Preview

Shortage of Healthcare Professionals in the U.S.

Powerful Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1662 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Shortage of Healthcare Professionals in the U.S.
Assignment Five
Kathy Cole
American Sentinel University

Assignment Five

This paper will explore the effects of the looming labor status of physicians, pharmacists, and nurses, how the aging demographics will affect the health care system and how technology may play a role in the provision of care. There are many factors that influence the demands for health personnel. These factors are interdependent and include physician supply, changing nature of disability, disease, treatment, technology, expansion of home care, and corporation of health care (Sultz & Young, 2009, p. 218).
The use of health care resources is mostly decided by physicians. The growing number of older adults and the enactment of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) both contribute to the recognition that there will be a shortage of physicians (Mann, 2011, p. 1). The Association of American Medical Colleges projected in 2010 that there will be a shortage of 63,000 physicians by the year 2015. This number is expected to increase to 95,100 by 2020 and 130,600 by 2025. These shortages encompass primary care physicians as well as specialists.
There will be an increase in the need for nurses in the coming years. The coming of age of the baby boomers and a generation of aging nurses who will soon retire make the prediction of a nursing shortage in the future a very real reality. In the recent past with the economic struggle that our nation has faced, the nursing shortage did ease somewhat. That is expected to change and for the worse (Courchane, 2011, p. 1).
The problem is not the amount of people that want to be nurses but the lack of faculty to teach them. The National League for Nursing gave reasons for the shortage of faculty as being an overworked, aging faculty who earn less than nurses that are just entering clinical practice (Williams, 2011, p. 1). There are also fewer nursing faculty that hold advanced degrees. Nursing faculty make 25% less than the salary that faculty in other



References: Healthcare Technology Solutions from LGS Innovations. (2013). Retrieved from http://www.lgsinnovations.com/solutions/healthcare Job Outlook for Pharmacists Lewis, N. (2013). Remote Patient Monitoring Market to Double by 2016. Retrieved from http://www.informationweek.com/healthcare/mobile-wireless/remote-patient-monitoring-market-to-doub/240004291 Mann, S Marsolier, C., & Wilson, P. (2010). Making tomorrow’s Healthcare System Fit for an Aging Society. Retrieved from http://www.cisco.com/web/about/ac79/docs/pov/Making_Tomorrows_Healthcare_Systems_Fit_0903FINAL.pdf Nursing Shortage Roney, K. (2012). 3 Future Trends for Telehealth. Retrieved from http://www.beckershospitalreview.com/healthcare-information-technology/3-future-trends-for-telehealth.html Rowe, J Sultz, H. A., & Young, K. M. (2009). Health Care USA (6th ed.). Sudbury, MA: Jones and Bartlett Publishers. Williams, MSN, RN, S. (2011). Nursing Faculty Shortage. Retrieved from http://nursing.advanceweb.com/Regional-Content/Articles/Nursing-Faculty-Shortage.aspx

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Powerful Essays

    HSM 543 Course Project

    • 1807 Words
    • 8 Pages

    It has been projected that the U.S. will experience an intensified shortage of registered nurses as the baby boomers age and the need for health care grows. (AACN, 2012) To add intensity to the…

    • 1807 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    The United States is in the midst of a nursing shortage that is expected to intensify as baby boomers age and the need for health care grows. Compounding the problem is the fact that nursing colleges and universities across the country are struggling to expand enrollment levels to meet the rising demand for nursing care.…

    • 2958 Words
    • 12 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics 2011 reported that the healthcare sector of the economy is continuing to grow, despite significant job losses in recent months in nearly all major industries. Hospitals, long-term care facilities, and other ambulatory care settings added 37,000 new jobs in March 2011, the biggest monthly increase recorded by any employment sector. As the largest segment of the healthcare workforce, enrollment in schools of nursing is not growing fast enough to meet the projected demands for nurses over the next ten year. The faculty shortage is another factor influencing the nursing shortage. According to Allen (2008) faculty increased age close to retirement, declining number of years left to teach and insufficient master’s and doctoral prepared…

    • 736 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Today, fair percentage of the American population, roughly 20%, lack proper access to needed primary care because there is an ongoing shortage of physicians. Some doctors, almost 30% are declining to accept new patients whom are insured with Medicaid. The changing demographics of the United States today and perverse reimbursements are direct impacts from the physician shortage. The looming physician and nursing shortages will inevitably hinder the health care system that is already being tax as well as alter the way patients and their physicians interact because the doctor-to-patient ratio will continue to be raised which will hurt patient outcomes.…

    • 3003 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Essay On Nursing Shortage

    • 1147 Words
    • 5 Pages

    The shortage of nursing isn’t something that just came along. The nursing shortage began in 1998. “An insufficient supply of essential personnel, such as nurses, is a stressor that many hospitals are dealing with,” says Buerhaus. The shortage has become the headline of every major healthcare newspaper, including advertisements in search of nurses who may need jobs. The shortage resulted from a combination of factors, including rising demand, little growth in nurse wages, and stressful workplace environments (Buerhaus). Being underpaid is the number one reason for many shortages. Other causes are short nurse staffing, poor work conditions ,inadequate resources for research and education, the aging nurse workforce, and the predominant female nature. It…

