NURS 6053 – Assignment – Analysis of a Pertinent Healthcare Issue

Health care is a multi-faceted system that involves many stakeholders and resources thereby presenting opportunities for issues that compromise care quality, safety and outcomes. A key concern is the reality that resources are scarce so that medical facilities are not guaranteed to have the required medical personnel and equipment. In fact, the burden of harm conveyed by the collective impact of the many issues is staggering such that there is no guarantee that any individual would receive high quality care without safety concerns and achieve the desired outcomes for any particular illness/disease (Stanhope & Lancaster, 2016). The present paper discuses nursing shortage as a national health care issue in the USA with discussions on the extent of the issue as well as feasible solutions. NURS 6053 – Assignment – Analysis of a Pertinent Healthcare Issue.

Part 1.

The selected national health care issue is nursing shortage. The Black (2020) contextualizes the issue by noting that the US is experiencing a shortage of nurses, with the shortage expected to intensify as some of the practicing nurses retire, the American population ages and need for health care services grows. The issue is compounded by the fact that nursing education facilities are struggling to expand their capacities to handle more students. A review of the associated data reveals that retiring nurses are placing a strain on health care by removing a large number of experienced nurses so that significant nursing expertise and knowledge is lost (Black, 2020). The nurse shortage has been caused by five factors. The first factor is high nurse turnover and retirement rates. Approximately 40% of practicing nurses are older than 50 years of age. Additionally, 13% of new nurses change careers within one year and 37% of practicing nurses are looking for opportunities to change careers. Secondly, the insufficient nurse staffing is increasing job dissatisfaction and stress among nurses, and causing them to leave the profession. Thirdly, there is changing demographics with an aging population requiring more nurses. Fourthly, a significant proportion of nurses are approaching retirement and expected to leave the profession. Finally, there is a shortage of nursing school facilities (American Association of Colleges of Nursing, 2020). A review of data at the medical organization reveals that the facility falls short of its nursing personnel requirements by 15%. In addition, 56% of the nurse personnel are prepared at graduate level and yet the facility needs 80% of the nurse personnel to be prepared at the graduate level. The nursing shortage has been associated with increased patient mortality at 5% as nurses have more workload that causes them to spend less time with patients. In this respect, nurse personnel shortage is a health care issue for the medical organization as it compromises the quality of care and patient outcomes.

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Part 2.

Two journal articles have been identified for review in exploring nursing staff shortage as a national health care issue. The first article is Johnson et al. (2016), a journal article that offers a better understanding of the persistent shortage of nurses. It acknowledges that the demand for nurses has rapidly increased even as the economy faces the reality of recession, with the demand being moderated by improvements in the economy. Medical facility responded to these realities by initially hiring temporary nurses to address the shortages during recession. They would then reduce the number of temporary nurses and hire more nurses. The nurses would first be hired as part time staff then shifted to full time staff as the economy improved. The substitution between temporary, part time and full time nurses reflects the need to manage staffing costs in terms of what nurses are paid. The article concludes that nurse shortage can be addressed by increasing the supply of nurses through delaying retirements, increasing remunerations, and optimizing workloads (Johnson et al., 2016).

The second article is Marć et al. (2019), a journal article that addresses determinants of nursing shortage in the face of ageing. It notes that demographic changes are occurring across the global, and the changes are characterized by reducing numbers of births and increasing numbers of elderly persons so that health care systems and policies have been subjected to many changes. NURS 6053 – Assignment – Analysis of a Pertinent Healthcare Issue. This has resulted in a human resource crisis for nurse personnel even as there are fewer nurses available to address the increasing demand. The nursing personnel human resource crisis has been caused by a range of factors to include ineffective planning, misuse of the available nursing resources, poor recruitment strategies, undersupply of new nurse personnel, and demographic conditions. The authors make three recommendations on strategies for addressing the nursing shortage issue. The first strategy is to improve working and employment conditions. The second strategy is to implement mechanisms to regulate the salaries of nurses. The third strategy is to provide opportunities for lifelong learning by leveraging communication technologies (Marć et al., 2019).

Part 3.

The two selected articles make four recommendations on how to address nurse shortage as a health care stressor. The first strategy is to increase the supply of nurses by delaying retirement. This strategy ensures that the more experienced and skilled nurses who are approaching retirement remain at work to provide high quality care while mentoring the younger nurses to improve their skills and knowledge, thereby improving their capacity to address nursing care needs. The second strategy is to increase remunerations, wages and benefits for nurses so that they are financially motivated to work for the facility. This strategy would increase the organization’s financial burden as they must pay more for the nursing services (Johnson et al., 2016). The third strategy is to improve working and employment conditions so that nurses are motivated to continue working. This would include having the nurses work for fewer hours and recognizing their efforts. The fourth strategy is to provide the opportunities for lifelong learning by leveraging communication technologies so that nurses are able to work even as they improve their knowledge and skills through online learning (Marć et al., 2019).

