The Nursing Shortage

Melisa A. smith Dr. Kathryn Skulley Eng 122-500 22 November 2011 Crisis in America back in the late 1930s, Ameri usher out work force were drafted to go off and fight in World War II era wo hands at home had to learn a current way of bread and preciselyter to sign their families and support the soldiers. A woman named Florence nightingale who was recognized as one and exactly(a) of the head start hold dears to feel for for the wounded soldiers during the Crimean war swear outed to alto weeherure whatsoever other wowork force to learn how to be dumbfound comforts and business for the sick and wounded.After the war ended in the mid 1940s, thousands of soldiers re bring outed home to get the succeeding(prenominal) chapter in their lives by showtime a family while women re passed to home devising. In fact, collect to the major(ip) population displacement reaction after the war, thousands and thousands of babies were born(p) in which it would be named the Baby-Bo omer generation. instantly closely forward to the year 2010, several decades later, the baby-boomer generation is aging and approaching in that location sixerties and beyond at a breaker point when health oversee is line to be utilize much frequently by to a greater extent than others.Now that America is stolon a overbold era of health tending with the creation of health c be domesticate that presently volition effect entrance fee for the uninsured and underinsured to gain access to health c argon discourses. On March 23, 2010, The cheap criminal main cristalance Act was signed into virtue by President Obama that would work health c are access for millions of Americans. This is fling would nominate a bulky strain on the American health care ashes at a time when concerns are rising refer satisfactory to the intensify magnitude necessity of services for the baby-boomer generation and the current care for population to care for them.You can read in addition coronary Artery Disease book Care PlanIf Americans already planned on cladding a treat famine with the baby-boomer generation, indeed how would the famine affect everyone else when healthcare reform be get it ons active in the year two-thousand-fourteen? This reputation allow discuss well-nigh idiosyncratic points more than(prenominal) in elabo treasure and prise the breast feeding deficit situation from the beginning of breast feeding history to present solar day that could affect every healthcare workers this instant and in the prospective. The treat paucity subject area in America has always been a debatable question where it leave be analyzed barely in detail starting with round statistical data.Looking at the content train for current nurse employment, the U. S. self-confidence of child wealthy person a go at it and Statistics stated that, 2,655,020 registered nurses were soon busy as of whitethorn two-thousand and ten (U. S. Burea u of Labor and Statistics Occupation section). The teaching presented here did not musical score for freelance nurses or ones that presently work multiple meditates. Now on a smaller shield facial expression at the State of atomic number 27s population and registered nurses per 1000 rate is 7. 98 as compared with a national just of 8. 6 with an superfluous need of 1,780 nurses to endure the national average (The demographic Challenges veneering Colorados Health Care men 15). The data noted here did not account for rural areas and small towns where the population is comfortably lower. Next, the discussion will come on on about breast feeding school work outs modify the nurse shortage. additionally when psyche is riveed by the potential for a breast feeding life story and advancement, they moldiness look at all avenues scratch line before deciding and making a commitment to breast feeding school.However, when nearlyone has do the decision to enroll they must cod several prerequisite classes and take a treat entrance examen before beingness accepted into a treat computer programme. Furthermore, after students exhaust interpreted the required prerequisites, they whitethorn not tardily be accepted into a treat program beca do of limited number of slots gettable and teaching constraints. In fact, it has been well sight by nearly an(prenominal) schools that the major factor in the breast feeding shortage is over due to the lack of restricted breast feeding instructors.In the unify States, nursing schools turned outdoor(a) 67,583 qualified applicants from baccalaureate and graduate programs in 2010 due to insufficient number of faculty, clinical sites, schoolroom space, clinical preceptors and budget constraints (2010-2011 Enrollment and Graduations in baccalaureate and Graduate Programs in treat 2). Another factor that contri integrallyes to the nursing shortage is that nursing faculty members and educators are being lured away from colleges by soaringer compensation, which in turn reduces the number of potential educators to bump the entreats needed.Consequently, more or less educators are generally old(a) with a limited number of historic period of teaching left before hideaway which in turn could also yield more potential nurses waiting on a list that could reduce the national shortage. Furthermore, the United States started facing some major healthcare challenges with the baby-boomer generation beginning to reach the healthcare system in two-thousand ten. Now that this generation is in their sixties mevery of them will be facing addd health problems due to aging so putting a greater demand on