    • 1147 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Nursing shortage is one of the major issues in the health care organizations in United States and that results in decreased patient outcome and poor patient satisfaction. One of the main reasons for nursing shortage is aging work force. Nurses are the largest group of health care professionals in America, but majority of the nurses are close to retirement age. The nursing profession was very popular in 1960’s and 1970’s but currently there are different career opportunities available for women (Nevidjon & Erickson, 2001). These newly presented career opportunities have an adverse impact on new nursing candidates. Another reason for the nursing shortage is the lack of nursing school faculties and there are many nursing faculties that do not have proper classroom, clinical sites, and preceptors. Nursing is a very tough job both physically and mentally because of stressful work environment and that can lead to nursing burnout. Nurses are very unhappy with their workplace because of poor management, excessive workload, and abuse from patients or patient’s family. According to Dr. Linda Aiken (as cited in Nevidjon & Erickson, 2001), nurses are dissatisfied with their workload which affects the patient safety. The nursing shortage mainly affects…

    • 1267 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Healthcare Industry Grid

    • 607 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Complete the Health Care Industry Overview Grid that is located below. There are many areas within the health care that are options for career placement or advancement. Research different fields within the industry, such as pharmaceutical/drug, health information systems, and long-term care/gerontology, and fill in each box to contain information regarding the health care industry. There is an example that is already started to help with the process, but ensure you include adequate information to support your findings.…

    • 607 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    The nursing shortage is a growing concern for the nation. The aging population is causing more demand for qualified healthcare professionals. At the same time, healthcare professionals are retiring faster than they can be replaced. This shortage of nursing professionals is causing more overtime work, which creates more nursing errors. Scholarships and grants are being awarded to students to try and generate more nursing professionals. Many facilities are offering tuition reimbursement incentives to help lure nursing professionals. Many facilities are also offering sign-on bonuses. These incentives show how serious the increasing need for qualified nursing professionals is becoming.…

    • 1504 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    There are several factors this article is successful in examining. Similar to the nursing shortage itself, the aging baby boomer population, now seeking retirement, is one of the main causes for increase in nursing faculty shortages (Hinshaw, 2001). Thus there is an exodus of retiring nursing professionals leaving the workforce and not enough new nurses to replace them, filling their positions. Additionally, this article brings to light an issue often neglected in realizing among nurses. “The other major problem is not only that nursing faculty are aging, but the average age for assistant professors is also increasing due to nurses entering academia later in their careers. This means that their time for potential productivity as leaders and scholars is being curtailed,” (Hinshaw, 2001). These issues necessitate an even higher demand for nursing faculty and an increase in availability for students within nursing…

    • 878 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Nursing Career Path

    • 1198 Words
    • 5 Pages

    As people live longer and more diseases are treated, the need for nurses increases. At times in the past twenty or thirty years even, there has been a shortage in nursing staff.…

    • 1198 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Current issues in the health care system influence the availability and practice of health care professionals and paraprofessionals. Licensing, certification, regulations, staff shortages, litigation, changing technology, scope of practice, and personal safety are just a few. The shortage of health professionals and the need to reduce costs have led to the development of other categories of health care…

    • 1667 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Global Nurse Shortage

    • 637 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Nursing is a continuously evolving profession. However, like every other vocation, it has its issues. One of the major problems in nursing today is the shortage of nurses, especially nursing faculty. The shortage of nursing faculty directly affects the nursing shortage: educational programs are needed to produce more nurses, but lack of nursing faculty results in less students enrolling and graduating (Cowen & Moorehead, 2011). This global issue is serious and can impact healthcare for everyone since nurses make up a great volume of the healthcare workforce.…

    • 637 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    With a population growing and hospital care struggling to keep up as it is, we have a catastrophe mounting on our hands. The baby boom generation is nearing retirement age. This means they will start to require more and more health related stays in hospitals as their health starts to fail them. The baby boomers make up a whopping 28% of this country. According to the article, The Baby Boomers’ Massive Impact on Health Care, “AHA acknowledged that the over-65 population will triple between 1980 and 2030, with the first baby boomers turning 65 in 2011. Although the health and lifestyle of people at age 65 is very different than it was in generations past—it’s even been said that “60 is the new 50”—the reality remains that chronic conditions continue to plague the population. In fact, AHA reported that more than 37 million boomers will be managing more than one chronic condition by 2030(Orlovsky, www.nursezone.com). Add in the advancing age of nurses as well.…

    • 576 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Scarce Source

    • 2219 Words
    • 9 Pages

    References: Abrahamson, PhD, RN, K., & Fox, PhD, R. L. (2009, Oct-Dec). A Critical Examination of the U.S. Nursing Shortage: Contributing Factors, Pblic Policy Implications. Nusing Forum, 44(4), 235-244. American Nurses Association. (2011). Retrieved from http://ana.nursingworld.org/MainMenuCategories/ThePracticeofProfessionalNursing/ workforce/NurseShortageStaffing/NursingShortage/ContributingFactors.aspx Buchan, J., & Aiken, L. (2008, April). Solving Nursing shortages: a common priority. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 17(24), 3262-3268 Mee, RN, BC, MSN, C. L., & Robinson, RN, MSN, E. (2003, January). What 's different about this nursing shortage?. Nursing2003, 33(1), 51-55. 1 SCARCE RESOURCES ARTICLE 2 SCARCE RESOURCES ARTICLE 3 SCARCE RESOURCES ARTICLE 4 SCARCE RESOURCES ARTICLE 5…

    • 2219 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Nursing Shortage

    • 1082 Words
    • 5 Pages

    There are many reasons to consider why there is lack of faculty to meet the demand for more nurses naming expected increases in faculty retirements, increased age of the current faculty and declining number of years to teach, inadequacy on master’s and doctoral-prepared nurses to fill the needed nurse educator positions, and decrease compensation for academic teaching than positions in clinical areas for master’s-prepared nurses (Allen, 2008). The top four reasons for nursing shortage in year 2004 and 2005 includes undesirable working hours, benefits and salary issues, more career options for women, and negative work environment (Buerhaus et al., 2006).…

    • 1082 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays