Nursing shortages

Shortages of nurses create a significant challenge to the delivery of healthcare which impacts on the quality of patient care and the costs of patient care therein. Nurses comprise the largest proportion of healthcare providers within the interdisciplinary healthcare teams. According to the WHO, there are over 29 million nurses in the world with the USA having over 3. 9 million of the nurses (WHO, 2013). The increased demand for nurses due to an increasing elderly population, expansion of insurance coverage driving up numbers of people able to access healthcare and the retirement of baby boomer nurse populations has put a strain in the available nursing workforce. The retirement of nurses is another key contributor to shortages and projected shortages. A 2013 report by National Council of State Boards of Nursing and The Forum of State Nursing Workforce Centres indicated that over 55% of the current nursing workforce is over 50 years hence nearing retirement age (Smiley et al.

A projected 1 million nurses are likely to exit practice into retirement within the next 10 years (Smiley et al. Coupled with a slowed and lower entry into nursing, the increased retirement creates a significant shortage of nurses. The increased aging population in the USA with the USA having the highest number of aged people currently than ever in history. A study by Tubbs-Cooley, Cimiotti, Silber, Sloane & Aiken, (2013), identified that increased nurse-patient ratios in the pediatric wards were attributed with increased readmission rates for the patients. Nurse shortages are also associated with burnout among nurses which leads to poor quality of patient care. Reduction in the quality of patient care contributes to adverse patient outcomes such as increased nosocomial infections, increased patient falls, decubitus ulcers among others (Hirsbrunner, Denhaerynck, Fierz, Milisen & Schwendimann, 2015).

Nurse shortages also contribute to financial consequences both for the patient and the healthcare organizations. Adverse patient outcomes may result in longer hospital stays by patients or readmissions which increase the cost of care delivery, reduce hospital reimbursements due to poor patient care attributed as per the Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program (Everhart, Neff, Al-Amin, Nogle & Weech-Maldonado, 2013). Other grant programs aimed at addressing the nursing shortage include the Nursing Corps Scholarship Program which offers financial incentives (tuition, fees, and other educational costs) provided the nurses work at an eligible facility Critical Shortage Facility (CSF) when they graduate. Federal grants and tax credits have also been instituted to assist nursing students to meet the costs of nursing training with no repayments needed. Some other grant opportunities for nurses are aimed to ensure RN to BscN conversion to meet the Institute of Medicine report of 2010 which emphasized the need for enhanced nursing education as a factor to improving patient care outcomes.

These financial incentives have had a significant impact in enhancing the enrolment into nursing studies for many as well as directing training to cover marginalized areas and communities. The nurse shortage is imbalanced across regions in the USA. Nursing Faculty Shortage. Aacnnursing. org. Retrieved 26 March 2019, from http://www. aacnnursing. , Al-Amin, M. , Nogle, J. , & Weech-Maldonado, R. The effects of nurse staffing on hospital financial performance. Health Care Management Review, 38(2), 146-155. Journal of Hospital Administration, 4(3). doi: 10. 5430/jha. v4n3p54 Hogan, B. Occupational employment projections to 2024: Monthly Labor Review: U. http://dx. doi. org/10. 1177/0019793915592624 Smiley, R. , Lauer, P. , Silber, J. , Sloane, D. , & Aiken, L. An observational study of nurse staffing ratios and hospital readmission among children admitted for common conditions.  BMJ Quality & Safety, 22(9), 735-742.