Question

Describe why the nursing shortage is a major national issue in the United States. How could a nursing shortage in other countries around the world affect the nursing shortage in the United States.

Answer 1

QUESTION: Describe why the nursing shortage is a major national issue in the United States. How could a nursing shortage in other countries around the world affect the nursing shortage in the United States?

NURSING SHORTAGE IS A MAJOR NATIONAL ISSUE

IN THE UNITED STATES

INTRODUCTION

The nursing profession continues to face shortages due to lack of potential educators, high turnover, and inequitable distribution of the workforce. The causes related to the nursing shortage are numerous and issues of concern.

Nurses are a critical part of healthcare and make up the largest section of the health profession. According to the World Health Statistics Report, there are approximately 29 million nurses and midwives in the world, with 3.9 million of those individuals in the United States. Estimates of upwards of one million additional nurses will be needed by 2020. According to The American Nurses Association (ANA), there will be more registered nurse jobs available through 2022 than any other profession in the United States.

CAUSES OF NURSING SHORTAGE

Aging Population

Currently, the United States has the highest number of Americans over the age of 65 than any other time in history. In 2029 there will be 73% increase in Americans 65 years of age and older. There were 41 million aged people in 2011 and 71 million in 2019.

As the population ages, the need for health services will be increased. Older persons have a multitude of diagnosis and co-morbidities that requires them to seek treatment.

Aging Work Force

The nursing workforce is also aging. There are currently approximately one million registered nurses older than 50 years. Meaning is that one-third of the workforce could be at retirement age in the next 10 to 15 years. Decreased and limited amount of faculty can cause not only fewer students but the overall quality of the program and classes can decline as well.

Nursing faculty is experiencing a shortage, and this leads to enrolment limitations, limiting the number of nurses that a nursing school can generate.

Nurse Burnout

after the completion of course ,many nurses will not be satisfied with thei working environment .this result in Turnover in nursing . Currently, the national average for turnover rates is 8.8 % to 37.0%, depending on geographic location and nursing specialty.

Career and Family

Nursing is still majority female, and often during childbearing years, nurses will cut back or leave the profession altogether. Some may eventually return, but others may move to a new job.

Regions

Nursing shortage amounts can vary greatly depending on the region of the country as well. Higher shortages are seen in different areas depending on specialty of nursing. Some areas have real deficits when looking at critical care nurses, labor and delivery and other specialties. Current shortages and potential growth can be confusing when looking at regions and areas of the United States separately.

Growth

The fastest growth potential in the United States projected for West and Mountain regions, with slower growth in the Northeast and Midwest. A higher need is seen in areas that have high retirement populations. Even with these differences, every state is projected to have at least 11% growth through 2022.

Violence in the Healthcare Setting

Violence in the healthcare setting plays a role in the nursing shortage. emotional or physical abuse will add extra burden to an already stressful environment. Job satisfaction and work effort affected negatively

Staffing Ratios

Bedside nurses, actually deciding acceptable nurse-patient ratios, instead of managers, will lead to better job satisfaction, higher retention rates, and less desire to leave one's chosen profession. Appropriate staffing levels will decrease errors, increase patient satisfaction, and improve nurse retention rates.

Nursing shortages lead to errors, higher morbidity and mortality rates. In hospitals with high patient-to-nurse ratios, nurses experience burnout, dissatisfaction, and the patient’s experienced higher mortality and failure-to-rescue rates when compared to lower patient-to-nurse ratios. Some states have begun to pass legislation to limit patient-to-nurse ratios. Despite this, when staffing is short, ratios go up to meet the need.

Technology

Introduction of the Electronic Medical Record (EMR) and other technological advances can also affect nurses staying in the profession. While some specialties such as nursing informatics in booming, that adds to the shortage problem by removing nurses from direct patient care areas. Some seasoned nurses struggle with the technology and remove themselves from the profession at an earlier rate.

