School Nurse Shortage

Nursing Issues and Trends: The Nursing Shortage Joanna Roberson Lindsey Wilson College Abstract Nursing shortage is a crisis that has been rumored for years. Unfortunately, there are many truths to this rumor and every nurse has been affected by this shortage at some point in their career. Just in recent decades the economy had led to the nursing shortage. The nursing shortage is needing Nursing programs and hospital programs to augment and graduate competent RN’s that can step into the RN role. All nurses need to join and support the American Nurses Association and other nursing groups so that those groups can go in front of our Legislatures and get Bills passed to mandate overtime so that nurses are not exhausted and can

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).

Supply 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.

Healthcare has been around for many decades. It has always been a problem for many Americans. Whether it be too expensive or individuals do not qualify to be covered under medical insurance. Many Americans have spent years trying to get some type of medical coverage. This can be a frustrating task because it is not easy. In 2010 the Affordable Care Act was signed into law by congress. This law made healthcare affordable and accessible to all Americans. While it is a good attempt at changing previous healthcare rules, many Americans still go uninsured. In this paper I will look at two components the American Nursing Association feel need to be reformed.

Nursing Shortages and their Future Impacts 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

Nursing Shortage in America 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.

Framework for 21st Century School Nursing Practice 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

According to the findings, the recent national data indicates that “45 percent of public schools have a school nurse all day, every day, while another 30 percent of schools have a school nurse that works part time in one or more schools”. So the grants would make money available to public schools in order to hire school nurses which would decrease the student-to-school nurse ratio.

Is the nursing shortage in the United States real? The answer to that question is not as simple as it may seem. The nursing shortage greatly depends on the constant changes in healthcare coverage, for example Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements but it is also based on the rising number of the aging population. Although many sources predict that the nursing shortage is expected to get worse overall throughout the United States. There many other sources that we must consider when debating whether or not there is a big deficit. There are over 3 million nurses in America and they make up the largest segment of the health-care workforce in the U.S. (Grant, 2016). Nursing is one of the largest number of healthcare professionals in the United

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 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

In 1980, U.S. taxpayers paid $256 billion for healthcare services. In 2012, they paid nearly $2.8 trillion for healthcare services (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. 2012). This represents a tenfold increase in a single generation. Although some of the most expensive medical conditions to treat may not be preventable, there are a myriad of preventable diseases that add to the economic burden that Americans carry each year. When one also considers the rise in childhood obesity rates and other related and non-related chronic illnesses, the role of nurses as educators in our schools and communities has become critical to the continued success of our nation.

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)

First, I would like to discuss nurse to student-ratios. Although, the PA law states that the number of pupils per school nurse may not exceed 1,500, “according to a survey by the National Association of State School Nurse Consultants (NASSNC), many schools in Pennsylvania have recognized that a current school nurse to student ratio is insufficient… and that there are no state mandated ratios for nurses to special needs students. Rather, each school district is responsible for meeting the needs of special populations” (Joint State Government

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