nursing shortage and nursing turnover
Nursing Shortage and Nursing Turnover
Nursing shortage is a phenomenon that is affecting nurses and the provision of adequate patient care in today’s health care industry. Nursing shortage is said to occur when the demand for employment of nurses is far greater than the number of nurses willing to be employed at that time (Huber, 2010). According to the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (A.A.C.N.), “the nursing shortage is expected to increase as baby boomers age, and the need for health care increases” (A.A.C.N., 2013, Para 1).
In the United States, Registered Nurses (R.N.) make up the largest recorded working population of the health care profession, and the Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that 2.7 percent of the workforce comprises of nurses compared to 3.6 percent in the last 6 years (A.A.C.N., 2013). This decrease is attributed to the current shortage and high turnover of nurses. This current trend in the nursing profession has a great effect on the provision of health care because it has reduced the quality of care of patients, increased accidents amongst patients, absenteeism rates and staffing among others.
The purpose of this paper is to discuss the causes of nurse turnover and shortage, find out ways nurse leaders and managers may resolve this problem, and also to discuss the writer’s own personal and professional philosophy of nursing regarding this issue.
Nursing shortage is also evident by the reduction in the availability of new nurses, inadequate staffing to meet the high demanding in patients’ needs, to mention but a few. Healthcare organizations need regular, dependable, highly efficient and fully involved staff to provide excellent patient care at all levels. Therefore nursing leaders and managers are highly depended upon in changing this current trend of shortage and turnover of nurses affecting the healthcare profession (Hunt, 2009).
Nurses’ turnover on the other hand is described as the loss of a nursing employee as a
Nursing shortage is a phenomenon that is affecting nurses and the provision of adequate patient care in today’s health care industry. Nursing shortage is said to occur when the demand for employment of nurses is far greater than the number of nurses willing to be employed at that time (Huber, 2010). According to the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (A.A.C.N.), “the nursing shortage is expected to increase as baby boomers age, and the need for health care increases” (A.A.C.N., 2013, Para 1).
In the United States, Registered Nurses (R.N.) make up the largest recorded working population of the health care profession, and the Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that 2.7 percent of the workforce comprises of nurses compared to 3.6 percent in the last 6 years (A.A.C.N., 2013). This decrease is attributed to the current shortage and high turnover of nurses. This current trend in the nursing profession has a great effect on the provision of health care because it has reduced the quality of care of patients, increased accidents amongst patients, absenteeism rates and staffing among others.
The purpose of this paper is to discuss the causes of nurse turnover and shortage, find out ways nurse leaders and managers may resolve this problem, and also to discuss the writer’s own personal and professional philosophy of nursing regarding this issue.
Nursing shortage is also evident by the reduction in the availability of new nurses, inadequate staffing to meet the high demanding in patients’ needs, to mention but a few. Healthcare organizations need regular, dependable, highly efficient and fully involved staff to provide excellent patient care at all levels. Therefore nursing leaders and managers are highly depended upon in changing this current trend of shortage and turnover of nurses affecting the healthcare profession (Hunt, 2009).
Nurses’ turnover on the other hand is described as the loss of a nursing employee as a
References: American Association of Colleges of Nursing (2013): Strategies to Reverse the New Nursing Shortage. Retrieved on October 6, 2013 from http://www.aacn.nche.edu/publications/position/tri-council-shortage Huber, D. (2010): Leadership and Nursing Care Management (4th ed.). Saunders Elsevier Hunt, S. (2009): Nursing Turnover: Costs, Causes, & Solutions. Retrieved on October 6, 2013 from http://uexcel.com/resources/articles/NursingTurnover.pdf Jones, C., Gates, M., (September 30, 2007) "The Costs and Benefits of Nurse Turnover: A Business Case for Nurse Retention" OJIN: The Online Journal of Issues in Nursing. Vol. 12 No. 3, Manuscript 4. DOI: 10.3912/OJIN.Vol12No03Man04