The Nursing Shortage and Burnout Consequences on Patient Safety Imagine a world where the number of patients is much greater than the number of providers willing and able to care for these patients? This world is the one we live in, but many do not realize or care to see. The demand for nursing professionals certainly exceeds the number that is supplied, resulting in a nursing shortage. This situation affects both patients and nurses themselves and research suggests that nurse shortage outcomes result in burnout and risks in patient dissatisfaction and safety. Many argue the reasons as to why this has become such a national and global issue, creating controversy in the way the problem should be handled. When “shortage” is stated, it can range …show more content…
Furthermore, there is a shortage in nursing school faculty which restricts the number of students allowed to enroll in nursing programs. In a report on the 2012-2013 Enrollment and Graduations in Baccalaureate and Graduate Programs in Nursing, 79,659 qualified applicants were turned away due to insufficient number of faculty, clinical sites,classroom space, clinical preceptors and budget constraints. Another factor that impacts the nurse shortage is that a large portion of the current nursing workforce is nearing retirement age. About 55% of the RN workforce is of the age 50 or older according to a survey conducted in 2013 by the National Council of State Boards of Nursing and the Forum of State Nursing Workforce Centers. Also, it is projected that more than 1 million registered nurses will reach the age of retirement in the next 10 to 15 years according to the Health Resources and Services Administration. A third factor in the nursing shortage impact is that changing demographics trigger a need for more nurses to care for the baby boomers population. Demographics refer to age, gender, ethnicity, mobility, disabilities, language, employment status and location. Once the baby boomers reach age 60 and beyond, the demand for nurses will only increase dramatically. Statistics report that the ratio of potential caregivers to care for the elderly population will decrease by 40% between the years 2010 and 2030. Due to demographic changes, access to health care is limited unless the number of available nurses and rising elderly population grow to become
Many nursing schools in the US have waiting list to begin their programs secondary to lack of faculty. The average age of a nurse in the US is now around mid 40s to early 50s. Many of these nurses are expected to retire during the peak of the nursing shortage. The Affordable Care Act has some built in incentives to encourage physicians who provide primary care, which has been shown to lower mortality and increase life expectancy (Davis et al., 2011). Medical schools have reported increased enrollment
What was once thought of as a profession driven by compassion and the desire to help those in need has now become filled with weary burnt out nurses who have lost sight of their purpose. Stress has caused them to distance themselves from the principles nursing is built upon. Our health care system needs to be revamped to improve the quality of care being administered. Nurses can be proactive and take steps to avoid burning out but, our health care administrators have to take matters into their hands because they have the capacity to initiate change. They must realize the gravity of the situation and take an offensive position to make a stand against the crisis of nursing
According to Piotrowdki (2010) there is great NA shortage in nursing homes as well as in hospitals across many regions. This shortage eventually leads to fewer resources for nurses to rely on when providing basic patient
(Abdulla, Al-Qahtani, & Al-Kuwari, 2011). One study revealed that burnout syndrome is common among critical care nurses, because they work with more critical and traumatic patients burnout syndrome is not only affect the nurse but extend to their quality of care that delivered for their patient.(Moss, Good, Gozal, Kleinpell, & Sessler., 2016). Organizational and environment factors such as excessive workload, staffing shortage, lack of empowerment lead to burnout which compromise nurse’s ability to provide high quality care. ( McHugh, Kutney, Cimiotti, Sloane, & Aiken., 2011). Burnout ,quality of care and patients outcome Different studies have explained the relation between burnout syndrome, stress in work environment ,and patients satisfaction which assessed the quality of nursing care provided, the high quality care the more patient satisfaction.
The workforce in most industrialized countries is aging and becoming more age-diverse. And immigrant workers play a large and important role in our economy and society. As child-care providers, food preparation workers, home health care aides, software programmers and construction workers, these workers constitute a significant labor force and provide services that millions more workers depend upon. Currently, I am working with a significant shortage of certified nursing assistants (CNAs) in our CCRC communities.
Due to hospital care reaching an all-time high in America, we need nurses now more than ever before. Currently in America, we have an issue with nurses having too many paperwork to fill out. In the article “We Need More Nurses” by Alexandra Robbins argues we need more nurses in the hospital. Nursing shortage has been a common issue throughout the world. Because of this issue others are being affected in many different ways.
