Nursing Shortages: History
The nursing
Every discussion about the nursing shortage notes that the root cause of the current shortage is different from the shortage in the past. That may be true to a certain point but some of the contributing factors remain the same, women have more career choices now than in the past. However there are some major differences between the current shortages and that of the past. One of the key differences is the aging nursing workforce and the global nature of this shortage. Another difference is the change in the way patients are cared for in…
This organization was designed to secure the services of prominent members of appropriate professions in the examination of policy matters relating to the health of the public. “The Institute acts to be an adviser to the federal government and, upon its own initiative, to identify issues of medical care, research, and education” (Institute of Medicine [IOM], 2010, p. 5) In October 2010, The IOM (Institute of Medicine) released the report, The Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health. This report examines the changing roles of nursing in healthcare, changes in nursing education and the changing roles as nurses as leaders This report was the culmination of two years of research by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) and focused on best nursing practices in the United States, as well as, anticipated changes in healthcare and the implication it will have on nursing.…
There is a shortage of nurses nationwide, and there is an increase in the number of people in the United States over 65. This group has many medical needs. Nursing shortages can lead to stressful conditions which can result in injury, fatigue and job dissatisfaction ("American Nurses Association," n.d.). In addition, healthcare reforms will give access to millions of people that previously did not have access. More nurses are need to respond to their needs.…
Nurses play a vital role working on the front lines of patient care; with almost 3 million members this profession takes up one of the largest segment in healthcare. In order to manage the rapidly changing healthcare rules and regulations that might prevent a nurse from working efficiently and rapidly; in 2008 Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and Institute of Medicine launched a two year plan to change the nursing profession.(The Future of Nursing, 2011) The committee put together certain key roles that were capable of envisioning the future of the nursing profession. The IOM report focused mainly on many critical components of nursing.…
Future of nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health (2010) is a report issued by the Instituted of Medicine, which “calls on nurses to take a greater role in America’s increasingly complex health care system” (American Nurses Association [ANA], n.d., para. 1). It gives an in-depth look into the future of the profession, while addressing four key messages, the first three of which are directly related to the nursing practice, education, and leadership.…
Summary: This article informs the reader of the shortage of nurses. The article mentions, as in the past, nurses are still putting in long hours, caring for more patients, desperately trying to stay on top of things. There is a new nursing shortage, different from the old one. The reasons of the shortage are examined. Fewer people are entering the nursing field, a general dissatisfaction of many issues, and a high burnout rate. The article consists of three main reasons for the shortage, each of which go into detail about a certain issue. The new shortage requires unique solutions that will fix the underlying issues, not just solutions that will help in the short run. The solutions of which that were mentioned was needing stronger, professional work environment, adequate staffing, and salaries and benefits to that equal of their responsibilities. To help combat the shortage, federal and state governments are presenting legislation to improve the working environment and helping to pay nursing tuition. Besides government help, there is a personal effort that can be made. The nurses can take better care of themselves, bring suggestions to colleagues and nurse-manager, and raise their personal level of expertise of their…
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Employment Projections 2012-2022 released in December 2013, Registered Nursing is listed among the top occupations in terms of job growth through 2022 (American Association of Colleges of Nursing,2014). The nursing shortage will have a significant impact on the care that is being provided to the patients. Nursing leaders have the authority to hire or recruit new nurses to meet the needs of the facility. In this paper the author will discuss why nursing shortage is occurring, why nurses are displeased with the profession, and how nursing managers and leader will deal with nursing shortage and help to recruit nursing…
In 2010, the Institute of medicine released a report that focuses on the Future of Nursing. In this report the IOM focuses on nursing issues that impact the way health care is delivered and also discusses advances in practice. “Nursing has more than 3 million members, making the profession of nursing the largest segment of the nation’s health care workforce” (Institute of Medicine, 2015). This statistic reinforces the need for nurses to receive support in the way of education, primary care, and nursing leadership roles.…
