Causes of Nurses' Shortage
PLEASE FOLLOW THE OUTLINE INFO FROM BEFORE. SOURCES IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER
Module 4 - SLP
STRUCTURING SCHOLARLY PAPERS
Your Session Long Project for this course entails writing an 8-10 page paper on a health science-related topic of your choice. However, you must do so in accordance with the steps outlined in each SLP assignment. This will ensure that you have applied the resources introduced in this course toward development of a scholarly paper befitting graduate-level scholarship.
SLP Assignment Expectations
Length: The written component of this assignment should be a minimum of 8 double-spaced pages.
References: At least eight references must be included from scholarly sources. Quoted materialsshould not exceed 10% of the total paper (since the focus of these assignments is critical thinking). Use your own words and build on the ideas of others. Materials copied verbatim from external sources must be enclosed in quotation marks. In-text reference citations are required as well as a list of references at the end of the assignment. (APA format is required.)
Organization: Subheadings should be used to organize your paper according to the questions.
Format: APA format is required for this assignment.
Grammar and Spelling: While no points are deducted for minor errors, assignments are expected to adhere to standard guidelines of grammar, spelling, punctuation, and sentence syntax. Points may be deducted if grammar and spelling impact clarity.
The following items will be assessed in particular:
Achievement of learning outcomes for this SLP assignment.
Relevance—All content is connected to the question.
Precision—Specific question is addressed. Statements, facts, and statistics are specific and accurate.
Depth of discussion—Points that lead to deeper issues are presented and integrated.
Breadth—Multiple perspectives and references, and multiple issues/factors are considered.
Evidence—Points are well supported with facts, statistics, and references.
Logic—Discussion makes sense; conclusions are logically supported by premises, statements, or factual information.
Clarity—Writing is concise and understandable and contains sufficient detail or examples.
Objectivity—Avoids the use of first person and subjective bias.
Nursing Shortages
Name:
Institution:
Outline
Introduction
Causes of Nurses’ Shortage
Other Career Options
Aging Population
Low Wages
Managed Care Pressure
Impacts of the Nursing Shortage
Poor Enrolment
Poor Health Care Services
Low Satisfaction
Lack of Respect
Remedies for the Shortage
Restructuring of the Nursing Education
Adopting A Nurses Retention Culture
Restructuring Financial Incentives
Conclusion
References
Introduction
The health care sector is one of the unsung giants that affect the economy at a very subtle level. While there have been some emphasis on importance of the sector, enough is not being done to make sure that the sector remains as relevant as it should(DesRoches, Dittus, Buerhaus, Donelan & Ulrich, 2007). It is very sad that the health care sector only gets the attention that it deserves when there is a crisis (Wong, 2012). This is the time that half-baked efforts are brought to the table and implemented to relieve the tension at the time. The implication is that, with time the problems in the sector build up and render the industry inefficient (Aacn.nche.edu, 2014).
While the health care sector has had quite a number of problems in the past, some of which still persist to date, the shortage of the staffs has wrecked the most havoc. Of all the staffs, the nurses are the most affected. The nursing profession, according to the American Association of Colleges of Nursing, is one of the largest populations in the health care sector (Donley, 2005). At the moment, the nursing population is close to 3.1 million while that of the registered nurses is above 2.6 million. Regardless of the fact that the nursing population represents the highest majority of the health care sector, they are more often than not targeted for retrenchment. When the hospitals are cutting down their costs, it is the nurses that take the blunt end of the cut backs (Aacn.nche.edu, 2014). The shortage of nurses, which is a global problem currently, is expected to grow well into the near future (Keenan & Kennedy, 2003). In one of the projections carried out after intensive surveys by Health Resources and Services Administration in 2007, it indicated that the shortage of nurses by the year 2020 is expected to have hit the one million mark and go beyond (DesRoches, Dittus, Buerhaus, Donelan & Ulrich, 2007).
