Becoming An Inadequate Number Of Nursing Staff

The purpose of this article is to discuss appropriate nurse staffing and staffing ratios and its impact on patient care. Although the issue is just not about numbers as we discuss staffing we begin to see how complex the issue has become over the years. Many factors can affect appropriate nurse staffing ratios. As we investigate nurse staffing ratios we can see the importance of finding the right mix and number of nurses to provide quality care for patients.

Nursing is an emotionally, physically, and demanding profession. It truly takes a distinct individual to become a nurse, although, anyone could complete the course work and sit for the NCLEX exam to pass the licensure to become a nurse, with that being said, not everyone that completes the requirements to become a nurse will exhibit the quality nurses should. Nurses require empathy, compassion, knowledge of expertise, time management skills, superb communication and writing technique, and calmness amongst an emergency situation are beneficial attributes to possess. Sarah Cook, RN, BSN, OCN has been a nurse for over seven years, working inpatient oncology for four years and the last one and half years in oncology administration facilitating the building of Parkview Regional Medical Center’s Cancer Institute. Sarah attended college at Ivy Tech Community College where she attained her Associate in Science Nursing degree, continuing her education at Indiana Wesleyan obtaining her Bachelors of Science in Nursing and currently pursuing her Masters of Science in Nursing and Masters of Business Administration.

While the US has more nurses and physicians than ever before, upcoming retirements and a dysfunctional workplace are creating clinical shortages that can become more severe than the industry can bear (Woods, D. 2009). According to research, half of all nurses working today were born during the baby-boomer years. Therefore, the workforce is aging at a rapid rate. As such, in efforts to prevent a mass exodus from the profession, healthcare organizations leaders are exploring innovative ways to keep experienced nurses (Larson, J, 2009). The average age of registered nurses has risen from 41 in 2002 to 48 in 2006(Bolton-Burnes L. 2007). Even more troubling, in 2006, 45% of hospital-employed RNs

Registered nurses are an integral part of the healthcare system, and make up the largest number of healthcare professionals. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (2015) “The employment rate for registered nurses is expected to grow by 16% between 2014 and 2024”. This is more than double the average rate of growth for a profession. The rapid growth rate can be attributed in part to better management of chronic diseases and the baby boomer generation. The growth in the nursing profession is paramount, however the demographics of the nursing population does not mirror the demographics of the population served.

The health care industry is in need of a strong nursing workforce that can provide quality care. The present nursing shortage is only predicted to worsen as the baby boomers retire and health care needs expand. The shortage is projected to reach more than one million nurses, and reform is needed to increase the interest in nursing therefore funding is needed for this transformation ((American Association of College of Nursing, n.d.). Prevention is essential to quality care therefore public health nurses need to be trained and have incentive to take these positions (American Association of College of Nursing, n.d.). There is also a growing need for advanced nurse practitioners to assist in running clinics to personalize patient care and improve relationships between health care providers and patients (American Association of College of Nursing, n.d.). With around 2.4 million providers, registered nurses make up the largest group of health care professionals ((American Association of College of Nursing, n.d.). They are involved in every aspect of patient care, and when there are not adequate nurses to care for patients, barriers to quality health are created. This makes it so vitally important that the nursing shortage be addressed focusing on education, practice, retention, and recruitment (American Association of College of Nursing, n.d.).

In recent years, the healthcare industry has seen a significant decline in the quality of patient care it provides. This has been the result of reduced staffing levels, overworked nurses, and an extremely high nurse to patient ratio. The importance of nurse staffing in hospital settings is an issue of great controversy. Too much staff results in costs that are too great for the facility to bear, but too little staffing results in patient care that is greatly hindered. Moreover, the shaky economy has led to widespread budget cuts; this, combined with the financial pressures associated with Medicare and private insurance companies have forced facilities to make due with fewer

The Nursing Profession has been experiencing shortages for many years. The pattern seems to be repetitive, high demand for nurses followed by phases of downsizing with a surplus of nurses. The earlier years of the nursing shortage was short compared to today’s current nursing shortage. The nursing shortage exist globally and in all nursing areas. There are several factors that are the cause of the nursing shortage of today as well in years past.

