How the Nursing Shortage Affects the Healthcare System?

Posted by Amy Nutt

September 23, 2009

by Amy Nutt

In recent years, there has been a growing shortage of nurses across the country. Many expect this shortage to grow in the approaching years as baby boomers grow older and the demand for health care increases. Other reasons for a nurse shortage include: a minimum number of openings in nursing schools, an increase in the number of nurses retiring, and many nurses leaving the healthcare field.

The American Association of Colleges of Nursing and other medical professionals have become concerned about the impact the nursing shortage will have on society. According to a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (2000), “the U.S. will experience a 20% shortage in the number of nurses needed in our nation’s health care system by the year 2020.” The American Hospital Association reports “that 75% of all current hospital vacancies are for registered nurses.” As well, projections from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics “reveal the need for more than one million new nurses by the year 2010.”

The medical community has concerns about the impact on the public such as: the public will have limited access to health care services, waiting times will significantly increase, increased nurse patient loads, increased risk for medical mistakes, higher risk of spreading infections and disease to patients and staff, increased risk of injury on the job, increased patient deaths, increase in nursing turnover due to stress and nurse burnout, and an increased need for therapy for nurses because of the increased stress.

Today’s nursing shortage is different from any nursing shortage in the previous years. The nursing shortage has put a spotlight on how important nurses are in the health care industry. Nursing school leaders, politicians, and health care administrators, are working very hard to find a fix to the nursing shortage. Providing incentives to increase enrollment in entry level nursing degrees is a key part of countering the nurse shortage. Nursing schools require assistance in making more room to increase student enrollment. Legislation is being proposed to combat the nursing shortage by providing capitulation grants to nursing schools in order to boost the number of students and faculty.

There are now more online schools that offer nursing programs and more healthcare managers are recognizing these schools as beneficial to helping curb the nurse shortage, Increasing salaries and improving work conditions are also essential to attracting people to the nursing field. As well, there are a number of states that are collaborating with sponsors from the private sector which provides nursing students more choices when they enter the health care field. The increase in funding will help attract and retain more nurses.

With the current economic conditions in such a poor state, as well as massive layoffs taking place across the country, a career in nursing may be the right solution for those seeking a respected and lucrative career helping people. The need for nursing care and the demand for nurses are increasing. It is a great time to be a nurse.

About the Author:

Whether nurses are dealing with psychiatrist jobs or speech pathology jobs, most of them will experience some symptoms of burnout. The health industry recognizes this problem and tries to tackle it with locum tenens programs, tailoring custom positions for individuals. http://www.soliant.com/

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