Conclusion

One must accept that the multi-faceted nature of health care presents opportunities for issues that compromise care quality, safety and outcomes. In addition, one must acknowledge that nursing shortage is a national health care issue that is expected to intensify as practicing nurses retire, Americans age, and need for health care services grows. The nursing shortage being experienced is caused by high nurse turnover and retirement rates, increasing job dissatisfaction and stress among nurses, changing demographics with an aging population, and shortage of nursing schools. To address the issue of nurse shortage, four strategies have been proposed to include: increase the supply of nurses by delaying retirement; increase remunerations, wages and benefits for nurses; improve working and employment conditions; and provide the opportunities for lifelong learning.

References

American Association of Colleges of Nursing (2020). Nursing Shortage. https://www.aacnnursing.org/news-information/fact-sheets/nursing-shortage

Black, B. (2020). Professional Nursing: Concepts & Challenges (9^th ed.). Elsevier.

Johnson, W., Butler, R., Harootunian, G., Wilson, B., & Linan, M. (2016). Registered Nurses: The Curious Case of a Persistent Shortage. Journal of Nursing Scholarship, 48(4), 387-396. https://doi.org/10.1111/jnu.12218

Marć, M., Bartosiewicz, A., Burzyńska, J., Chmiel, Z., & Januszewicz, P. (2019). A nursing shortage – a prospect of global and local policies. International Nursing Review, 66(1), 9-16. https://doi.org/10.1111/inr.12473

Stanhope, M., & Lancaster, J. (2016). Public Health Nursing: Population-Centered Health Care in the Community (9^th ed.). Elsevier Inc.

The selected national health care issue is nursing shortage. The Black (2020) contextualizes the issue by noting that the US is experiencing a shortage of nurses, with the shortage expected to intensify as some of the practicing nurses retire, the American population ages and need for health care services grows. The issue is compounded by the fact that nursing education facilities are struggling to expand their capacities to handle more students. A review of the associated data reveals that retiring nurses are placing a strain on health care by removing a large number of experienced nurses so that significant nursing expertise and knowledge is lost (Black, 2020). NURS 6053 – Assignment – Analysis of a Pertinent Healthcare Issue. The nurse shortage has been caused by five factors. The first factor is high nurse turnover and retirement rates. Approximately 40% of practicing nurses are older than 50 years of age. Additionally, 13% of new nurses change careers within one year and 37% of practicing nurses are looking for opportunities to change careers. Secondly, the insufficient nurse staffing is increasing job dissatisfaction and stress among nurses, and causing them to leave the profession. Thirdly, there is changing demographics with an aging population requiring more nurses. Fourthly, a significant proportion of nurses are approaching retirement and expected to leave the profession. Finally, there is a shortage of nursing school facilities (American Association of Colleges of Nursing, 2020). A review of data at the medical organization reveals that the facility falls short of its nursing personnel requirements by 15%. In addition, 56% of the nurse personnel are prepared at graduate level and yet the facility needs 80% of the nurse personnel to be prepared at the graduate level. The nursing shortage has been associated with increased patient mortality at 5% as nurses have more workload that causes them to spend less time with patients. In this respect, nurse personnel shortage is a health care issue for the medical organization as it compromises the quality of care and patient outcomes.

Part 2.

Two journal articles have been identified for review in exploring nursing staff shortage as a national health care issue. The first article is Johnson et al. (2016), a journal article that offers a better understanding of the persistent shortage of nurses. It acknowledges that the demand for nurses has rapidly increased even as the economy faces the reality of recession, with the demand being moderated by improvements in the economy. Medical facility responded to these realities by initially hiring temporary nurses to address the shortages during recession. They would then reduce the number of temporary nurses and hire more nurses. The nurses would first be hired as part time staff then shifted to full time staff as the economy improved. The substitution between temporary, part time and full time nurses reflects the need to manage staffing costs in terms of what nurses are paid. The article concludes that nurse shortage can be addressed by increasing the supply of nurses through delaying retirements, increasing remunerations, and optimizing workloads (Johnson et al., 2016).

The second article is Marć et al. (2019), a journal article that addresses determinants of nursing shortage in the face of ageing. It notes that demographic changes are occurring across the global, and the changes are characterized by reducing numbers of births and increasing numbers of elderly persons so that health care systems and policies have been subjected to many changes. This has resulted in a human resource crisis for nurse personnel even as there are fewer nurses available to address the increasing demand. The nursing personnel human resource crisis has been caused by a range of factors to include ineffective planning, misuse of the available nursing resources, poor recruitment strategies, undersupply of new nurse personnel, and demographic conditions. The authors make three recommendations on strategies for addressing the nursing shortage issue. The first strategy is to improve working and employment conditions. The second strategy is to implement mechanisms to regulate the salaries of nurses. The third strategy is to provide opportunities for lifelong learning by leveraging communication technologies (Marć et al., 2019).