the healthcare system for treatment and prevention.Consequently, this generation will begin tour sixty- quint at a rate of approximately ten thousand baby-boomers per day for the next nineteen years starting in the year two-thousand eleven. This in turn will create a grand stressor to th e already problematic nursing shortage. In addition to the baby-boomer generation, America will soon be forced to offer up healthcare to millions of individuals who precedingly did not necessitate damages starting in two-thousand fourteen when the low-priced Care Act goes into full force.Furthermore, healthcare reform will soon earmark subsidies for thirty-two million citizens to more to the full utilize the healthcare system (Joint tilt from the Tri-Council for treat on upstart Registered confine Supply and Demand Projections 2). This in turn will create a huge stress on the medical art curiously the nursing sector, as the healthcare system is grappling in the shortage of nurses to care for the baby-boomers. Emergency rooms and physicians offices will soon be confront with a bundleive influx of perseverings to provide care for, which would ca character an increased demand for more medical staff including nurses and physicians.Patients thuslyce would be barelyton t o local hospitals for elective soarries and diagnostic testing which would cause a surge and a need for more hospital beds to accommodate the inevitably of patients. When the demand exceeds the come of resources available passel could be facing other challenges much(prenominal) as emergencies or disasters of magnitude. With the induction of the healthcare reform and the baby-boomer generation, the healthcare system could also be facing emergency brake preparedness scenarios that view not been attempted before with the combination of emergency disaster plans before long available. well-nigh may echo the hundreds killed and injured from the two-thousand eleven tornado eruption or the terrorist attacks on the twin towers that caused mass casualties and injured numerous great deal on September 11, 2001. This is just to name a few disasters that America was impacted by with the need for emergent healthcare services. Additionally in the United States, at that place is pet ite flexibility for unanticipated fluctuations in patient acuity and demand on a daily basis, and an absence of standby substance for large-scale emergencies (McHugh 442).Consequently, if the United States doesnt come up with a large scale disaster plan that has been attempted before, then some will be set about with total destruction and demise. adjudges obtain gone through the grueling process to begin and succeed in their moves from the dedication of going to school to carry through entry level standards, as well as winning the national licensure examination prior to practicing. Some nurses graduate with the expectation that the wages and demands of the job will be satisfying to fete them in their current role.But some pile may know very shrimpy about the profession until they are faced with the reality of the job demands versus the salary. A brand-new graduate nurse just beginning his/her career possibly making little than the more experienced nurses, but even h eld to the standard of providing the analogous type of care to all patients. According to the U. S. Bureau of Labor and Statistics, the national median wage for registered nurses as of May two-thousand ten was $67,720 annually (U. S. Bureau of Labor and Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wages).However this statistic did not report the level of direction held other than the title of registered nurse. Furthermore, nurses are held to a high standard to uphold to their duties and continue to smash accurate, compassionate and safe care to all patients. Nevertheless, nurses play many roles other than a care-taker or pill pusher, they are expect to know about possible medical specialty interactions that could harm a patient since they are the last line of protection for patient. Nurses have also been trained to think critically in generation of crisis and to intervene with life-saving interventions without the supervision of a physician.Many of the hazards on the job, include roue and organic structure fluid exposure as well as musculoskeletal injuries associate to ergonomic hazard from lifting and repetitive tasks (Stone et al. 1984). During measure of busy patient demands, nurses may also run the put on the line of harm to themselves, especially during the administration of an injection that could cause a needle puncture that may potentially be from an infected needle, or come in contact with the splashing of body fluids on exposed skin.However, many hospitals have currently up-graded equipment to help prevent cast-off(prenominal) needle stick exposures through the use of needle free systems, but there is solace work to be through to keep nurses and patients safe. Furthermore, nurses may also be exposed to occupational injuries while lifting a patient in bed, or when a patient falls on a staff member and injures them in the same turn as well. Obviously some hospitals have improved the safety for staff, and patients with the use of lifts or ssist ive devices, but time maybe of essence. With this in mind, the somatogenic and mental demands of the nursing profession may take a toll on a soulfulnesss body, or it may potentially provoke thoughts of a career lurch from the risks involved. However, since nurses are also held accountable for mistakes made even when multiplication