- NURS FPX 4000 Assessment 5 Analyzing a Current Healthcare Problem or Issue.
Introduction
Healthcare organizations globally continue to change to address challenges such as patient safety, quality of care, and cost containment. The leading American health challenge is nursing shortages, which affect patient outcomes, workforce, and hospital productivity. The causes, consequences, and solutions of the nurse shortage are discussed in this paper from Capella University’s RN to BSN program point of view. Explore our assessment NURS FPX 4000 Assessment 2 for more information.
Understanding the Nurse Staffing Shortage
Overview of the Problem
The shortage of nurses is a chronic condition accompanied by an aging patient load, rising patient beds, and a lack of nursing faculty. The American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) estimates that the U.S. will be short by more than one million nurses in 2030. The shortage produces unmanageable workload demands on the current staff, resulting in burnout, reduced job satisfaction, and diminished patient safety.
Causes of Nurse Shortages
There are several reasons why a nursing shortage is presently occurring:
- Aging Population and Growing Demand: More older patients create a greater need for care, which puts more pressure on hospitals and nursing homes.
- Nursing Education Restraints: Nursing schools cannot accept new students because of faculty and facility restraints.
- High Turnover and Burnout Rates: Long hours, emotional burnout, and job issues drive many nurses out of the profession.
- Veteran Nurse Retirement: Many nurses are retiring, thinning the ranks even more.
Impacts of Nurse Shortages on Healthcare
Patient Care and Safety
Shortages of nurses directly affect the outcomes of patients. Research has proven that inefficient nurse-to-patient ratios lead to the likelihood of medical error, hospital-acquired infection, and death. Individualized care also does not care for patients as much, with reduced satisfaction and loss of trust in the health system.
Nurse Well-being and Job Satisfaction
Working overtime would cause nurses to be more fatigued and under greater stress, resulting in emotional exhaustion and decreased job satisfaction. This is one cause of high turnover, which aggravates the shortage.
Financial and Operational Challenges for Healthcare Facilities
Hospitals and healthcare facilities incur higher expenses for temporary workers, overtime, and hiring. Understaffing also leads to regulatory penalties and reduced insurance company reimbursement.
Strategies to Address Nurse Shortages
Expanding Nursing Education Programs
More money for professors and schools of nursing can translate into more students. University-hospital partnerships can translate into more education and a smoother career transition from school to practice.
Improving Work Environments
Healthcare organizations must prioritize nurse retention through improved working conditions, flexible staffing, and wellness programs. An improved work environment can increase job satisfaction and decrease burnout rates.
Enhancing Workforce Diversity and Inclusion
Hiring nurses from minority groups into the profession has a balancing influence. Minority group mentoring programs and scholarships can be provided as incentives to recruit individuals into the nursing profession.
Implementing Advanced Technology
Technologies such as telemedicine, electronic health records (EHR), and computerized documentation can also relieve nurses’ administrative load, allowing them to carry out additional care work. Alleviating the workload of workforce allocation by AI forecasting staffing is also a possibility.
Legislative and Policy Changes
Policy reform by lobbying, i.e., more significant investment in nurse workforce development and enforceable nurse-patient ratios, can result in long-term change. Policymakers need to collaborate with healthcare executives to effect effective solutions.
Role of the RN to BSN Nurse in Addressing the Issue
NURS FPX 4000 Assessment 5 Analyzing a Current Healthcare Problem or Issue
RN to BSN education enables nurses to be change agents and enhance health care. Future BSN-prepared nurse executives can:
- Be part of policy development and advocacy that enhances workforce efforts.
- Developing sound evidence-based decisions for enhancing patient care outcomes despite the hindrance of staffing.
- Assuming leadership positions in the quest to impact staffing decisions so that others can be better supported.
- Pursuing ongoing professional development to maintain pace with emerging solutions to health problems.
Conclusion
The nursing shortage poses a significant threat to patient safety, nurses’ well-being, and effectiveness in healthcare delivery. It does this through an integrative process of expansion in education courses, health working environments, technological expenditures, and policy communication. The RN-to-BSN-degree nurse is mandated to take up the enormous task of solving the problem through evidence-based practice, leadership, and advocacy.
Ensuring that such solutions are adopted within healthcare organizations is the most vital step towards enhancing patient care and achieving an efficient nursing workforce that will be sustainable in upcoming periods. This aligns with the objectives of NURS FPX 4000 Assessment 5, Analyzing a Current Healthcare Problem or Issue, where addressing the nursing shortage is crucial in improving healthcare outcomes.
References
AACN provides facts and figures on the nursing shortage, including trends and causes. https://www.aacnnursing.org/News-Information/Fact-Sheets/Nursing-Shortage
WHO provides global nursing trends, including workforce shortages and preparedness. https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240033863
NCSBN provides nurse staffing effects on patient outcomes and safety. https://www.ncsbn.org/nurse-staffing.htm
Health Affairs publishes studies on nurse burnout, turnover, and workforce issues. https://www.healthaffairs.org/do/10.1377/hblog20211012.612956/full/
This foundation provides evidence-based solutions to eliminate nursing shortages and a diverse workforce. https://www.rwjf.org/en/library/research/2019/04/addressing-the-nursing-shortage.html
BLS provides information on the growing need for nurses and job opportunities. https://www.bls.gov/ooh/healthcare/registered-nurses.htm
The journal provides interventions in nurse job satisfaction and nurse retention. https://journals.lww.com/jonajournal/pages/default.aspx
ANA supports safe nurse staffing and policy reform for better staffing deficits. https://www.nursingworld.org/practice-policy/nurse-staffing/
Peer-reviewed nurse shortages and patient outcomes papers are available in PubMed Central. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6526603/
Guidance and a report on patient safety and nurse staffing are available on The Joint Commission. https://www.jointcommission.org/resources/news-and-multimedia/blogs/on-nursing/2021/05/nurse-staffing-and-patient-safety/