Essay On Nursing Shortage

World War Two was a massive war that occurred from 1939-1945, this war is known as the most violent war in the history of mankind spanning across many countries who were affected immensely. This war has had a great impact on our knowledge and there were many political, social and military implications of the war. During this time period, American life evolved from temporary changes to long term changes in various fields. World War Two brought about major expansion in medicine and nursing. More treatments were needed to heal wounds and infections on the battlefield. Also, researchers and medical experts helped to create new drugs. World War Two lasted around six years and during this time the army nurse corps was a great support. Although war naturally produces casualties resulting in medical and nursing advancements, World War Two had profound impact in the fields of medicine and nursing.

Some of the first female nurses entered the battlefields during the Revolutionary War (“Women’s”). So, when the Civil War began in 1861, “between 2,000 to 5,000 women volunteered as nurses” (Brooks). Nurses had to deal with a lot of traumatic events, and “many nurses came under fire and were wounded or killed. One quarter suffered serious illnesses, and there was a constant risk from typhoid fever,

According to Peter Buerhaus of Vanderbilt School of Nursing who has studied the problem on staff shortage. “Nursing care in America's hospitals has reached a critical shortage -- the worst in 50 years.”(1)

At the beginning of the war, there few trained nurses in the civilian life and none in the

This is because of the continued shortage of nurses to take care of the growing number of patients in nursing homes, health care centers and hospitals. According to the article “Addressing the Nursing Shortage,” studies show that “the nursing shortage will grow to a staggering one million RNs by the year 2020 if the nursing shortage is not aggressively addressed” (1). The high number of nurses that are of retirement age coupled with the decreasing number of new nursing graduates has contributed to the current nursing shortage. This shortage also affects the current nurse faculty shortage. The issues contributing to the nursing shortage are multifaceted: a diminishing pipeline of new nurses due to a faculty shortage that has resulted in thousands of potential students being turned away, steep population growth in several states. This nursing shortage contributes to nursing fatigue, the possibility of medical errors and compromised patient safety, and poor patient outcomes. In 2011, the Joint Commission issued a Sentinel Event Alert to call attention to health care worker fatigue as it relates to patient safety, noting a link between healthcare worker fatigue and adverse events (Martin,

In 1960, Virginia Avenel Henderson a nurse and a theorist in the same time, defined nursing, “the unique function of the nurse is to assist the individual, sick or well, in the performance of those activities contributing to health or its recovery (or to a peaceful death) that he would perform unaided if he had the necessary strength, will or knowledge. And to do this in such a way as to help him gain independence as rapidly as possible”. It is a noble function and to be fulfilled at the highest levels, it takes time, patience and the devotion. When the number of people given this care is much lower than that of people who must receive the care, then a crisis occurs. The phenomenon is acute not only in America but all around the world. Even if the nursing is considered a meaningful work, the country is facing a nursing shortage that grows more with each passing year. Nursing shortages in America affect all parts of the health care delivery system.

There are numerous issues that cause the nursing shortage of today. “Baby Boomer” nurses are aging, retiring or coming to the end of their careers which will cause a rift. Many nurses are choosing to leave the nursing profession for other careers because of job dissatisfaction or

World War I and World War II brought on the highest urgency for nurses to enlist to help in the war zone. WWI 23,000 nurses served and going into World War II brought the highest level of casualties the world had ever seen and was in high demand for the 78,000 nurses that served. These miserable conditions and lack of supplies made all the serving nurses create new ways of practice. Especially in the civil war, nurses had to learn new ways to cope with large amounts of patients coming in at once. After WWI a nursing training school

One of the few careers left in the United States that is said to be everlasting, seems to be getting a taste of reality. What once was a thriving career has steadily begun to struggle with a call to arms. Hospitals around the world are finding that the need for nurses is increasing as new nurse graduates are decreasing. Nursing schools are unable to produce enough new graduates to meet the need. Which causes a need for adequate instructors with the knowledge necessary to educate nursing students. Even with the rate of nurses graduating each year with Bachelors and Associates, why are we in such a drastic need for nurses? Has the population and illness increased so fast that our current

Nursing shortage has been a global problem that need to be eradicated in order to promote patient care and improve care outcomes. Nursing shortage in America has caused a lot of negative impact on the nurses, patients and nursing profession. It has caused a lot of dissatisfaction on the part of the nurses and the patients (Nardi & Gyurko, 2013). Nurses are prone to injuries, stress and burn-out as a result of nursing shortages. They engaged in working long hours to compensate their coworkers and ensure completion of assigned jobs. They end up breaking down emotionally, physically and psychologically due to poor work-environment and

Imagine staying in a hospital- weak, helpless, and in pain, and there isn’t a nurse near to assist. The majority of whom, who have stayed in a hospital have already faced this terrifying issue. Without the help, and care from nurses in the health care system, the health care system would ultimately fail. There are not enough nurses to care for the amount of people that are staying in the hospitals, which directly affects patient care. Here in America today, we are facing the most colossal nursing shortage to have ever existed. There are a variety of solutions that can be done to disperse this soon to be catastrophe. The demand for nurses will forever be in high demand due to the constant advances in

Have you ever thought about the role a nurse has between his or her client? A nurse’s role is more than just helping clients when they are not feeling well. In 2007 there were a reportedly 12 million nurse’s employed (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2009). That is a large amount of nurse’s that are employed in the world. A nurse protects, promotes, optimizes health and ability, prevents illness or injury, alleviates suffering through treatment and diagnosis of human response, and advocates in the care of individuals, families, communities, and populations (Amercian Nurses Association, 2012). A nurse stands for many good qualities but, why is there a big shortage of nurses?

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

According to Paller (2012), the nursing shortage in different countries for example the United States tends not to be the only growing problem, but has also become a complex one. Nursing shortage and nurse's turnover has become the worsening predicament in the health care industry in the United

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