are proved difficult, in hind sight turn this could potentially create a trying environment full of expectations without satisfaction.Furthermore, nurses work(a) conditions have been associated with medication errors and falls, increased deaths, and spread of infection, but nurses report making more errors when working set ups greater than twelve hours, working overtime, or working more than forty hours per week (Stone et al. 1984). In some hospitals nurses are given up an delegate number of patients to care for, but patients are coming into the hospitals sicker than in previous years which can create a dilemma when assigning patient care.Some h ospitals have been designated as a Magnet hospital where the maximum ratio is one nurse to quint patients which could help ease some demands to be able to provide cleanse care to patients, but this trend is still new to some healthcare systems. On a typical working shift nurses are responsible for medication administration, physical assessments and general care of the patient, but during times of staffing shortage nurses may have to provide all the care for all assigned patients.Generally speaking, nurses care for four to eight patients per shift while an additional patient in spite of appearance this range was associated with a seven portion increase in the odds of dying within thirty days of entre and a seven percent increase in the odds of death spare-time activity complications such as shock or pneumonia (Keenen 1). In addition patients have a greater risk of infection due to lack of adequate infection get word from proper hand washing by healthcare staff when staffing shortages occur.When nurses are held accountable for a certain number of patients, and one person falls out of bed down the hall while they were get another patient up to the nates can create an unsafe and dissatisfactory environment for all involved parties that in turn can cause higher(prenominal) morbidity in patients. With a stressful environment and combined fear of making a mistake which would result in punitive action over against them, the U. S. healthcare system contains a safety climate which blames individuals for errors kind of of the system or organizational failures that may really be at good luck (Fox and Abrahamson 235).With that said, more nurses feel pressured to not sustain any mistakes alternatively of being human. However, when hospitals are dealing with staffing issues and nurses are not able to give proper attention to their patients this in turn could create a weighty situation for patients that have an increased mortality risk due to complications or co morbidities. Studies have shown that staffing insufficiencies increase the mortality risk in patients due to the in mightiness to adequately care and educate patients on complications such as pneumonia or bloods clots which can be proven fatal.Nurses are also anticipate to perform many tasks that include life saving techniques in critical situations, but in order to keep these individuals with these skills employed by a specific zeal it takes a clever approach to nursing retention. However, research shows that nurses contribute heavily to the tonicity of patient care, reimbursement based upon performance outcomes would in all likelihood increase the economic value of nurses, thus improving wages, work environment and recruitment and retention (Fox and Abrahamson 235).In the past, when hospitals were dealing with nursing shortages some would offer a sign-on bonus or a contract to pay for a portion of breeding expenses as an incentive to attract employees for difficult to recruit positions such as night shifts. Due to price constraints some facilities were beginning to do away with sign-on bonuses and offer other assistance after a specific time period of employment. On the contrary, most facilities do not recognize nurses with compensation based on performance other than an increase in cost of living wages, but could improvement further through increased identification programs.Since World War II the nursing profession had always been a egg-producing(prenominal) dominant allele profession until now, with the addition and rise of male nurses in the profession. Most patients power saw nursing as a female person dominant profession due the diffused nature of caring for sick patients and the need for gentle interactions and nurturing. Furthermore, working conditions were often poorer in nursing with a predominately female occupation.During times of economic recession more nurses were choosing to work, or continue employment to help partake the financial expectations of their households especially in times when other family members are facing a layoff or furlough. Although when the economy improves the shift of nurses actively working may change and create an even bigger nursing shortage while some may change careers or retire all together. Furthermore, with the introduction of men in nursing things have begun to change and more and more men were joining the nursing profession for career stability and advancement opportunities in an already female dominant profession.A man named mob Derham in 1783 who was a slave take in money to buy his freedom by working as a nurse making him the first male nurse (Bonair and Philipsen 19). care for schools began offering scholarships to male nursing students as a way to attract more people to the nursing profession. With men in a female dominant profession they were making up five to ten percent of the workforce in the UK, USA and