Causes of Nurses’ Shortage
Other Career Options
One of the main causes for the shortage is that most of the younger generation are shunning away from the nursing profession (Donley, 2005). Most job seekers and students are looking into the other industries, given the wide array of career options to choose from. This is mostly so, with respect to women seeking other position that were previously believed to be within the men’s choices. This is especially so as, there are fundamental social changes that have impacted the employment patterns. From the 50s to the 70s, more than 40% of the women that were seeking employment, sought after a nursing career (Duffield & O'Brien-Pallas, 2003). Today the number of women in the corporate circles are soaring are expected to rise steadily as more legislations are enacted supporting women empowerment (Aacn.nche.edu, 2014).
Aging Population
It has also emerged that most of the nurses are in their 40s and above. These are persons that joined the nursing fraternity from the 50s. By the year 2020, it is expected that more than half of these nurses are going to be retired. With the current poor rate of enrolment into the nursing schools, there is a likelihood that the nurses in the force will much less as compared to the patients. It is also expected that the aging population of the citizens is having a significant impact on the shortage of nurses (Donley, 2005). With the increase in the number of elderly persons in the population and the significant reduction in the number of nurses, the shortage is bound to have an astounding impact. Elderly persons require constant medical care and thus their increase in number will create demand for health care services (Duffield & O'Brien-Pallas, 2003).
Low Wages
The other major factor contributing to the shortage and hinged onto the reason that most persons are seeking employment in other sectors is low wages. The current remuneration for the nurses has barely kept pace with the rate inflation from the 1990s(Duffield & O'Brien-Pallas, 2003).As such most of the persons that would want to join the professional are turned away by the salaries involved as they do not want to be stuck in a profession that is lowly paying in these tough economic times.
Managed Care Pressure
In response to the health care costs pressure, the hospitals have had to adjust accordingly. Starting in the 90s, managed care platforms came to the industry, in an effort to reduce the cost expenditure (Keenan & Kennedy, 2003). Most hospitals have had to adapt a system where the registered nurses have to prioritize treatment to more demanding patient, to reduce the amount of time the patient stay. At the same time the payment systems were adjusted leading to slower employment and waging rates (Donley, 2005).
It has also become apparent that the nurses are under much pressure to perform. Due to the pressure associated with the managed care plans, the hospitals have had to reduce the number of nurses they employ (Aacn.nche.edu, 2014). This means that the nurses that are on the force have had to deal rising number of patients. Most of the nurses as a result are overloaded with work and the pressure to perform. The nurses have to put more hours, which ideally means working late night shifts and even on the weekend (Duffield & O'Brien-Pallas, 2003). All this are elements that make the work environment uncomfortable for most persons that are seeking employment in the nursing field. Coupled with the low wages that is not commensurate with their effort and sacrifice. When the hospitals have to cut back on the cost and have to so by retrenching works, nurses are the worst affected by these interventions.
Impacts of the Nursing Shortages
Poor Enrolment
In the last few decades, the nurses have become fewer at all levels of hospitals. This has been a trend and it is apparent that even the number of persons that want to become nurses these days, has also declined. This is mostly the case due to the fact that the nursing career is one of the toughest to pursue (Ahrq.gov, 2011). With the rise in the cost health care services, there are fewer students that are getting enrollment into the health care learning institutions. This in turn, has resulted in fewer nurses being employed in the health care facilities. In the 2008 survey carried out by the Federal Division of Nursing, the average nurse population age is around 47.
More than half of this population has made it clear that they would want to retire by the year 2020, according to the American Association of Colleges of Nursing survey in 2010. While American Association of Colleges of Nursing, reported an increase in enrolment of about 3.5% in 2009, it is still not enough to cover the number of patients coupled with an aging nursing population. In the same year, the American Association of Colleges of Nursing reported that more than 39,000 qualified nurses from the year 2008, graduate nursing and baccalaureate programs were turned down. The reason in the case was that there are not enough classroom spaces, clinical sites, and number of faculties, clinical receptors and budgetary resources to handle the lot (Buerhaus et al., 2007).
Poor Health Care Services Quality
Ironically while the number of the nurses has been on the decrease, the number of the patient attending the health care facilities remains the same. This brings about a number of complications related to the health care quality delivery at all levels. In most of ...