Part 3.

The two selected articles make five recommendations on how to address nurse shortage as a health care stressor. The first strategy is to increase the supply of nurses by delaying retirement. This strategy ensures that the more experienced and skilled nurses who are approaching retirement remain at work to provide high quality care while mentoring the younger nurses to improve their skills and knowledge, thereby improving their capacity to address nursing care needs. The second strategy is to increase remunerations, wages and benefits for nurses so that they are financially motivated to work for the facility. This strategy would increase the organization’s financial burden as they must pay more for the nursing services (Johnson et al., 2016). The third strategy is to improve working and employment conditions so that nurses are motivated to continue working. This would include having the nurses work for fewer hours and recognizing their efforts. The fourth strategy is to implement strategies for regulating salaries so that nurses are offered fairer wages that reflect and appreciate their contributions. The fifth strategy is to provide the opportunities for lifelong learning by leveraging communication technologies so that nurses are able to work even as they improve their knowledge and skills through online learning (Marć et al., 2019). NURS 6053 – Assignment – Analysis of a Pertinent Healthcare Issue.

References

American Association of Colleges of Nursing (2020). Nursing Shortage. https://www.aacnnursing.org/news-information/fact-sheets/nursing-shortage

Black, B. (2020). Professional Nursing: Concepts & Challenges (9^th ed.). Elsevier.

Johnson, W., Butler, R., Harootunian, G., Wilson, B., & Linan, M. (2016). Registered Nurses: The Curious Case of a Persistent Shortage. Journal of Nursing Scholarship, 48(4), 387-396. https://doi.org/10.1111/jnu.12218

Marć, M., Bartosiewicz, A., Burzyńska, J., Chmiel, Z., & Januszewicz, P. (2019). A nursing shortage – a prospect of global and local policies. International Nursing Review, 66(1), 9-16. https://doi.org/10.1111/inr.12473

Assignment: Analysis of a Pertinent Healthcare Issue

The Quadruple Aim provides broad categories of goals to pursue to maintain and improve healthcare. Within each goal are many issues that, if addressed successfully, may have a positive impact on outcomes. For example, healthcare leaders are being tasked to shift from an emphasis on disease management often provided in an acute care setting to health promotion and disease prevention delivered in primary care settings. Efforts in this area can have significant positive impacts by reducing the need for primary healthcare and by reducing the stress on the healthcare system.

Changes in the industry only serve to stress what has always been true; namely, that the healthcare field has always faced significant challenges, and that goals to improve healthcare will always involve multiple stakeholders. This should not seem surprising given the circumstances. Indeed, when a growing population needs care, there are factors involved such as the demands of providing that care and the rising costs associated with healthcare. Generally, it is not surprising that the field of healthcare is an industry facing multifaceted issues that evolve over time.

In this module’s Discussion, you reviewed some healthcare issues/stressors and selected one for further review. For this Assignment, you will consider in more detail the healthcare issue/stressor you selected. You will also review research that addresses the issue/stressor and write a white paper to your organization’s leadership that addresses the issue/stressor you selected.

To Prepare:

• Review the national healthcare issues/stressors presented in the Resources and reflect on the national healthcare issue/stressor you selected for study.
• Reflect on the feedback you received from your colleagues on your Discussion post for the national healthcare issue/stressor you selected.
• Identify and review two additional scholarly resources (not included in the Resources for this module) that focus on change strategies implemented by healthcare organizations to address your selected national healthcare issue/stressor. NURS 6053 – Assignment – Analysis of a Pertinent Healthcare Issue.

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The Assignment (3-4 Pages):

Analysis of a Pertinent Healthcare Issue

Develop a 3- to 4-page paper, written to your organization’s leadership team, addressing your selected national healthcare issue/stressor and how it is impacting your work setting. Be sure to address the following:

• Describe the national healthcare issue/stressor you selected and its impact on your organization. Use organizational data to quantify the impact (if necessary, seek assistance from leadership or appropriate stakeholders in your organization).
• Provide a brief summary of the two articles you reviewed from outside resources on the national healthcare issue/stressor. Explain how the healthcare issue/stressor is being addressed in other organizations.
• Summarize the strategies used to address the organizational impact of national healthcare issues/stressors presented in the scholarly resources you selected. Explain how they may impact your organization both positively and negatively. Be specific and provide examples.

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NURS 6053 – Assignment – Analysis of a Pertinent Healthcare Issue