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  • Essay / The Nursing Shortage Issue

    Table of ContentsNursing Shortage Essay OverviewIntroductionRecruitment Challenges and StereotypingImpact of an Aging PopulationIncreased Workloads and Nurse FatigueNurse to Patient RatioMissed Nursing CareConclusionEssay Example on Nursing ShortageWorks CitedOutline of Nursing Shortage EssayIntroductionIntroduction to the Importance of Nurses in HealthcareIssue Statement: Nursing Shortage in New ZealandRecruitment Challenges and StereotypesDifficulty Recruiting Young People into Nursing nursingInfluence of nursing stereotypes and media portrayal on career choicesImpact of recruitment difficulties on nursing shortagesImpact of an aging populationIncreasing demand for health services, particularly in aged careProjected growth in nursing needs caregivers and nurses Consequences of recruitment difficulties in the context of an aging population Increase in the workload and fatigue of nurses Effect of the shortage of nurses on the workload of nurses Burnout among nurses due to the expansion of roles and workload The relationship between nurse fatigue and patient safety Patient ratios due to staffing shortages Impact on patient safety, error rates and healthcare outcomes Examples and Statistics Illustrating the Consequences of Changes in Nurse-to-Patient Ratio Missed Nursing Care Definition and Significance of Missed Nursing Care Causes of Missed Nursing Care, Including Staffing Shortage Impact on Quality of Patient Care and OutcomesConclusionSummary of Related Key Points to nursing shortages and their consequencesOverall impact on the nursing profession and the quality of patient careNursing Shortage Essay ExampleNurses are an essential component of the healthcare workforce. They do more than care for sick patients, they are technical experts, educators, counselors and more. However, they remain on the list of long-term skills shortages in New Zealand. This mission will examine issues related to the healthcare workforce shortage and its impact on the nursing profession. The quality of care that nurses provide to patients impacts their recovery and health outcomes. However, there is a clear trend towards a shortage of nurses and, as a result, nurses face difficulties in providing satisfactory care to their patients. Factors such as increased workload, changing nurse-to-patient ratio, and missed care are one of the consequences of the shortage crisis that reduces the quality of patient care. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why violent video games should not be banned”?Get an original essayA contributing factor to the nursing shortage is the difficulty of recruiting among young people. In a recent study, Pool (2012) takes into account that to improve the recruitment and retention of nurses, young people must first focus on improving the social value of the nursing profession. In this study, a group of young students were asked about their opinions toward nursing. Research highlights that nursing stereotypes are one of the factors that explain why young people do not choose a career in nursing. One participant identified the role of the nurse based on the tasks she perceived nurses to perform. Shequotes: “It [nursing] is like doctors, but doctors are more qualified. They [nurses] do things with people. I don't know... they carry the booklet or they help the doctors; the doctor's right hand. The research highlights that this mindset in which young people view nursing as inferior to doctors is consistent with many other studies. Additionally, participants indicated that their inclination toward a nursing career is influenced by the media. The nursing profession rarely appears in the media since it is only cited “4% of the time out of 2,000 health-related articles from 16 publications.” Their lack of visibility in the media has had a negative impact on the profession, as they are not seen as experts or key leaders and therefore are not good sources of information in the media. For this reason, nursing as a career choice was invisible to these young participants due to the lack of a positive nursing role portrayed in the media. The difficulty of recruiting young people into nursing schools plays an important role in the shortage of nurses. An additional factor and consequence contributing to the nursing shortage in New Zealand is the aging population. As the population survives longer, the need for health services such as registered nurses increases. Clearly, within 10 years, it is likely that the demand for aged care aides and nurses will increase by 75%, as around 20,000 people will need aged care facilities. With the difficulty of recruiting young people into the job market, the aged care nursing profession is facing a crisis. Due to the shortages facing the nursing profession, nurses are experiencing an increase in workload. As a result, this intensification of work induces fatigue among nurses, thus compromising patient safety. An article by 'Nursing Praxis in New Zealand' found that almost a third of New Zealand nurses reported increased involvement in non-nursing clinical tasks. Nearly two-thirds of New Zealand respondents reported an increase in clerical and administrative tasks, and 40% reported that the time spent on their medical role had increased in the past 12 months. In addition to their long shifts and assigned roles, it is evident that many nurses perform excessive work which leads to burnout. More nurses are experiencing burnout as their roles expand, impacting care delivery, compromising patient safety. High rates of burnout have major implications for the quality of patient care and, therefore, patient outcomes. An example of the effects of nursing fatigue can be seen in an infamous case in 2007, in which a Wisconsin nurse accidentally killed a patient while administering intravenous bupivacaine intended for epidural administration that had not been ordered. According to the case, “the nurse had worked her regular eight-hour shift and volunteered to work an additional shift that same day. Scheduled for a 7-hour shift on July 5, she slept in the hospital at the end of the two shifts.” In summary, as the samples show, the burnout rates our nurses face due to their increased workload are a consequence of the shortage crisis. The fatigue ofNurses negatively impact the quality of patient care because they have the most intimate contact with their patients. Therefore, fatigue-related errors can trigger a chain of inappropriate care that can be fatal. Due to staff shortages and the increasing number of patients admitted to hospitals. In hospitals, the nurse/patient ratio is negatively modified. This shortage poses a threat to patient safety because it increases error, morbidity and mortality rates. According to a thesis written on patient safety, a medical nurse – at a New Zealand hospital – claimed that the nurse-to-patient ratio had increased from 1:4 to 1:7. This unbalanced ratio can be very tiring for a nurse, which can interfere with the delivery of patient care. The thesis highlights an important point that the risk of patients falling increases due to the lack of nursing staff. Often, patient falls can be prevented, but it is a challenge that nurses face due to their understaffing. Not all patients are therefore rigorously monitored. One case involved a patient with dementia who was placed in a room that was difficult to see from the nurses' station. The ward was understaffed and nurses were “running around frantically”. The patient fell and fractured his hip while going to the toilet. At that time there were no nurses. From time to time, staff shortages were compounded by absenteeism due to illness. As fewer nurses come into contact with more patients, there is an increased risk of spreading infections and other illnesses, putting patient safety as well as the nursing profession at stake. The author points out that on one occasion, 26 nurses were called in sick but due to shortages, only 7 could be replaced. One study found that each additional patient per nurse was associated with a 7% increase in patient mortality and failure to rescue rates, a 23% increase in the risk of burnout, and a 15% increase % risk of job dissatisfaction for patients. the nurses. The study concludes that the impact of more registered nurses was associated with better care and better patient outcomes. Therefore, a good supply of nurses in the workforce is likely to provide adequate care to patients. Due to insufficient staffing ratios, nurses may prioritize certain aspects of care with some being less important than others, leading to delays or delays in some nursing care. lack. Missed nursing care is generally defined as any aspect of required patient care that is excluded or delayed. The quality of care provided by nurses is of the utmost importance in patient outcomes. It is very likely that when there are not enough staff available, a nurse will not be able to provide all the required care to patients. Therefore, there are notable impacts on patient outcomes, such as medication errors, pressure ulcers, and patient falls, as highlighted previously. A dissertation written by Conelis Teekman found that nursing assessment documentation was not always completed and barely reviewed. It was usual for parts of the assessment form to be completed without patient consultation. This could be detrimental to patient safety. Teekman established that even if some patients' basic needs were not met – such as taking a shower or not-19..