School Nurse Shortage

Nursing shortages have always occurred in cycles. Recently, the shortage has become worse due to the implications of managed care as a way of controlling escalating health care costs. While the shortage did ease some during the recession of 2009, there is still a shortage in some areas of the country (Cherry & Jacob, 2014). Increased student enrollments and government policies have helped with the shortage, but the occupational outlook for nursing jobs is expected to grow faster than any other occupation through 2018. So it is essential that the supply of nurses increases to keep up with the demand. The current shortage is due to several factors. First, new nurses are needed to replace “baby boomers” who will be retiring in the near future. Second, as the population ages, there will be a demand for more healthcare, leading to a demand for more nurses. Third, new advances in patient care will lead to more people in the healthcare system needing more specialized care, and lastly, the affordable care act places a large emphasis on preventive care, leading to more people desiring wellness visits (Cherry & Jacob, 2014). Finally, according to Dall’Ora, Chiara, Griffiths, Peter, Ball, Jane, Simon, Michael Aiken, Linda H. (2015), “shifts lasting 12 hours or longer were associated with a 40 percent greater level of job dissatisfaction and a 31 percent higher risk of planning to quit. Job satisfaction and burnout in the nursing workforce are global

To overcome this obstacle, nurses should be persuaded to understand how important it is to ensure that diabetics are safe and receive consistent diabetes management wherever they are. There is a nursing shortage in all areas of healthcare and especially in most school systems, nurses are not always present, and diabetes is becoming more prevalent, so having other personnel who can be trained to deliver routine care and emergency care can ensure that someone knowledgeable is always present. Wood (2013) reported that with the shortage of nurses, diabetic students are not getting appropriate care throughout the day and families are facing hardship trying to ensure that timely and appropriate care is being

The third shortage is the understanding that nurses are needed to deliver care. "The current situation in the United States may, to some extent, reflect this type of shortage, since recent hospital restructuring has often entailed nurse short-staffing that seems to reflect a lack of awareness on the part of some decision-makers that an adequate quantity of skilled nursing is needed (What is the nursing shortage and why does it exist?., 18 October, 2007)." The fourth shortage is the nurse education and empowerment shortage. This is a big problem in today's situation. Many of the nursing educators are nearing retirement, and the lack of empowerment and encouragement to obtain further education is the main cause. In society, how are we supposed to produce more Registered Nurses if there is a large lack of qualified educators to assist and coach them through education and training?

The US healthcare system is no stranger to nursing shortages. It is a recurring problem we have been faced with for the past seven decades. However, what we will be faced with between now and 2025 is a predicament of far greater proportion than ever encountered before. “Considering the impact this prolonged shortage will have on the USA health care system, nursing and other health-related organizations have even brought their concerns to lawmakers in the central government for immediate consideration” (Janiszewski Goodin 335). This quote is from 2003 and sadly, the state of today’s nursing shortage is still blatantly apparent. Not necessarily because nothing was done back in 2003 to fix it, but

The changes to both student health needs and healthcare during the 21st century have an impact on school nursing practice today. It was because of these changes that the “National Association of School Nurses (NASN) developed the visual and conceptual Framework that explains the key principles of school nursing and provides structure and focus to current evidence-based school nursing practice” (NASN, 2016, p.45). The ultimate goal of the framework for the 21st century “is to provide a resource to guide school nurses in their practice” in order “to help students be healthy, safe, and ready to learn” (NASN, 2016, p.45). The framework for the 21st century school nursing practice consist of

The nation has a growing concern for the shortage of skilled nurses in the United States. The growing need of qualified nursing professionals reflects the growth of the aging population. As the retirement of healthcare professionals increase the need for replacement isn’t moving at the same rate. The nursing shortage places demand on nurses to work long hours, multiple jobs and overtime, which places them at risk for nursing errors. There are many incentives that show the increasing need for nursing professional. There are many different scholarships, grants and tuition reimbursement programs being awarded to produce more nursing professionals. The nursing shortage has led to a nursing crisis in most states. In the following research I will discuss some key factors about of nursing shortage, some factors that have an impact of the shortage in the nursing profession, and some economic issues. I will discuss different legislative acts and what was concluded from my research.