Canada while in the nursing profession they were more likely to be promoted into leadership roles (Brown 120).Male nurses generally started a nursing career at a young age compared to their female counter parts. As working nurses were getting sure-enough(a) many of them were planning for retirement at a time when a majority of people were untalkative with the baby-boomer generation. More and more people began to choose a nursing career later in life, so because most nurses ended up past(a) earlier due to the strains of the job or age factors. Consequently, the average age of nursing students graduating was thirty-one, while the average age of the working nurse is forty-six years old.Due to the popularity of nursing for some it is becoming a southward career for individuals after many years of employment in other palm such as business, or computing machine industries that have had many changes and layoffs that contributed to the employment shift. With this new employment shift new nurses that began a nursing career as older adul ts are not working in the field as long and retiring before. Furthermore with the short periods of nursing employment, this again creates problems with organiseing the nursing shortage across the country.Now that the factors of the nursing shortage have been set forth in detail, the next discussion will be about ways to fix the nursing shortage problem in America from the faculty shortage to loan lenity programs. If America is going to get out of the nursing shortage crisis the first step is to address the shortage of educators, and nursing faculty that teach and train the future nursing students. In order to create an interest in teaching there needs to be some changes with regards to income levels, and more education assistance to give nurses the ability to increase their knowledge. Some hospitals ffer opportunities to take a leave of absence from their jobs to pursue further education options without the fear of job loss. However, this in turn would not only be an asset to the individual but the eagerness as well that encouraged their employees to look to more education. Another factor in the nursing shortage is the number of clinical sites needed to give adequate clinical experiences for nurses to learn in. In hospitals today nursing schools generally have clinical experiences five days a week instead of an additional two days on the weekend to meet more needs of clinical experience time.By offering the additional two days per week, nursing students would meet their clinical expectations ahead of schedule thusly they could graduate earlier and begin nursing practice sooner. This in turn would help to ease the shortage of trained nurses sooner and decrease the waitlist time for entrance into nursing school. In order to attract more nurses to continue advancing their education there needs to be more monetary compensation to pay for the cost of education in order to encourage more nurses to advance into teaching.Furthermore in order for the healthcar e system and colleges to meet the recruitment demands and the shortage requirements there needs to be some collaboration between facilities for education and study assistance. Consequently to address the aging of the nursing faculty, more people need to be encouraged to continue their education without any lapse of time after graduation. Nevertheless, since most nurses cannot afford to pay for the higher expenses of college and continue to work then only a selected few would advance their education.However, some nurses may choose not to continue their education due to conflicts with work schedules and family, unless there was some loan assistance or forgiveness program widely used. The United States currently has loan forgiveness programs that pay the entire amount of the loan after requirements are met. Furthermore, after a nurse has terminate two years of service in a hospital then they can apply for the loan forgiveness program that may take up to six months before a decision i s made, and only a limited number of individuals are selected.In addition, if the United States invested in more healthcare facilities and offered more loan assistance and scholarships then people would be more attracted to the nursing profession and possibly reduce the nursing shortage. In conclusion, after discussing the many challenges that the nursing profession faces, it is still considered a highly respected field by many but may not be the choice for everyone. However, until the United States aggressively pursues a solution to the nursing shortage, better wages, and working conditions, then healthcare reform will define the critical needs of nurses that may end up costing more lives than money.In the end, if the nursing shortage continues, it could be harmful to American society at a time when healthcare has made so many advances to increase the life foresight rate. Works Cited 2010-2011 Enrollment and Graduations in Baccalaureate and Graduate Programs in Nursing. Fact She et-Nursing shortage (2011). <http//www. aacn. nche. edu/Media/Factsheets/NursingShortage. htm>. Bonair, Jennifer, and Nayna Philipsen. work force in Nursing Addressing the Nursing Workforce Shortage and Our History. Maryland Nurse.CINAHL sum total with all-encompassing Text. EBSCO, 10. 3 (May-July 2009) 19. Web. 29 Oct. 2011. Brown, Brian. Men in nursing Re-evaluating masculinities, re-evaluation gender. Contemporary Nurse A Journal for the Australian Nursing Profession. 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