Nursing Shortage : The United States Healthcare Industry

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

The shortage of nurses in the United States has been discussed often and has been fully reported in the media over the past several decades. There have been reports of shortages so critical that they actually have become "…a national security concern" (Nelson, 2002). Moreover, the reasons for the shortages and potential solutions for this crisis are extremely well covered in the scholarly literature. In this paper, an article in the peer-reviewed Health Marketing Quarterly points to how the nursing shortage can be addressed using marketing strategies. In addition, other scholarly articles will be reviewed in order to address the challenges and consequences that could result if this crisis is not addressed immediately.

It is no secret that the United States is currently experiencing a shortage of nurses . “The U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics ( 2009 ) estimated that more than one million new and replacement nurses will be needed by 2018 to meet the increased demands of the health care workforce” (). The stressful conditions under which nurses work, due in part to the nursing shortage, are among the risk factors that contribute to nurses’ abuse of illicit drugs and alcohol. Nurses are unique in that they work in an environment where they not only have access to controlled substances, but also are exposed to critically ill patients, traumatic situations, death and dying, the stress of which can increase the risk of substance abuse. (Epstein, Burns, & Conlon, 2010). Unfortunately, it is the patient that suffers the most.

The national nursing shortage is an ever-growing concern and it is essential for health care organizations to confront the looming issue. Possible solutions to the nursing shortage include retaining older nurses who are looking to retire, increasing the amount of students graduating from nursing schools, and drawing nurses who have left the nursing workforce back to the bedside (Hatcher, 2006). Leaders must assess the nursing turnover in their organization and strategize on ways to retain those nurses. Organizations must implement techniques to retain older nurses to help combat the national nursing shortage and prevent a national healthcare disaster (Keller & Burns, 2010). The purpose of this paper is to identify the demographic breakdown of an organization, explain how the organization’s environment is conducive and non-conducive to older workers, and describe tactics to retain older workers.

The national nursing shortage is an ever-growing concern, and it is essential for healthcare organizations to confront the looming issue. Possible solutions to the nursing shortage include retaining older nurses who are looking to retire, increasing the amount of students graduating from nursing schools, and drawing nurses back to the bedside who have left the nursing workforce (Hatcher, 2006). Leaders must assess the nursing turnover in their organization, and they must strategize on ways to retain those nurses. Organizations must implement techniques to retain older nurses to help combat the national nursing shortage and prevent a national healthcare disaster (Keller & Burns, 2010). The purpose of this paper is to identify the demographic breakdown of an organization, explain how the organization’s environment is conducive and non-conducive for older workers, and describe tactics to retain older workers.

A third contributing factor to the crisis our nation faces are the nursing education systems. The nursing education systems include the nursing students, nursing educators, and nursing schools. When it comes to the nursing students the enrollment rates are far below the necessary amount needed to help the current nursing crisis. The current enrollment number is at 300,000 students, but in order to help the shortage this number needs to increase to 400,000 students (Stanton, 2016). Sadly even though an increase is needed the AACN found that enrollment rates dropped 4.6% at the turn of the century and they have yet to see any increase since then (Benjamin, 2000, p. 2).

The Nursing Profession has been experiencing shortages for many years. The pattern seems to be repetitive, high demand for nurses followed by phases of downsizing with a surplus of nurses. The earlier years of the nursing shortage was short compared to today’s current nursing shortage. The nursing shortage exist globally and in all nursing areas. There are several factors that are the cause of the nursing shortage of today as well in years past.

Improving education and training is one of the strategies to address nursing shortage. Increase in federal funding to compensate current faculties and graduate students faculty is essential in addressing the issues. This will decrease vacancy rates and help to improve workload. Development of a program among regional and statewide nursing schools is another factor to consider. This promotes joint efforts with faculties allowing them to make use of resources efficiently which also assist in students nurse advancement. Moreover, it

The American population is aging with the baby boomers getting older and health care being so advanced patients are living sick longer. Money issues are tighter than ever. All business are doing more with less. There is a massive shortage coming of bedside nurses and nurse educators. It is imperative that students who achieve their degree in nursing take and pass the NCLEX© and become nurses. Obviously pay would be a huge incentive for nurses to continue at the bedside. With all of the cutbacks in healthcare it is hard to figure out where the extra money would come from. Further investigation and studies are needed to fix the

The Nursing Workforce Shortage: Causes, Consequences, Proposed Solutions Patients need nursing care but in the healthcare setting there is shortage of nurses in the workforce. The largest health care professionals in the United States are registered nurses. In the past, there were a lot of nurses’ shortages in the healthcare setting. Therefore, to solve this problem the wages went up and more nurses started working. Also, the more nurses that is working in the healthcare setting it will be a better health outcome and good for quality care.

According to the Nursing Economics, the nursing shortage is caused by an aging workforce, attrition of older nurses and lack of young people and minorities attracted to the nursing profession. Some solution they offered involved factors that affect job satisfaction and work environment (Allen, 2008). Along with solutions like recruiting from the new student population, removing barriers to admission, working with the media to explain partnerships between a university and hospital, new programs and accelerated nursing programs, increased access to clinical settings, and a restructured learning with technology and other simulators. The short-term strategies were broken down to 5 main points, looking at non-traditional resources for faculty instruction,

One of the factors impacting the nursing shortage is the aging of employees in the field. The nursing field will continue to age, and the shortage of nurses will become scarcer. According to Steven M. Barney who uses Selis statistics, “[n]early 70 percent of nurses today are over 40, and only 9 percent of all registered nurses are under 30” (1). The shortage of nurses is a result of the innumerable of aging nurses in the workforce. As soon as these older nurses retire, only a small part of registered nurses who are still learning are going to be employed. The younger nurses with very fewer working experience will have a lot of more frustration without having the experienced nurses to help out. These younger nurses will feel the urge to leave

With our nation focusing more on health care and the overall wellness of its people, the demand for it has been rising. According to Dr. Paul Takiguchi, a dermatologist at Pali Momi “- the biggest issue is the shortage of physicians which includes dermatologists, thus limiting patients’ timely access to care.” Though it may not seem like a big deal, the effects of it are starting to appear today and will only become more prevalent in the near future. In order to stop the doctor shortage in the field of medicine, the government must make changes to the education and training of doctors.

Recent visits to my doctor office has left me thinking about the long wait time and stress on all the staff during my visit. Same thing happened when we got sent into urgent care when my son had a run in with a fence. What should have been a quick visit in both locations became over baring and way to long. The Rio Grande Valley has seen a growth in population the past few years resulting in a shortage in nurses needed our health care system.

Heavy workloads for nurses is a major problem in our health care system due to, “increase demands for nurses, inadequate supply of nurses, reduced staffing, increased overtime and reduction of patients stay in hospitals” (Gurses, 2008). The demands for nurses are also increasing due to the aging population. It was estimated that between 2000 and 2020, the United States population would grow by 31 million people with the population ages over 65, to increase by 19 million. The current supply of nurses is not adequate to meet this demand with a shortage to become even more severe as demands increase. The increase in health care costs have resulted in hospitals reducing their staff levels which in return increases