Effective Approaches in Leadership and Management
In this assignment, you will be writing a 1,000-1,250-word essay describing the differing approaches of nursing leaders and managers to issues in practice. To complete this assignment, do the following: Select an issue from the following list: nursing shortage and nurse turn-over, nurse staffing ratios, unit closures and restructuring, use of contract employees (i.e., registry and travel nurses), continuous quality improvement and patient satisfaction, and magnet designation. Compare and contrast how you would expect nursing leaders and managers to approach your selected issue. Support your rationale by using the theories, principles, skills, and roles of the leader versus manager described in your readings. Identify the approach that best fits your personal and professional philosophy of nursing and explain why the approach is suited to your personal leadership style. Use at least two references other than your text and those provided in the course. Prepare this assignment according to the APA guidelines found in the APA Style Guide, located in the Student Success Center. An abstract is not required. This assignment uses a grading rubric. Instructors will be using the rubric to grade the assignment; therefore, students should review the rubric prior to beginning the assignment to become familiar with the assignment criteria and expectations for successful completion of the assignment. You are required to submit this assignment to Turnitin. Refer to the directions in the Student Success Center. Only Word documents can be submitted to Turnitin.
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Nurses comprise of the greatest single component of hospital staff in the United States. In 2004, for example, of the existing 3 million nurses in the country, 83% were employed in the nursing field with 58% being employed on a full-time basis. However, currently, there is a severe nationwide shortage of nurses that are jeopardizing the safe, effective healthcare for all Americans (Siela, Twibell, & Keller, 2009). Moreover, the concurrent nursing faculty shortage significantly impacts the potential or admitting and graduating adequate number of students in nursing to address the shortage of prepared nurses. Therefore, nurses are more that ever needed in the United States to support the healthcare needs of each and every American citizen. A demographic examination of the 3 million nurses provides a context where an in-depth discussion can be based on regarding the strategies critical care nurses can employ to help the nursing shortage (Siela, Twibell, & Keller, 2009).
It was discovered that in 2004, despite an increase of 185,000 hospital Registered Nurses (RNs) from 2001, there was still a significant shortage in most of the hospitals. A survey conducted in March of 2005 revealed that the turnover rate among RNs was13.9% and the rate of vacancy 16.1% (Siela, Twibell, & Keller, 2009).
Several factors can be linked to the current shortage and include: slow growth rate in nursing school enrollment to meet the projected growth in demand for nurses. For example, in 2004, there was a 14.1% increase in BSN programs enrolment, however, over 40% increase is required if future demand is to be met. In addition, the RNs population is growing at the slowest rate in over 20 years; the demographic changes among Americans indicate then need for more nurses to take care of the needs of an increasingly aging population (Siela, Twibell, & Keller, 2009). Nurses are leaving the profession due to work related burnouts and dissatisfaction and finally, the high turnover and vacancy rate is negatively affecting access to healthcare. These factors are an illustration of the need for more nurses than the country can currently educate and even after education an employment, retaining them has become problematic (Siela, Twibell, & Keller, 2009).
In regards to nurse turnover, two methods are applicable in determining the causes of nursing turnover. First is the identification of why nurses choose to work in certain environments and determining whether these needs are being met (Hunt, 2009). Second is the identification of things that occur after nurses are hired that push them to quit their jobs even though their jobs met their initial work expectations. That is what factors or events that push nurses to a conclusion that their current job does no longer meet their career target or job needs (Hunt, 2009). From such an analysis, the following factors contribute to nurse turnover; feeling overworked, role ambiguity, lack of control of job performance, lack of workplace respect, poor communication, and lack of proper recognition and rewarding schemes. Moreover, a lack of career development and support opportunities, lack of effective collaboration, mismatch between work schedule and work needs and expectation, and physically and emotionally demanding tasks (Hunt, 2009).
To deal with the increasing shortage, especially those related to age, the management team should provide payment perks for the aging nurses because a third of all the nurses in the United States are almost 50 years old. This should also include the provision of support within the working environment for such nurses. According to Fo...