Mod1assignment Essay

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

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

The national shortage of Registered Nurses (RNs) has helped generate formidable interest in the nursing profession among people entering the workforce and those pursuing a career change. According to a report issued by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Service in 2002, the national population is continuing to grow and age and medical services continue to advance, so the need for nurses will continue to increase. They report from 2000 to 2020 the predicted shortage of nurses is expected to grow to 29 percent, compared to a 6 percent shortage in 2000. With the projected supply, demand, and shortage of registered nurses and nursing salaries ever-increasing, the nursing profession can offer countless opportunities. But first one must

For many years, health promotions and prevention has been the focus for healthcare providers, especially nurses. Health promotion seeks to improve a person or population’s health by teaching about and helps people become more aware of risky behaviors associated with different diseases. It encourages individuals to take preventative measures to prevent onset or worsening of a disease or illness. It encourages a healthier lifestyle (Edelman & Mandle, 2010). The strategy is to help people make health improvements or prevention before illness occurs.

According to an article submitted by Rosenfeld, 2009, the growing trends of an aging population require the need for more nursing services. In addition, there are insufficient numbers of facilities to train new nurses (Rosenfeld, 2009). The above issues pertaining to nursing shortages have created what is called a “nursing crisis” which have caused and will continue to cause dramatic shortages on a national basis.

The mission of Healthy people 2020 is to improve the health of the nation by creating a nation that is free of illness and diseases; a nation that people will live longer and

A large number of hospitals across the country will no longer hire a RN with only an associate’s degree, but rather require them to hold a bachelors degree. This trend is eliminating many people from attending community college to attend nursing school. Many of these popele are unable to afford the cost of a four year degree from a university. This fact has kept many qualifited and interested candidates from entering the nursing industry. At the University level for baherlor degree programa, there is a shortage of nursing school faculty. This shortage is limiting the number of nursing students that are accepted into the nursing school. According to AACN’s report on 2012-2013 Enrollment and Graduations in Baccalaureate and Graduate Programs in Nursing, nearly 80,000 qualified students were turned away from baccalaureate and graduate nursing programs in 2012 due to insufficient staffing requirements. Almost two-thirds of the nursing schools responding to the AACN’s survey blamed to faculty shortages as a reason for not accepting all qualified applicants into their programs (Truth about

A continuous shortage of nursing has been the attention in the nation for many years. A significant contributor to the decline of quality care is the shortage of registered nurses. “Registered Nurses are the largest population of health care professionals” (AACN, 2014) and still there is shortage of nurses. Nurses play a pivotal role in patient care in hospitals, long term care facilities, community, hospice, schools, and at home. The care nurses provide is directly linked to the cost, availability and the quality of healthcare. Education, practice, recruitment and retention are the four main categories associated with shortage of nursing. “Under the Title VIII of the Public Health Service Act, Nursing workforce development programs has helped decrease the nursing shortage and evidently improve the quality of patient care (AACN, 2014).”

Often in practice, we as nurses deal with a variety of diseases and treatments and often have to react to the illness that the patient presents with upon our interaction. While this is an essential piece of our practice, we also have a duty to our patients to be proactive in preventing specific health-related consequences based on their risk factors and to promote their health and well being. Health promotion as it relates to nursing is about us empowering our patients to increase their control over their lives and well beings and includes: focusing on their health not just illness, empowering our patients, recognizing that health involves many dimensions and is also effected by factors outside of their control (Whitehead et al. 2008)..

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?

The nursing shortage is no longer a projected problem in the healthcare industry in the United States, this problem is present and is not phasing out anytime soon. Addressing this challenge would improve job satisfaction, reduce burnout in the profession and ultimately improve retention.

2. Pender NJ, Murdaugh CL, Carolyn L. Health promotion in nursing practice. 4th ed. Pearson Prentice Hall (NJ): Upper Saddle River; 2002.

The health care issue that I have chosen to research is how we should address the shortage of nurses. I have chosen this topic because I work in a hospital and it is very difficult to recruit new nurses especially in specialized areas. Nurses in the workplace are the largest population of health care employees at 2.7 million nurses employed in the United States according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. This is almost double the nursing assistants employed at 1.4 million which is the second leading health care occupation in the United States. The nursing profession has the largest job growth from 2008 to 2018 with a total of projection of more than 581,500 new registered nurse positions to be created. It is also projected by 2025 to have a nursing shortage that will grow to more than 260,000 registered nurses (N.d.), Overview of BLS Statistics by Occupation, http://www.bls.gov/bls/occupation.htm

The discussion board post initiated my thoughts regarding health promotion and disease prevention. Health promotion is a process that allows individuals to increase control over and improve health (Pender, Murdaugh, & Parsons, 2011). The United States government developed a program, Healthy People, to guide national health promotion and disease prevention efforts (Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 2015). Healthy people increases public awareness of the determinants of health (Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 2015). Utilizing Nola Pender’s model and healthy people objectives future opportunities for health promotion research and effective interventions for practice are limitless.

First, to better understand health promotion and disease prevention, we need to understand what health is. There are many definitions of “Health” out there, but according to the World Health Organization, “Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely absence of disease or infirmity” (World Health organization). The word health alone means different things to different people, it is not questionable that health is to be free from disease or illness, it is however questionable when you