Nursing Shortage Problem

Our nation has displayed its greatness in thousands of different ways. It has overcome many obstacles and solved many problems, but it seems to have gotten caught up on a select few over the past hundreds of years. One hardship that the U.S. is having difficulty solving is the nursing shortage. Although many, including myself, have seen this as a crisis that the nation faces, others seem to see a silver lining in the fog. Because of this, I believe that my thesis, the nursing shortage is a major concern that needs to be acted on soon, is a great thesis for the final research paper. This is because I am curious about the topic, it has been argued academically by many credible sources, and the nursing shortage needs more attention drawn to it

Geraldine Bednash PhD, RN refers to “the long term trend of declining interest in nursing by women who today enjoy a wide choice of career opportunities…” (Benjamin, 2000, p.77). Bednash was speaking on the subject of how careers for women have advanced greatly in the last century and has led to the decline in active nurses in the field (Benjamin, 2000, p.79). Two groups that have chimed in on the subject of the nursing shortage in a negative sense have been the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) and the American Nursing Association (ANA). These are two very reputable organizations in the nursing industry and both provide very useful insights on the crisis at hand. Although many scholars focus on the negative aspects of the problem at hand, there are people like Lillee Gelinas, Linda Delunas and Linda Rooda that recognize the silver lining. In 2017 Lillee Gelinas wrote an article about the advantages of the nursing shortage. Some of the advantages she highlighted on how crucial the role of a nurse is, higher pay for nursing jobs, and how overall the shortage has brought attention it the industry as a whole (Gelinas, 2017, p.4). Another article titled a new model for the clinical instruction of undergraduate nursing students explains the advantages of the shortage

The power of just one person's voice can be heard for miles. This matter is very important because it is an aging workforce. Nurses in their 50’s make up the largest number of nurses in the workforce (Balogh-Robinson, 2012, p.134). Also the amount of nursing educators is less than half the needed number (Stanton, 2016). The recommended ratio is 1:10 staff to student and to solve the shortage we would need 40,000 teachers (Stanton, 2016). These statistics help explain exactly why the shortage needs more attention. We need to inform people about these statistics early on, so they are able to make the decision to advance their education toward a nursing career.

Request:
I am asking for your authorization to go ahead and use this thesis, the nursing shortage is a huge issue that our nation faces, in my final research paper. Thank you for taking the time out of your day to read my proposal. If you have any concerns or question about this topic please let me know. I will be more than happy to address those for