Shortage of Nurses Discussion.

Shortage of nurses in different health care centers and hospitals has been a burning issue over years. Different hospitals cannot make the required number of nurses at any given time depending on different factors. Nursing profession has not been selected as a profession of choice by a number of students which has led to massive shortage of the professionals over in the health facilities. Nursing is one of the paramount medical practitioners’ cadres which take some of the noble activities for the hospital. Every hospital has been working hard to cover the gap left by the shortage of nurses. Some of the hospitals in the country have opted to employ from international market from countries which have surplus nurses. In the same case, the government has been trying to cover the shortage in different ways. According to WHO, there was a least 33 million nursing professionals and midwives in the whole world in 2017.

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From this number 3.9millions were operating in the USA (AACN, 2019). With the increase in population there has been a need to for more than one millions nurses before 2020 (AACN, 2019). From the records of American Nurses Association (ANA), there is a projection that more nurses will be required by 2022 compared to any other professionals. The USA Bureau of Labor Statistics has projected that 1.1million nurses are required in order to avoid more shortage. More nursing opportunities are presumed to increase at a higher rate with a projected rate of 15% in comparison to other professions between 2016 and 2026 (AACN, 2019). The nursing professionals continue to face shortage from inadequate nursing instructors, high rate of turnover and inequalities in jobs distribution. The paper seeks to expand on the shortage of nurses which has affected the country and narrowing it down to the Northwest hospital a case study.

Northwest hospital has been faced by nursing professionals’ shortages in North West hospitals. The hospital has not had enough nurses’ overtime which has acted as a source of headaches for the hospital professionals. Anytime is a nurse turn over time for the hospital leading to constant shortages. The shortage in the hospital has been triggered by the national and regional shortage where nurses are needed in the hospitals but are not available at their time or need. From this shortage nurses have been forced to work overtime and for long hours. Nurses in the hospital have been working under stress condition which has led to workforce dissatisfaction and turnover that the extreme end. The remaining nurses are forced to work under unfriendly work environments which are prone to medical and nursing errors. There are 1510 employees in the hospitals with 300 of those been nurses. The hospital needs more than 500 nurses at a time. There is not time the hospital has had enough nursing professionals in its employees list. As the hospital develops, the need for more nurses is created.

From the Americans Association of Colleges of Nursing (2018), the USA is expected to get a blow by the shortage of registered nurses which is expected to increase as baby boomers generation and the demand for medical care continues to grow. Nursing schools in the country have been trying to expend their capacities with the theme of raising the market demand. According to NCBI (2019), there will be an increase in demand for registered nurses jobs which will be availed to 2022 compare to other professionals. The USA will be one of the countries which will suffer high from the nurses shortage due to its large number required. From this fact the American Association of College of Nursing has been trying hard to work in conjunction with other policy developers, organization in charge of nurses, and nursing school to control the situation (AACN, 2019). To try and have this done they have leveraged resources, identified strategies, and formed collaboration in the theme addressing the issue of nursing shortage (AACN, 2019).

AACN in collaboration with other stakeholders in the country have been trying to develop strategies to curb the roaming danger. Among the strategies used is to lower the qualifications for entry level nurses. With Northwest hospital will also need to adhere to the qualification of nurses who will qualify from colleges and universities (AACN, 2019). Legislation will be set to favor the increase in nurses professionals will need to be adjusted from every hospital including our hospital. Forming collaboration with other hospitals and nursing centers has been used as one of the solutions to the issue. Northwest hospital will need this collaboration more than any other hospital. It will be upon the management to form collaborations with other hospitals to ensure nurses can work on part time bases and on their holidays for the Northwest hospital. Creating enticements for nurses to come to the hospital will be needed to increase the number of nurses working in different hospital sessions. For example it will be possible for nurses to work in a neighboring hospital at night and work for a few hours for Northwest hospital during the day. In another example it will be possible for a nurse to be employed on part time basis coming to work for the hospital only where they are on work leaves and during their work holidays.

In conclusion, nurses’ shortage in the country has not gone so well with the current workforce. The already employed nursed are overworking and working for long hours to cover the nurses shortage. Northwest hospital has not been spared by such. Nurses in the hospital have been shifting and turning over their jobs over time. To curb this, the national and county governments have tried to come up with different solutions. Among the solutions provided are developing strategies to control the mess, lowering entry level qualification for nurses and creating job shifts for the available nurses.

References

AACN (2019). Nursing Shortage. Retrieved from: https://www.aacnnursing.org/News-Information/Fact-Sheets/Nursing-Shortage. Accessed on 9th June 2019.

NCBI, (2018). Nursing Shortage. Retrieved from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK493175/. Accessed on 9th june 2019