This growing population of patients will increase the demand for healthcare services in the city, which in turn will create more jobs for registered nurses, licensed practical nurses, and certified nursing assistants. In addition, Jacksonville is home to a number of healthcare-related educational institutions. These institutions offer nursing programs that can help qualified individuals become licensed to practice in the state. This helps to ensure that there is a steady supply of well-trained and qualified individuals to fill the city’s many nursing
The strains on the healthcare field can eventually lead to physical,mental and emotional exhaustion also known as burnout. As caretakers,educators,and lifelines, nurses are responsible for the many roles they carry as they continue to give care to patients day in and day out. One of the most common reasons nurses are stressed is the patient to nurse ratio. For instance, a nurse may be taking care of 6 patients when he or she should only be taking care of 4.
Nurses play an essential role in the healthcare industry. The nurse workforce is made up of licensed nurses: registered nurses (RNs), licensed vocational nurses (LVNs) and licensed practical nurses (LPNs), along with nurse aides. Registered nurses are responsible for assessments of patients’ needs, development of care plans, medication administration, and treatments, while licensed vocational nurses perform specific care under the delegation of the registered nurses and supervisions. Nursing aides perform activities of daily living (unskilled attention) to the patient. Adequate nursing staffing is essential to both patient care and outcomes, also to the retention of nurses while inadequate staffing creates problems for both the patients and
n her Nytimes Op-ed article “we need more nurses” Writer Alexandra Robbins reveals that while nurses plays a very important role in improving the health care system of the country, most hospitals and medical establishments are understaffed with nurses. nurses are often one the least recognized group of people who are long due overstretched with the service they provide. Inadequate staffing has become one of the major problems across the country, with the exception of state of California, no other state has set up a standard minimum nurse to patient ratio.many studies has shown that when more patients are assigned to a nurse, the higher for the risk of death, infection,complication, falls and longer hospital stay. the author quoted
Registered nurses graduating from New York nursing degree programs have more than doubled since 2002 according to the University at Albany's Center for Health Workforce Studies report. The number of bachelor's degrees awarded to nursing students has spiked from 4,913 in 2011 to 5,866 in 2014. Over that same time period, those earning two-year associate degrees dropped slightly from 5,398 to 5,263, marking the first time four-year nursing degrees outpaced two-year degrees. "From what we've seen looking at nursing demand, it's quite likely that the associate degree nurses who are finding challenges in terms of getting a job might be the ones who are most incentivized to go on for their bachelor's," said Jean Moore, Director of the Center for
Nursing Shortage is a problem we all should be aware of. There are many factors that may lead to a nursing shortage, such as having stressful and unsafe working environments, and our nurses are being overworked. This is a problem we should be aware of because it is affecting the patient care. Nurses would not have enough time to stay with a patient if they have more patients to worry about. Nurses play a big role in our hospitals and communities, “Nurses play significant roles in hospitals, clinics and private practices.
Large patient loads combined with a stressful work environment affects nurses’ abilities to provide quality healthcare. Patient safety should never be compromised. It is our responsibility to learn from research and improve our current nurse staffing ratios. Nurse staffing is key and affects all other outcomes. Without nurses administering the right treatment at the right time to the right patients, all other healthcare interventions are not effective.
Savor reviewed research that interviewed nurses and explained how many nurses “pointed out that the demand for nurses is rising, with only slow increases in supply, and that nurses’ earnings flattened” (2017). This can lead to a shortage of nurses because in current day society, living has become much more expensive. For example the cost of housing has increased dramatically, and students who go to college are now in charge of paying back their tremendous amounts of student’s loans. All these expenses add up and can be discouraging to a student trying to enter the nursing field because starting pay of a nurse is not enough to live comfortably in current day society. Governments are beginning to realize this and are seeing the decrease of nurses entering the field.
Introduction I. We as a human being, we age and it is said that there will be more elderly people in the future. A. According to the graph of 2012 Population Estimates and National Projections from the Current Population Report by Jennifer M. Ortman, the population aged 65 and above is projected to be 83.7 million in 2050, almost double its estimated population of