shortage, I feel like people will lose interest in this field. Those already working in the field may leave nursing all together for something that is better suited for their lifestyle. Shortage does not only affect the nursing profession, but it is also affecting health care as a whole. It has been found that effects of lack of sleep can be related to being under the influence of alcohol. Depending on the number of hours you have been awake it may be equivalent to having a blood alcohol level of 0.05-0.10 (Dolamo et al., 2012). Extended shifts over 12.5 hours have shown to increase injuries and car accidents (Dolamo et al., 2012). Nurses should not be subjected to this because not only can it be a safety issue for the nurse but the patient as well. With lack of sleep and extreme fatigue it can result in slowed reaction and cause disregard to detail which may cause medication errors and can lead to lawsuits (Dolamo et al.,
2012).
It is extremely important for management to recognize the value of our nurses and work together for a brighter future in this profession. With collaboration and teamwork, we can fix these issues for our nurses and maintain a safe, happy and reward filling work environment. This cannot be fixed overnight, but it will lead to nurses not straying away from the field due to job dissatisfaction and in turn keep our nursing shortage down to a minimum.