Essay on Nursing: A Stable Career

There will be a few challenges ahead for our healthcare system and the nursing profession: 1. The Aging Population- (baby boomers will be hitting retirement age). 2. Poverty-“the increasing numbers of disenfranchised people and pressure to limit health care expenditures will collide to create an intense values conflict for nurses of the future”. (Chitty & Black p.382) 3. Unhealthy Lifestyles- (obesity, tobacco use, lack of exercise, stress, HIV/AIDS and drug abuse). 4. Faculty and Student shortages- making nursing shortage worse. Nurses as

The Institute of Medicine’s 2010 report on The Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health acknowledges the changing healthcare sector in the US and describes future vision of healthcare and the role of nurses to fulfill that vision. The United States always strives to provide affordable and quality healthcare to the entire population of the country. In order to achieve this goal an overall restructuring of the healthcare system was necessitated. Nurses are considered to be the central part of the healthcare system to provide high quality and safe patient care. Nursing in the US is the single largest segment of the healthcare workforce with almost 3 million nurses working in different areas across the county. The changing

In 2010, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, or PPACA gave many Americans the opportunity to have health care coverage that previously may have not been available to them. The reform is primarily aimed at decreasing the number of uninsured and underinsured Americans. The landscape of health care is changing and nursing is evolving alongside it. This health care overhaul gives nurses a vital role in leading the reform revolution. With more than three million strong, nursing is the biggest sector of the nation’s health care labor

In 2002, the Bureau of Labor Statistics projected that the United States would be 800,000 registered nurses short of the national need by the year 2020. Recently, this number has increased to over one million RNs short of the need by 2012. Although there has been some indication that the entry of older nurses into the profession, along with efforts to recruit foreign-born nurses, have helped to ease the shortage, scholars project that the predicted trends are likely to continue (Auerbach, Buerhaus, & Steiger, 2007; Buerhaus, Donelan, Ulrich, Norman and Dittus, 2006; Larkin, 2007). As such, the need for understanding the factors contributing to the nationwide shortage has never been greater.

In 2002, the Bureau of Labor Statistics projected that the United States would be 800,000 registered nurses short of the national need by the year 2020. Recently, this number has increased to over one million RNs short of the need by 2012 (BLS, 2004). Although there has been some indication that the entry of older nurses into the profession, along with efforts to recruit foreign-born nurses, have helped to ease the shortage, scholars project that the predicted trends are likely to continue (Auerbach, Buerhaus, & Steiger, 2007; Buerhaus, Donelan, Ulrich, Norman, & Dittus, 2006; Larkin, 2007). As such, the need for understanding the factors contributing to the nationwide shortage has never been greater.

Retention of RNs is vital to avoiding a nurse shortage crisis. Although the numbers of new graduates and student nurses are growing, progress cannot be made if the RNs are eventually leaving the profession because of stress and dissatisfaction with the workplace environment. Many nurses are already planning to leave nursing as soon as it is economically possible. “Nearly one quarter of nurses plan to seek a new place of employment as the economy recovers” (AMN Healthcare, 2011). “Thirty-two percent of nurses plan to take steps in the next one to three years that would take them out of nursing altogether (by retiring or seeking non-nursing jobs) or reduce the volume of clinical work they do (by switching to part-time or less

Nursing is an age-honored tradition and plays one of the most important roles in the healthcare environment. Nurses are essential to patient safety and play a key element in patient advocacy. Unfortunately, a changing economy and declining finances have created a shortage of nurses in the United States (US). Legislature allows citizens of the US to affect change in order to adequately meet the needs of its people. Therefore, it has become necessary to create a bill that speaks to the nursing shortage in the US. The National Nursing Shortage Reform and Patient Advocacy Act (§ 864, 2015-2016) addresses the current shortage of nurses in the United States. Within the bill are specifics in regards to acceptable nurse-patient ratios, the role of nurses as patient advocates, and mandates regarding job security and licensure

