Question

Post a description of the national healthcare issue/stressor you selected for analysis, and explain how the healthcare issue/stressor may impact your work setting. Then, describe how your health system work setting has responded to the healthcare issue/stressor, including a description of what changes may have been implemented. Be specific and provide examples.

Answer 1

National Health care issue/ stressor:

Today's  Healthcare sector faces many challenges and issues/ stressors. Some of them are rising health care cost , shortage of Healthcare professionals, especially nurses shortage, Government's Healthcare policy changes, pandemic crisis, opioid crisis, antibiotic resistance etc. Among this the selected topic is Shortage of health professionals.

Health care issue: Shortage of Healthcare organisations, especially nurses

Shortage of Healthcare professionals is one of the major issue facing by the Health care sector today. Most of the states are having severe shortage of Primary care physicians , and Nurses. As the nation's aging population grows dramatically, there will be more demand for Primary care physician and Nurses. Physicians shortage may increase from 4 to 24 per 100 000 by 2030. Nurses' demand may grow from 2.8 to 3.6 million by 2030. Primary care physicians and Nurses have to face increased amount of stress as the workload may get increased day by day due to insufficient supply of staff.

Impact of the Healthcare issue in the work setting: Eventhough the physician shortage may not affect much the Health care outcome, but the nurses shortage can surely affect the outcome of the patient. Burn out of nurses , that resulted from increased workload and stress led to many medical errors, increased rate of morbidity and mortality among patients, increased length of hospital stay, patient dissatisfaction, increased Hospital Acquired infection rates , increased incidence of complications etc.

Our Health care system work setting is responded to the particular Health issue; Shortage of Health professionals, especially nurses, by rescheduling the shifts and other strategies to increase the retention and intake of nurses. They have rescheduled the shift by increasing the number of staffs in the Emergency department and Intensive care unit, where there is a more need of physicians and nurses in particular timings of the day by decreasing the number of staffs from general wards and other minor specialities. They implemented many strategies to retain the existing staff like, incentives for appropriate behaviours and good outcomes and referrals of other qualified health professionals. Also they have taken regular feedback from the staff regarding work environment and asked the opinions  of staff in rescheduling the shifts. Hospital management initiated the activities to increase the intake of more abroad nurses to the facility. Example: Free entry of qualified nurses.