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The shortage of nursing staff remains a major challenge in the U.S. According to the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) (2014), the shortage is expected to be even greater in the next one decade or so. The shortage has been fuelled by factors such as reduced enrolment into nursing schools, increased retirement of the nursing workforce, as well as higher demand for healthcare due to population ageing and greater incidence of lifestyle diseases (AACN, 2014).The shortage of nursing staff has severe implications for the nursing workforce. A high number of patients relative to nursing staff often translate to increased workload for nurses. Indeed, nurses continue to grapple with unhealthily lengthy work shifts, often stretching up to 12-13 hours. It is an issue that has sparked a great deal of debate given the connection between excessive workload and nurse outcomes. Literature extensively demonstrates that excessive workload as a result of insufficient staffing is a significant predictor of stress, burnout, and job dissatisfaction amongst nurses (Buchan & Aiken, 2008; Carayon & Gurses, 2008; AACN, 2014). There have even been instances of nurses leaving the profession in search of more fulfilling jobs. The negative effects of inadequate nurse staffing affect not only nurses, but also patients. It may increase instances of medical errors and hospital-acquired infections, as well as worsen nurse-patient and interpersonal relationships, eventually increasing patient dissatisfaction (Carayon & Gurses, 2008). Therefore, nursing staff shortage is an issue that deserves more attention than ever given.
The organisation believes in the creation and maintenance of an atmosphere where exceptional and high quality care is delivered and recognised by patients and their families as well as members of staff, volunteers, partners, and the community at large. The hospital envisions being acknowledged as a leader in patient care in the services it offers.
The shortage of nursing staff creates a gap between the organisation's statements and practice. To exceed the expectations of patients and the community it serves, the organisation requires an optimal nurse-patient ratio. Adequate staffing is important for ensuring optimal nurse workload, patient safety, as well as healthy nurse-patient and nurse-nurse relationships. As described by systems theory, a system comprises several interrelated elements that work together to achieve a specified objective (Bielecki & Stocki, 2010). Nursing staff comprises one of the crucial elements in a hospital system. They provide primary care and support other members of the interdisciplinary team in delivering care to patients. Accordingly, deficiencies in nursing staff can be detrimental to the hospital as a whole. It can affect not only nurses, but also doctors, patients, and the reputation of the organisation.
Nursing Administration-Staffing A strategy for recruiting nurses for the acute care units The effect of the nursing shortage crisis combined with higher patient acuity has become a crucial concern for the nursing management team. This relates largely to the balancing patient needs with staffing needs. Nurse executives at hospitals contribute to the shortage of women having numerous opportunities outside the health care industry and to inadequate compensation for work done. However, diverse
Nursing Contemporary Nursing Stereotypes on Television Author Carol J. Huston writes in a boldly honest narrative that the nursing industry must seek to be populated with "smart… bright…highly motivated" nurses who "want to make a difference" in the lives of the patients they tend to (Huston, 2013, p. 319). Nurses must "…stop acting like victims" and instead use their best instincts and have a positive influence on public policy (Huston, 319). In
In some cases there are administrative issues that are insurmountable and stand on the way of implementation of major researches in the nursing quarters (WHO Regional Office for South-East Asia, 2006). In some cases there are problems with the research itself and the suggested innovations. This can be in the form of inability to replicate the research findings, the methodologies used could be inadequate, availing results that are grossly conflicting and
Learning in adults is most effectual when the environment is both participative and interactive. Another important characteristic is that learners obtain instantaneous feedback. Teaching methods that necessitate a learner to think though data or information and come to a conclusion or forecast an outcome are more valuable than is reading or lecture. "The minute-to-minute care and monitoring of critically ill patients requires nurses to collect, analyze, and react to
Nursing informatics has been defined as, "a specialty that integrates nursing science, computer science, and information science to manage and communicate data, information, knowledge, and wisdom in nursing practice" (Shuler, 2011). The systems development life cycle (SDLC) is a conceptual model used in project management that describes the stages involved in the information system development, from a feasibility study to the maintenance of the completed system (Rouse, 2009). With these
Nursing Theory Caring as an integral nursing concept can be viewed from diverse perspectives. It can be an attribute, a complex set of behaviors, or an attitude. This has made some people believe that it is impossible to improve and measure it although there is evidence that both improvement and measurement are possible. People recognize that caring models of professional practice affect the service users, health outcomes, healthcare staff, and ultimately