Nursing Shortage - 3156 Words

Introduction Did you know that there is 126, 000 nursing positions unfilled in hospitals across the country ( Jackson, 2006) and the average nurse is 46 years of age? ( Alexandra, 2006). The public needs to see that the shortage of nurses is a major issue that is only going to get worse if something is not done about it. It has been shown that since the beginning of the shortage there has been an increase in mortality rates due to a increase of poor patient care. If this nursing shortage continues it will only decrease the quality of care the public receives, increase costs, make hospital stays longer, and health care less effective and efficient. Teamwork, good communication, critical thinking, and problem solving are all things†¦show more content†¦It really all is a just a vicious cycle. The normal shifts for nurses are usually twelve hour long and having to work harder many nurses say they are tired before they even reach eight hours ( Weil, 2008). There has bee n an increase of workplace injuries due to the shortage and nurses having more of a workload and less time to do it. This sometimes puts nurses on light duties or once again off on sick leave (Kaestner, 2005). Nurses have become dissatisfied with there jobs and have had to resort to others to make them content and happy. Mid-career nurses had the highest dissatisfaction along with those who worked with more critical cases such as acute care, medical/surgical patients, and intensive or cardiac care. There main reasons for be dissatisfied or leaving the profession were not enough compensation, not being happy in the workplace, and scheduling problems. There was many other reasons such as poor support systems, not being able to make their own decisions, no growth opportunities or very little, no recognition for everything they do, poor relations with staff or manager, or the intensity of the work just being too high. Unsafe working conditions and on the job abuse was also mentio ned by nurses. Abuse was normally verbal and given by physicians, as well as a small amount from patients being verbal and physical ( Jackson, 2006). One wayShow MoreRelatedNursing Shortage And Nursing Turnover1719 Words   |  7 PagesNursing Shortage and Nursing Turnover Introduction Nursing shortage and turnover is an issue that has constantly and continually bedeviled the nursing leaders and managers. Without sufficient numbers in nursing, patient care and safety is considerably compromised, with lapses in service delivery, overworked and overwhelmed nurses more prone to making mistakes and across board dissatisfaction. Nursing shortage lads to nurse turnover because of the ones carrying our nursing duties areRead MoreIs Nursing Shortage Really Faculty Shortage?957 Words   |  4 PagesIs Nursing Shortage Really Faculty Shortage? 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