The contrast between an adequately staffed ward and one with a low nursing staffing level is tangible. Staff nurses and patients have expressed how inadequate staffing levels affect them and there is a substantial amount of evidence-based research showing the negative effects of low nursing staffing levels on patient and nursing outcomes. Nursing resource allocation and reallocation of staff nurses is a time consuming and challenging task for nurse leaders, who must ensure safe staffing levels are upheld (Ball et al. 2014). With an increasing constraint on health expenditure, nursing staffing levels in hospitals has become a main target for financial limits and spending reductions. To the extent of which the nursing profession has been called a ‘soft target’, for it is easier to reduce nursing staffing level, as opposed to other means of cutting costs, such as improving efficiency (Aiken et al. 2014b).

upon nurses which might be expected to increase their work related stress and reduce the

The constant problem that nurses have is having a low staffing rate which can lead to bigger problems in the end. They are not always treated good so they end up leaving their job when they shouldn’t even have to go through all of this at work. This includes everyone in the workplace, even patients and co-workers and you would think that the patients would be nice to their nurses when they are just trying to care of them. Their bosses overwork them without giving out long breaks which can lead to the nurses have back problems or just being so exhausted. Not having long breaks or at least a 30 minute break could also lead to having problems with their joints then they would have to miss work. If they miss work then they miss out on the money

There is a shortage of all health care professions throughout the United States. One shortage in particular that society should be very concerned about is the shortage of Registered Nurses. Registered Nurses make up the single largest healthcare profession in the United States. A registered nurse is a vital healthcare professional that has earned a two or four year degree and has the upper-most responsibility in providing direct patient care and staff management in a hospital or other treatment facilities (Registered Nurse (RN) Degree and Career Overview., 2009). This shortage issue is imperative because RN's affect everyone sometime in their lifetime. Nurses serve groups, families and individuals to foster

I would assume that all of us aspire to live a long healthy life, however, sometimes things don’t go as planned and some of us ultimately end up suffering from some type of ailment throughout our lives’. It would be disappointing if there wasn’t a nurse to care for you during your visit to a clinical facility. Unfortunately, this dilemma might come into existence due to a possible nursing shortage in the near future. That being said, all patients and their family members would be outraged if their loved one wasn’t receiving adequate care, understandably so. In addition, this scenario would also take a toll on physicians because I don’t believe they would be able to tack on all of the work that a nurse is specializes in.

Despite many efforts to improve staffing numbers, there is often still a staff shortage among staff in hospitals and acute care settings. While the most obvious solution to short staffing is to hire more nurses, there are also other ways to make staffing more effective. A patient acuity tool is a staffing instrument that can be used to decide how much time and attention each individual patient requires. By knowing the acuity level of each patient, charge nurses can decide how many patients each nurse can be assigned to at a time. This essay describes the way a patient acuity instrument improves healthcare outcomes by promoting patient-centered care and improving on key nurse competencies including teamwork and collaboration, quality improvement, and safety measures.

Current literature continues to reiterate the indicators of a major shortage of registered nurses (RNs) in the United States. The total RN population has been increasing since 1980, which means that we have more RNs in this country than ever before (Nursing Shortage). Even though the RN population is increasing, it is growing at a much slower rate then when compared to the rate of growth of the U.S. population (Nursing Shortage). We are seeing less skilled nurses “at a time of an increasingly aging population with complex care

It is likely that most people have heard about the nursing shortage for years now, and perhaps they believe it’s been fixed. However, the nursing profession is experiencing a reoccurring deficiency. According to Brian Hansen, (2002), there was a nation wide shortage in 2001 of 126,000 full-time registered nurses, but the shortage will surge to 808,000 by 2020 if something isn't done. This pattern is a persisting cycle of high vacancies followed by layoffs and a high over supply of registered nurses. Various factors contribute to the lack of nurses within the health care facilities, but today’s shortages are a little different. Many feel that this scarcity is severe and long-drawn-out. The four major issues contributing to