Nursing Shortage: A Threat to Patientâs Safety and Nursing Profession
Abstract
              Although, the whole United States of America is concerned about the nursing shortage, there is no doubt that the most concerned are the patients and the nurses. In addition, there is a great threat from the shortage on the patient safety and nursing profession. It is very crucial that we reverse or limit the negative impact that this shortage has on both the patient safety as well as the nursing profession. Most importantly, patient safety because of the repetitive medical errors that could have been prevented without the shortage. In collaboration, Nurses, nursing programs, hospitals, patients, and the government, all should work to find a solution to our mysterious equation, the shortage, and reverse it before the damage is great and too late to reverse. The purpose of this paper is to address the contributing factors to the shortage and the possible solutions.
Although the Nursing shortage is not a new topic in the Unite State of the America; the shortage is not of big deal for the majorities but those involved in the health care system, including patients. The United State of the America has experienced shortage in the past, but not as severe as what is currently experienced. Many elements contributed to the aggravation of the problem and leading to impaired patient care and nurse burnout, feebleness, and mental collapse. Many studies suggest that the patient safety outcomes are directly related to staffing levels because staffing adequacy directly affect emotional exhaustion and has a direct effect on nursesâ performance. In other words, both directly affect patient safety outcomes. This is to say that our problem is mostly to be overcome with team action.
âNurse staffing levels have an effect on variety of areas within nursing. One of the most profound is the effect on patient quality of care, which refers to the values and expectations of the consumer.â This is how Crystal J. Martin started her article âThe Effects of Nurse Staffing on Quality of Careâ (Martin, C. J., 2017). This is to say that nursing shortage is causing a risk to patient safety and making health centers a menacing and undesirable place to be a patient. According to Crystal poor patient outcomes such as pneumonia, shock, cardiac arrest, and urinary tract infections are directly related to low nurse staffing. In other words, higher registered nurse-to-patient ratios affect the ability to practice ethically, without causing harm to patients. Because nurses are legally demanded to react in such a way to avoid harming patients, the principle of beneficence, unsafe nurse staffing makes this principle very undoable. In addition, Crystal states that âlower registered nurse-to-patient ratios are shown to reduce mortality rates by more than 50%â (Martin, C. J., 2017). Meaning, safe nurse staffing saves lives and therefore decrease patient mortality rate and length of stay.
Nursing shortage also affects nurses in many ways, it increases the nurse burnout, unending fatigue, insomnia, absenteeism, and job dissatisfaction. According to the article âWhatâs different about this Nursing shortageâ by Cheryl L. Mee illustrates that some factors such as nursing shortage contribute to job dissatisfaction. Cheryl states âeach additional patient per nurse is related to a 23% increased risk of nurse burnout and a 15% increased risk of job dissatisfactionâ (Cheryl L. Mee, 2003). In other words, due to the shortage nurses are leaving hospitals because of job dissatisfaction from feeling underappreciated and stressed. Furthermore, Cheryl illustrated that, âTo help compensate for the shortage, many nurses put in extra hours on scheduled days off and working over schedule on regular work daysâ (Cheryl L. Mee, 2003). With little recognition for their effort and time put in, nurses feel burnout and irritation toward their superiors leading to a difficult working environment and dissatisfaction.
Nurses are already in a high stress career and many are planning to leave because it is not worth the stress or risking their nursing license to practice. This is to say that nursing shortage makes the nurses displeased about their job which is a big threat to the nursing profession. Therefore, the only way to alleviate this issue is to mandate nurse ratios, which will improve the quality of care, increase patient satisfaction, provide a professional environment and strong job satisfaction which will create working conditions that draw people to nursing as a career.
There are many factors that lead to todayâs nursing shortage. One of the leading factors to the present nursing shortage incorporate the increase age of practicing nurses, possibility for retirement. Another factor is the aging of nursing instructor and their dissatisfaction about their wage affect the nursing schools and limit the seats available for students to get into the nursing program. In other words, the nursing shortage is not only a problem coming from hospitals but also from nursing schools. âShortages in nursing instructors and spaces for clinical instruction prevent nursing programs from adding students quickly enough to satisfy the demand for nursesâ (Amber D. Fierro, 2007). This makes getting seats in nursing school extremely difficult even for students with very high academic standers which make eligible students pursue another career. Amber states âNursing programs also have a difficult time attracting nurses to become instructors because they have to compete with hospitals that give bonuses and incentives and make it more desirable to work within a hospitalâ (Amber D. Fierro, 2007). More specifically, because the benefits received in the hospitals outweigh the ones received as nursing instructors, todayâs nursing instructors prefer practicing nursing than being nursing instructors.