When we speak of where the nursing profession is heading in the future, we must take a look at our past in order to fully understand current practices. Originally, nursing was not seen as a “profession” it was a job for the undesirables (Friberg & Creasia, 2010). The undesirable were men and woman who would help the sick, poor and abandoned individual and nurse the sick back to health. It was not until the 1800’s when Florence Nightingale, the founder of modern nursing, helped to change the way things were being done in military hospital as it relates to taking care of the sick. She fought for sanitary changes in the hospitals as well as educational advancement for nursing practices (Friberg & Creasia , 2010). In the 1860’s Nightingale established the Diploma School of Nursing at St. Thomas Hospital in London (Friberg & Creasia, 2010, pg.4) to educate nurses on better practices in the nursing field.…
The nursing shortage is nothing new to the United States of America. In this issue analysis essay, the causes that are compounding the nursing shortage are examined as well as the actions taken to prevent the shortage from becoming worse. Past nursing shortage causes and the current causes are studied. Most importantly, patient safety is at risk resulting in medical errors that otherwise would never happen. Nurses are also feeling dissatisfaction within their careers and many nurses across the country do not think positively about their field. It is important that the nursing shortage be controlled before the negative impacts of the deficiency are too great in damage. Together, hospitals, nursing programs, and the government must all work as a team in order to overcome the nursing shortage.…
Registered nurses are essential to cost containment, patient safety, and quality of care in the healthcare industry. Currently there are 3.1 million registered nurses in the United States alone. Nurses directly affect every aspect of a patient’s health. Mary Breckinridge once said that nurses are said to be “the backbone of health providers everywhere” – nursingworld.com. And with as many benefits as they bring to the healthcare providers, and based on their impressive statistics on bettering the health industry, they very well could be.…
The IOM’s report on ‘Future of Nursing’ has intensified the dream of many professional nurses who have been practicing nursing for many years. This dominant report was submitted by IOM based on a great analytical study and the research conducted by Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF). This report clearly indicates that the nursing professionals would be utilized more to redesign the America’s health care needs. The skills of a professional nurse will comply with the needs of prevailing dynamic and diverse population. The report reiterates that nurses have to practice to the full extent to utilize their education and training. It also justifies nurses as leaders and fully fledged valued team members of the health care system. Nurses have been an enabling force and can be recognized to bring remarkable change in health care in many dimensions (Aiken et al., 2009).…
The nursing shortage impacts the world in a prodigious way. The nursing shortage has an adverse impact on patient care, as well as on nurses. The causes of the nursing shortage are multi-faceted and there is no single measure that influences the declining issues. The most concerning issue of the nursing shortage is the decline in patient care, and positive outcome (Buchan, 2010). The research question in this study is the following: How does the nursing shortage affect quality of patient care, work stress and nurse job satisfaction? It is a well-known fact that the nursing shortage increases work stress, by increasing workload and in return, this effects nursing care in a tremendous way.…
In the United States, Registered Nurses (R.N.) make up the largest recorded working population of the health care profession, and the Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that 2.7 percent of the workforce comprises of nurses compared to 3.6 percent in the last 6 years (A.A.C.N., 2013). This decrease is attributed to the current shortage and high turnover of nurses. This current trend in the nursing profession has a great effect on the provision of health care because it has reduced the quality of care of patients, increased accidents amongst patients, absenteeism rates and staffing among others.…
The shortage of nursing isn’t something that just came along. The nursing shortage began in 1998. “An insufficient supply of essential personnel, such as nurses, is a stressor that many hospitals are dealing with,” says Buerhaus. The shortage has become the headline of every major healthcare newspaper, including advertisements in search of nurses who may need jobs. The shortage resulted from a combination of factors, including rising demand, little growth in nurse wages, and stressful workplace environments (Buerhaus). Being underpaid is the number one reason for many shortages. Other causes are short nurse staffing, poor work conditions ,inadequate resources for research and education, the aging nurse workforce, and the predominant female nature. It…