With the ever-changing world of healthcare comes the numerous issues the nursing profession faces today. Just a few of these issues include economics, politics, epidemics of disease such as Ebola, and healthcare reform. One of the biggest issues within the nursing profession today is the nursing shortage. This issue is not only a concern for the nursing professional, but also a concern for the whole health care system as well as consumers. With the implementation of healthcare reform in the United States, and having already been implemented in other countries, nurses will be needed more than ever. Along with nursing shortages comes lager nurse to patient ratios as well as a higher demand of hours for nurses. How will this effect the profession and the consumers? How do nurses respond to increased hours? What are some of the problems the nursing shortage brings about? What can we do to bring in and train new nurses? These are just some of the questions the profession of nursing faces when considering nursing shortages and how to tackle this ongoing issue.

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

There is no question that the United States (US) is affected by a shortage of nurses. Even with all the prospective students and newly license registered nurses (RN), we still see a deficit in this area. In 2022, it is projected that there will be roughly 1.05 million RN jobs that are vacant nationally. These spots cannot be filled because of the predicament that we are face with currently. Many issues such as lack of faculty, an increased average age of current RN’s, and long hours and high stress levels are impacting the need for more RN’s in the very near future. The topic of nursing shortages is nothing new; it has been in discussion for years and many organizations, facilities, government affiliates, and possible solutions have been identified. There are many challenges set forth in the act of proliferating the number of RN’s.

Many people think that nursing is a field where jobs are always there. While this is true, right now it seems like there it a “shortage” of nurses. Is there a shortage of nurses? What caused the shortage? Does the shortage have any effects on the nurses? As I have been thinking about pursuing a career in nursing, these questions are something I have been wondering myself. Throughout this paper, I intend to discover and address all the reasons behind the shortage, and the effects on the nurses themselves.

The call to support Title VIII Nursing Workforce Development programs in fiscal year 2016 to 2020 is premised on the current statistics of the increasing demand for nursing care brought about by an aging population (ANA, 2015). At the same time, there is a marked decrease in the number of nurses that are meeting the demands. The nurse shortage has been a concern for many years by the profession. Thus, the federal funding allocated for Title VIII Nursing Workforce Development will not only bolster and build the supply of nurses through nursing education by means of grants, loans, scholarships, and other support to nursing students, “but more importantly, the countless patients who receive exceptional care from

Some of the reasons that are leading to shortage of nurses is the aging population, chronic disease and aging nursing workforce as Rebecca mention in her article. There is an increased to the emerge of registered nurses, per, Bureau of Labor Statistics, “1.2 million vacancies will emerge for registered nurses between 2014 and 2022. By 2025, the shortfall is expected to be “more than twice as large as any nurse shortage experienced since the introduction of Medicare and Medicaid in the mid-1960s,” (Grant 2). This is important because it’s giving me a background of the upcoming nurses in the future. This calculation might be less, or greater than what might come, but it is a close calculation. Even so, the calculation of older people in hospital, or nursing home also increased, “Today, there are more Americans over the age of 65 than at any other time in U.S. history. Between 2010 and 2030, the population of senior citizens will increase by 75 percent to 69 million … in 2050, an estimated 88.5 million people in the U.S.” (Grant 2). In this calculation, there are going to be more people to take care of then how many nurses we will receive. As the population ages, there will be a demand for health-care service. If there aren’t enough services, this leads to shortage of

As I began to pursue my dream to become a nursing professor, I realized this is only the first step obtaining my BSN; it is my goals to eventual achieve my doctorate in nursing with a minor in biblical studies. I have achieved success in my career and maximize opportunities as they present themselves. My nursing career began in 1994 as a licensed practical nurse because of my LPN experience when I became a registered nurse I emerged as a nurse leader. I am learning so many essential life lessons at Eastern University and self-care is one of them. In my studies holistic care is emphasized, it’s essential to care for you while caring for others. As an aspiring professor, I feel very fortunate that my nursing school emphasizes holistic care

Nursing has always been an idea lingering in the back of my mind for as long as I can remember. It has always been a career i've wanted to follow.