There is never easy neither usual solutions for a complicated problem; this is exactly the case of todayâs nursing shortage. The article âWhatâs different about this Nursing shortageâ by Cheryl L. Mee states âQuick fixes such as hiring bonuses and education reimbursement may help in the short run, but they wonât solve the underlying issuesâ (Cheryl L. Mee, 2003). In other words, we need a long-term solution to the nursing crisis, solutions that focus on fixing the root of the issues such as concerns that keep competitors from nursing profession, job dissatisfaction, lack of nursing instructors and limited seats in nursing programs, and high nurse/patient staffing ratios (unsafe working conditions). For this to happen, nursing programs, health institutions, and the state all should work together to end the nursing shortage.
Nursing schools should raise the salaries and the benefits of the faculties so they do not have to face the challenge from hospitals over their nursing instructors. More specifically, by keeping their nursing instructor, nursing programs become able to offer more seats for qualified student to pursue a nursing career, which will increase the graduation rate, therefore having more nurses. In addition, hospitals should or think of offering tuition reimbursement programs by contracts, for their nurses or the unlicensed nurses who want to further their education. This helps to have more educated nurses as well new nurses. Also, the state should help nursing schools with grants and scholarships for students who can afford the tuition. Also, the state should mandate nurse staffing ratio. âGreater numbers of nurses at the bedside help increase patient satisfaction, improve quality of care, and increase nurse morale, satisfaction, and retentionâ (Martin, C. J., 2017). In other words, hospitals that decrease their nurse staffing ratios have a stable workforce, low mortality rate, and low nursesâ job-related burnout and job dissatisfaction.
Adequate nurse staffing leads to better and positive outcomes for nurses, patients, and hospitals. Solutions to increase nurses, nursing students, and nursing instructors are crucial to reach safe nurse-to-patient ratios. In addition, recruitment efforts, for instance providing more seats in nursing programs, offers tuition reimbursement programs, increase the salaries and benefits of nursing instructors, and mandating nurse staffing ratios are methods we can take into consideration to solve the nursing shortage.
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Doing the numbers Less supply, more demand · By 2020, the shortage will number an estimated 808,400 nurses. (HRSA, July 2002) · The population over age 65 is expected to double from the year 2000 to 2030âfrom about 35 million to 70 million. (U.S. GAO Report, July 2001) · People over age 85 are currently in the fastest-growing age-group. (HRSA, July 2002) · The number of RNs not employed in nursing increased by 28% between 1992 and 2000. (HRSA, July 2002)
Fewer nurses entering the profession · The number of RN graduates has fallen annually from 1995 to 2000, resulting in 26% fewer RN graduates in 2000 than in 1995. (HRSA, July 2002) · The National Council of State Boards of Nursing reported that almost 28,000 fewer U.S.-educated graduates sat for first-time NCLEX in 2001, compared with 1995. (AACNâs 2001 Annual Report) · The RN workforce grew 5.4% from 1996 to 2000, the lowest rise since this statistic was first calculated in 1977. (AACN, 2001a September) · Since 1995, nursing school enrollment has dropped in all types of entry level programs (HRSA, July 2002). The exception was a small bump (3.7%) for BSN entry-level programs in the autumn of 2001. (AACN, 2001b December)
Nursing faculties continue to shrink · In 2000, the average age for doctoral-prepared nursing professors was 531 â2. (AACN 2001-2002 Report) · In Oregon, an estimated 41% of baccalaureate and graduate program faculty are expected to retire by 2005âa pattern thatâs likely to be repeated throughout the United States. (Oregonâs Nursing Shortage, 2001)
Age · In 1980, most (53%) RNs were under age 40. In 2000, less than one-third (32%) were under age 40. The biggest drop was among RNs under age 30: In 1980, 25% of RNs were under age 30, compared with 9% in 2000. (HRSA, March 2000) · By 2010, 40% of RNs will be over age 50. (Buerhaus, 2000)
Sex · The proportion of men in nursing increased from 2.7% in 1980 to 5.4% in 2000. The number of men has grown at a faster rate than the total RN population. (HRSA, March 2000) · About 7.5% of new male nurses left the profession within 4 years of graduating from nursing school, compared with 4.1% of new female nurses. (Sochalski, 2002)
Racial/ethnic background · The percentage of nurses from racial and ethnic minorities grew from 7% in 1980 to 12% in 2000. This lags far behind the proportion of minorities in the general population, which is about 30%. (HRSA, March 2000)
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Mee, C. L. (January 2003). What’s different about this Nursing shortage? Nursing2003, 33(1), 51-55. Retrieved April 20, 2016.
Reference
Feirro, A. D. (July 11, 2007). Falling Short in the Nursing Shortage: A Look into the Crisis.
Heinz, D. (February 2004). Hospital Nurse Staffing and Patient Outcomes. Dimensions of Critical Care Nursing, 23(1), 44-50.
Martin, C. J. (April 30, 2017). The effects of nurse staffing on quality of care. Continuing Nursing Education, 24(2), 4-6. Retrieved November 05, 2017.
Mee, C. L. (January 2003). What’s different about this Nursing shortage? Nursing2003, 33(1), 51-55. Retrieved November 05, 2017.