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.

The nursing shortage began in the 1940’s during the World War II and has not changed over many decades. Predominantly females staffed the nursing field until the 1980-1990’s era. That is when the nursing profession was regarded as a less attractive career as other professions opened up to women that were once ruled by males. Between the 1990-2000’s, the shortage of nurses happened as a result of the implementation of managed care. The government and private insurer reimbursements declined and health care cost dramatically increased. Since reimbursements were reduced hospitals and health care corporations had to reduce staff in order to manage budgets. The nursing shortage of today is considered plentiful and complex (Huston, 2014).

A scholarly search was conducted to select the most relevant articles related to nursing shortages. The search was initiated through the use of electronic databases CINAHL and MEDLINE, and professional organizations websites. Keywords for the search included: nursing shortage, impact, hospitals, prevention, patient outcomes, nursing faculty shortage, and the United States. The original search produced 606 articles. The search was further narrowed by selecting only academic journals or research articles with full text available for the years 2008 through 2015. Sixteen journal articles were reviewed. Five of these articles were selected for involvement in the review of literature section of this paper based on the types of research design. Below is a summary of the sources used.

214) “The ACA and the need for APRNs, nurse faculty, and nurse researchers would have increased dramatically under any scenario.” (L R Cronenwett [RWJF Iniative on the Future of Nursing], 2010, table 1). “Not only must schools of nursing build their capacity to prepare more students. Nursing need to focus on fundamental improvements in the delivery of nursing care to improve patient safety and quality is key.” (IOM, 2010, p. 208)

The ANA feel by improving patient outcome and job satisfaction it would boost the morale of the nursing environment (Health System Reform Agenda, 2008). The ANA would also like to see more healthcare facilities utilize the Magnet concept. The Magnet program is a program that recognizes healthcare organizations that deliver the best nursing care. They also feel if employers recognized that long work hours and heavy patient load can increase fatigue of the nurse and decrease positive patient outcomes. The ANA support regulation that strive to limit the number of hours a nurse can be forced to work (Health System Reform Agenda, 2008). Another rising issue is the lack of educators in the nursing world. If institutions do not have enough educators to teach incoming nurses how can class sizes increase to fill the current nurse deficit? It all stems from funding. Along with the shortage of educators comes the rising costs of college tuition and students not being able to afford the program. The ANA suggests employers offer scholarship programs and possible paid time off for students attending classes. There is also a nursing shortage in areas that are less desirable to work. The ANA suggests sign on bonuses and financial help to extend the nurses education to make the less desirable area appear more tempting. I agree with all of the suggestions made by the ANA. When I was in high school and looking at colleges and career

The nurse is also vital in communicating health matters between home and school as well as health care providers and school. Chikani and Plonski-Fuqua (2006) state that the most common medical conditions a nurse may encounter include asthma, diabetes, severe allergies, stoma tube care, NG tube care, behavioral health, epilepsy, and cerebral palsy. In order to provide appropriate care for the students the school nurse must have experience in an acute care setting, pediatric assessment, mental health experience and good knowledge of developmental stages of children. Most school nurses work individually so it is important that the nurse is capable of providing the right interventions and is able to recognize emergency situations.

The supply of nurses is not sufficient to meet the current demand, and the shortage is projected to grow further as future demand increases. Most corresponding factors that are affecting the supply of nurses are also impacting the quantity of nurse educators. Therefore, the understaffing of nursing educators is also impacting the amount of nursing students available.

It is important to note that the increase in nursing enrollment is not sufficient enough to meet projected demands on the healthcare system. The American Association of Colleges of Nurses reported 67,563 qualified nursing applicants were turned away from programs between 2010-2011 due to the lack of faculty and resources. A mere 8% of advanced practicing nurses are looking to a career as a nurse educator. This decreased availability of faculty has resulted in 50% of qualified applicants to nursing programs being turned away annually. (Littlejohn 2012)

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