Reply to Discussion: Nurse Shortages Essay

Reply to Discussion: Nurse Shortages Essay

Reply to Rachel Reagan

Hello Reagan, I should commend you for selecting nurse shortages as the issue of concern in the current healthcare systems. Further, I enjoyed reading your post because it demonstrated a comprehensive grasp of the problem from macro, meso, and micro levels. While reflecting on various contentions in your post, it is valid to argue that we agree that healthcare professionals, especially nurses faced multiple problems delivering direct and patient-centered care, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. According to Jerome-D’Emilia et al. (2022), COVID-19 presented a unique and complex form of trauma with adverse consequences for nurses. For instance, the disease overwhelmed healthcare institutions and systems, leading to increased workloads, emotional and mental exhaustion, burnout, and depression. Also, the pandemic exposed nurses to patients’ suffering and deaths, exacerbating grief and other psychological issues.

Although the notable challenges associated with the COVID-19 pandemic led to devasting consequences for nurses, it is essential to perceive nurse shortages from the lenses of organizational and interdisciplinary dimensions. According to Shah et al. (2021), nursing shortages pose a significant healthcare challenge by compromising care delivery and increasing burnout and workloads for the remaining nurses. Also, I agree with you that nurse staffing shortages lead to unfavorable nurse-patient ratios, patient dissatisfaction, and decreased positive outcomes. As a result, healthcare organizations and drivers of care quality are responsible for identifying the underlying causes of nurse shortages and implementing evidence-based, interdisciplinary interventions.

Regarding the organizational-level response to the nursing staff shortages, your workplace management played a significant role in implementing proven interventions. For instance, increasing staffing schedules can lead to adequate staff on the floor to attend to patients’ needs and health priorities. Also, the sister company’s move to increase nurses’ hourly wages and compensation bonuses improves their willingness to work overtime and resonates with the aspects of talent retention and job satisfaction.

Although these moves are profound in curtailing the effects of nursing staff shortages, I perceive them as short-term strategies. In this sense, they are essential in addressing staff shortages during times of uncertainty, including in an event of a disease outbreak. When developing long-term and system-wide interventions for addressing nurse shortages, it is essential to consider sustainable approaches that address the major factors for poor nurse-patient ratios. Lockhart (2020) argues that the major causes of nursing staff shortages include exposure to workplace violence, irregular shifts, burnout, intense physical and emotional labor, and long working hours. On the other hand, Haddad et al. (2020) associate nurse shortages with high turnover rates, inequitable workforce distribution, and a lack of collaboration between educational institutions and healthcare organizations. As a result, long-term strategies for addressing nursing staff shortages fall under three broad categories: micro, meso, and macro.

At the micro or organizational level, institutions should consider staff retention approaches like ongoing training, implementing preceptorship and mentorship programs, enhancing process efficiency through technology, and supporting professional development (Drennan & Ross, 2019). At the meso and macro levels, partnerships between healthcare organizations and educational institutions, scaling up salaries and benefits consistent with nurses’ career progression, and equitable distribution of the healthcare workforce can address nurse staff shortages and the subsequent effects on care delivery.

References

Drennan, V. M., & Ross, F. (2019). Global nurse shortages—the facts, the impact, and action for change. British Medical Bulletin, 130(1), 25-37. https://doi.org/10.1093/bmb/ldz014

Haddad, L. M., & Toney-Butler, T. J. (2022, February 22). Nursing shortage. StatPearls Publishing. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK493175/

Jerome‐D’Emilia, B., Suplee, P. D., & Linz, S. (2022). Challenges faced by new nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic. Journal of Nursing Scholarship. https://doi.org/10.1111/jnu.12783

Lockhart, L. (2020). Strategies to reduce nursing turnover. Nursing Made Incredibly Easy! 18(2), 56. https://doi.org/10.1097/01.nme.0000653196.16629.2e

Shah, M. K., Gandrakota, N., Cimiotti, J. P., Ghose, N., Moore, M., & Ali, M. K. (2021). Prevalence of and factors associated with nurse burnout in the US. JAMA Network Open, 4(2). https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2020.36469

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Rachel Reagan
RE: Discussion – Week 1
COLLAPSE
Description of National Healthcare Issue/Stressor

I have chosen the topic of the nursing shortage within our national healthcare system. It has been reported that all over the world nurses are working under immense pressure as they care for sick and dying patients, especially evident during the COVID-19 pandemic. Nurses working in our national healthcare system to date are faced with increased stress and other negative work-related issues that affect their mental health (Turale & Nantsupawat, 2021). Nursing shortages were evident before the pandemic but the concern is whether the profession will be able to continue to attract nurses to care for their local communities in the future (Turale & Nantsupawat, 2021). Nurses make up the largest portion of healthcare professionals and nursing shortages seriously impact the level of patient care outcomes (Shah, et al., 2021). Some reasons influencing nurse burnout are work environment, nurse demographics, work attitudes, outcomes, and burnout interventions (Shah, et al., 2021).

Impact of Issue/Stressor on My Work Setting

As a program director RN of a crisis residential mental health facility, I witness the nursing staffing shortages daily. Nurse staffing shortages on the floor decrease the nurse-patient ratio, in a crisis mental health facility with unstable patients this can put staff/patients at risk of injury. Nurse staffing shortages impact the level of care being provided to patients, which in turn can trigger unstable patients to become aggressive or violent. Nursing shortages lead to increased workloads for nursing staff and decreased positive patient outcomes.

Workplace Response to Healthcare Issue/Stressor

To help reduce nurse call-offs and staffing shortages, my workplace management department approved increased staffing schedules to adequately staff the floor to deal with patients’ needs, groups, transports, etc. The facility’s sister company in the area floats staff as needed to assist with any nurse staffing shortages. Nurses have received an increase in their hourly wages and are offered bonuses to compensate for nursing staff that is willing to work overtime when needed. As a program director and a nurse leader, I advocate for the nursing staff in the facility to the corporate administration by requesting the continuous hiring of new staff in an effort to provide support on the unit. Nursing leaders should be able to help themselves and the nursing staff to effectively grow and change even in times of uncertainty and difficulty (Broome & Marshall, 2021).

References

Broome, M., & Marshall, E. S. (2021). Transformational leadership in nursing: From expert clinician to influential leader (3 rd ed.). New York, NY: Springer

Shah, M. K., Gandrakota, N., Cimiotti, J. P., Ghose, N., Moore, M., & Ali, M. K. (2021). Prevalence of and factors associated with nurse burnout in the US. JAMA network open, 4(2), e2036469-e2036469.

Turale, S., & Nantsupawat, A. (2021). Clinician mental health, nursing shortages and the COVID‐19 pandemic: Crises within crises. International nursing review, 68(1), 12-14.