Three Most Important Issues in the Profession of Nursing Today

Three Most Important Issues in the Profession of Nursing Today
Student Name
Institutional Affiliation
Date
Three Most Important Issues in the Profession of Nursing Today
Introduction
Nurses are the primary care providers, such that without them, the healthcare system cannot operate. The role of nurses has never been important in meeting patients' healthcare needs like it is today. As the population grows, the demand for healthcare keeps on increasing. Furthermore, the aging population means increasing chronic illnesses, necessitating more healthcare providers, especially nurses. In the US, nurses make up the largest proportion of healthcare workers, making them the backbone of the healthcare system (Shah et al., 2021). Nursing as a profession can be rewarding and challenging at the same time. Nurses continue to face an array of problems which makes their operations difficult. Despite their importance in the healthcare system, the profession continues to suffer, hence degrading the quality of care. Today, the profession of nursing face three most important problems; inappropriate staffing levels, regulatory and policy barriers to practice, and workplace hazards.
Inappropriate staffing levels
Healthcare facilities all over the world and the US are understaffed with nurses. With the growing population, the demand for healthcare professionals, especially nurses, is increasing. According to the United States Census Bureau (2019), baby boomers, born between 1946 and 1964, will be 73 million in 2020. Since 2010, about 10,000 baby boomers have crossed the age of 65 years a day. By 2030, all baby boomers will be at least 65 years. High-quality healthcare has facilitated a growing aging population. The increasing aging population has facilitated an ever-growing need by the particular demographic. Old age comes with chronic sicknesses, hence the need to increase the number of nurses to cater to the group. The demand for nurses to care for the aged continues to increase, despite the proportionately low number of nurses. In addition to the aging population, the nursing workforce is also aging. One in every three nurses is 50 years and above in the US (United States Census Bureau, 2019). As the nurses age, they retire and leave a gap because of the limited supply of new nurses. Nursing schools operate on limited budgets hence they admit a limited number of students. Every year, the number of nurses entering the workforce is insufficient to cover the deficit resulting from those who will soon retire.
The nursing shortage means that healthcare facilities cannot provide high-quality care to their clients. Because of the scarcity, nurses are forced to work for long hours. One nurse has to attend to many patients, which strains them. The increased workload also implies that nurses cannot offer high-quality care to their clients (Shah et al., 2021). Attending to more patients than required denies the nurses an opportunity to meet the diverse needs of patients and their family members. It also subjects them to burnout, encouraging some nursing workforce to resign. Burnout is a major contributor to nursing errors (Shah et al., 2021). Medication errors are cause longer hospitalization, increased costs to patients and healthcare facilities, and death.
Regulatory and policy barriers to practice
Advanced Practice Registered Nurses (APRNs) cannot practice to the full extent of their training because of limitations imposed by regulatory and policy barriers. APRNs have comprehensive training, but they cannot make their unique contributions to the healthcare system. Federal and state regulations and policies continue to limit how nurses can use their skills to meet the growing demand (Institute of Medicine (IOM), 2010). The lack of standardized scope of practice regulations has rendered nurses unable to utilize their full training and education. States and insurance companies impose restrictions such that patients cannot freely choose from a range of providers like APRNs. Because of such barriers, APRNs cannot utilize their skills in meeting patients' healthcare needs.
Further, restrictions that confine APRNs to acute care settings like inpatient hospitals limit their ability to attend to patients' needs. In the future, care is likely to shift from the hospital setting to the community. Despite the coming change, most nurses continue to be restricted to the acute care settings. APRNs have the experience to work in a community setting, but they are limited. Such an approach to care means that APRNs are at the mercy of physicians who must determine their scope. Even in areas where nurses are qualified, they still have to work under the supervision of physicians in some states (Institute of Medicine (IOM), (2010). Such outdated regulatory and policies serve to hurt the nursing profession. It presents nurses as less qualified healthcare professionals who cannot handle crucial care activities without the supervision of physicians. Because of such an approach, APRNs have remained restricted in their scope of operation. The move has discouraged them because they cannot fully employ their education and training.
The inability to allow nurses to practice to the full extent of their training and education hurts the nursing profession. It denies them the opportunity to employ what they have learned in school. It also discourages them from engaging in intensive care activities, which they are, after all, qualified. The restrictive scope of practice means that nurses appear less qualified healthcare providers to the public. More people get discouraged from joining the profession because they consider it inferior, reducing the number of people joining nursing schools. Hence, nurses cannot exercise the innovation needed to solve the healthcare system's problems. Their lack of recognition as a major player in the healthcare profession limits their participation in major decisions that affect the industry. The inability to involve nurses in the design of ...