MAJOR ISSUES DUE TO NURSING SHORTAGE

Due to the shortage, nurses often need to work long hours under very stressful conditions, which can result in fatigue, injury, and job dissatisfaction. Nurses suffering in these environments are more prone to making mistakes and medical errors. An unfortunate outcome is that patient quality can suffer, resulting in a variety of preventable complications, including medication errors, emergency room overcrowding, and more alarmingly, increased mortality rates

1. Patient mortality

Here is a direct correlation between patient mortality (i.e., risk of death) and shortage of nurses. An increase of one full-time RN per 1,000 inpatient days contributes to a 4.3 percent decline in death of patients. Conversely, hospitals with fewer nurses witnessed a 2–7 percent increase in mortality.

2. Overcrowding

Lack of nurses is one of the biggest reasons behind the problem of overcrowding of emergency rooms. Ninety-two percent of all emergency departments have reported the problem of overcrowding, which can lead to an increase in the duration of hospitalization, performance of additional procedures, permanent disability or even death.

3. Workload of the existing workforce,

Shortage of nurses leads to an increase in the workload of the existing workforce, which results in a predictable increase in medication errors. Close to half of all nurses employed have admitted to committing a medication error in the past year. Errors may range from infusing medicines at the wrong rate (most common) to giving the wrong medicine or mixing up medicines between patients, which easily can result in fatal consequences.

4. Medical and medication errors

Ensuring sufficient staffing levels results in reducing medical and medication errors.

5. Patient complications

Lack of adequate nursing care leads to complications in treatment.

6. Patient satisfaction

If patients are not attended by health care team ,especially nurses ,will lead to patient this satisfaction.

7. Nurse fatigue and burnout

As workload increases, emotionally and physically nurses get tired.

8. Optimal nursing care

Without adequate nursing force ,quality care cannot be provided

9. Deteriorating citizen health status

If health department lacks adequate nursing work force, this will lead to deteriorating citizen health status

10.Readmission rates

Readmission rates rose as nursing staff diminished, indicating that patients were discharged prematurely or not treated entirely before being sent home.

11. Costing the healthcare industry

Cost of health services may be increased as result of nursing shortage.

12. The Impact of a Public Health Nursing Shortage on the Nation's Public Health Infrastructure

The largest workforce assuring that essential public health functions is public health nursing. An inadequate supply of public health nurses over the next decade has the potential to diminish services provided by the public health infrastructure.

The Quad Council of Public Health Nursing Organizations* clarified the effects of the shortage on public health nursing in the United States.

· Health departments shifted from providing services centered on home and community visits to services provided in clinics at the health department site.

· The availability of reimbursement through Medicare and Medicaid for individual clinical rather than population-based community-focused services led many agencies to change their focus to “capture” these funds as a means of replacing dwindling local, state and federal appropriations.

· Health department leaders did not differentiate between hiring baccalaureate prepared nurses when services were provided to individuals in the health department setting

· Increasing numbers of associate degree prepared nurses

EFFECTS OF NURSING SHORTAGE IN OTHER COUNTRIES IN NURSING SHORTAGE IN THE UNITED STATES

Currently, foreign nurses make up approximately 15 percent of the workforce in US.The world currently has more nurses than ever, yet the shortage is the most serious experienced in history. With approximately 11 million nurses worldwide, the insatiable demand continues to grow for more. A common constellation of reasons for the shortage exists from country to country, with the central reason being an increased demand (need). Some of these reasons are, in general, a) a growing number of hospitalized patients who are more acutely ill, b) the development of new procedures and therapies, to include the use of technology, c) an increase in use of nurses in community based, primary care services, d) diseases that are spreading in epidemic proportions, and e) an aging population who will comprise 20 percent of the world's population by 2025.Nursing has been a profession comprised of women in most countries; however, opportunities are becoming more and more available and attractive to females in non-traditional professions or occupations.

Effects of nursing shortage in other countries in nursing shortage in the United States include:

· Decrease in recruiting nurses

· Increase demand for nurses

· Increase in nursing salary

· High turnover

· Lack of retention of nurses

· Lack of qualified nurses

· Decreased number of experienced nurses

· Reduction in no of nurse educators

· Lack of quality nursing care

· Reduction in health status of people

· Undesirable changes in vital statistics

CONCLUSION

In order to combat the effects of the United State’s nursing shortage, healthcare facilities will need to work with newcomers and veteran nurses to develop effective training solutions. Combined with supportive government measures and funding, the future of patient care faces a reduced mortality rate and a happier workforce.