Nursing shortage causes and impacts

¶ … shortage of the nurses and other medical staff has been reported in the different states of Canada, and it is expected that the shortage of the nurses will be responsible for the failure and the decline of the medical services of the private and public clinics and institutions, and further aggravation of the problems is expected in the years to come. A report published by the Canadian Nurses Association has predicted a small number of the paramedic and nursing staff available for the services in the next few years. By 2011, the need of the nursing staff is expected to surge tremendously, and a shortage of more than hundred thousand is expected by that time. The Canadian state of Quebec, which is considered to have its individual and autonomous association for nurses, other than Canadian Nurses Association, has predicted a shortage of the more than ten thousand nurses between the period of 2001 and 2015. The recent press release issued by the Canadian Institute for Health Information in collaboration with the Canadian Nurses Association, and Statistics Canada has identified that the lack of motivation and interests of the younger population towards the profession of nursing is responsible for the abrupt dearth of nurses in the country. According to the press release, the 'country's nursing workforce is growing older' (Barbara, 2003), and there have been substantial cases of retirement, whereas the admission of the younger nurses into the profession has diminished (Linda, 2006).

History

In 1998, more than two hundred thousand registered nurses were employed in different hospitals and clinics, out of which more than thirty percent of the registered nurses were aged over fifty years, whereas the similar number of the nurses were recruited in 1993, but less than twenty percent of the registered nurses aged over twenty, thus a phenomenal rise of the twenty percent was evident, which caused grave concerns among the professionals and government officials (Linda, 2006).

During the period of 1993 and 1998 a sharp decline was observed in the admission of the youth students into nursing population, the percentage recruitment of the young nurses declined by thirty percent. The contemporary statistics revealed that twenty five percent of the registered employed nurses are aged above fifty, whereas less than ten percent of the registered nurses were aged less than twenty nine, a sharp contrast is evident. It is therefore important for the Canadian government and health department to ensure that they do not only maintain equilibrium between the number of retiring nurses with the number of the fresh enrolled nurses, instead the quantum of the newly inducted nurses must be more concentrated, for the simple reason that the Canadian population has reflected sharp rise in the population, due to the massive inflow of the immigrants with their families. The number of the registered nurses have reflected steady and rapid decline. In 1990s less than thirty nine percent of the registered nurses were employed on part-time basis, but since 2000 onwards, the percentage of the part-time nurses have reached the mark of fifty percent, which is the clear reflection of the fact that either nurses are not satisfied with their work environment, or the financial rewards in this profession has reduced significantly. The 'levels of unemployment and underemployment for nurses have become more pronounced in recent years' (Feldman, 2003), and different possibilities have been associated with that, which mainly focus on financial problems. The ratio of the nurses to the population has reduced to greater extent, previously it was one nurse for every hundred people, the current census have revealed that the ratio has deteriorated partially with the passage of time, and increase in population. The concentration of the nurses has varied and fluctuated from place to place, and the dearth of the nurses is not true for the entire states of the Canada (Susan, 2005).

Discussion

The other reason which is attributed to the decline in the nurses is also due to the immigration of the Canadian professionals to the United States, since 2000 onwards, more than one-fifth of the total qualified Canadian nurses have migrated to the United States. The discontentment associated with the nursing profession is considered to be another reason for the shortfall of the nurses, and therefore the new enrolments into the nursing profession have reduced. The widespread concern with reference to the decline in the enrolment into the nursing professional is expected to create wider impact as the ages of the Canadian population rises. According to the reports, the Canadian population has evident health risk and insecurity, and the insecurity and risk factor is expected to surge, mainly due to the shortage of the nurses. The shortage of the nurses is expected to influence and create a wider impact on the 'oldest of citizens the most', and older population is more vulnerable to the deficiency and dearth of the health care services. The advancement and the improvement in the health care facilities, medical treatment and nutrition has been responsible for the longevity of the life, which require continuous and comprehensive medical services, which again demand supply for the well-trained and qualified nurses. The longevity of the life is therefore expected to diminish due to the unavailability of the nursing staff. The survey conducted in the Canadian health services observed that more than fifty percent of the nurses expressed their displeasure over the quality of the health care facility provided at in their clinic and hospital, therefore the decline in the standards of the hospital is also attributed with the declination of the number of the enrolments in the nursing profession. The nurses have realized that their current strength is unable to undertake their responsibilities, and have therefore related the inefficiency of their respective hospital with 'inadequate quality of care to patients' (Feldman, 2003).

The discriminatory treatment and degraded approach towards the nursing staff has been responsible for the reluctance on the part of the youth to join the nursing as a profession, the experienced nurses have complained of verbal and sexual abuse which they have experienced during their tenure of service, and the limitations and restrictions which have jeopardized their personal growth and motivation. There has been growing discontent among the nurses, the 'burnout levels are high and significant numbers', and more than twenty percent of the registered nurses in the Canada are willing to quit their profession without any concern and grievances. A shortage of the non-professional healthcare workers, 'from nurse aides to secretaries' has been observed, which is responsible for generating stress and workload on nurses, who are already the victim of the pressure mounted over by their consumers. Ultimately, it is the Canadian senior citizens who are expected to face extreme difficulty and hardship to obtain and secure good health care facility, and the shortage of the nurses is expected to restrict and confine their access to the modern health care facilities and techniques. The nurses as a professional do not only impart health care facility, but are also responsible for the moral support, and the dearth of that moral support, in form of shortage of the nurses, is expected to affect the mental and physical health of the seniors. The legal issue with reference to the nursing shortage has actually emerged soon after the senior citizens submitted their complains against the shortage, and the legal action was taken by the respective courts to ensure that the personal, profession and financial interest of the nursing professionals are safeguarded, and such legal actions have been responsible for the series of preventive measures responsible for the transparency of the nursing profession, and confirmation of the belief that the moral, ethical and legal injunctions have been incorporated into the profession, such measures have been successful enough to retain the lost services, and regain the lost interest and motivation towards the profession (Gilbert, 2004).

The cultural aspect has always been deductible, unless the culture promotes extreme conservative and isolated approach towards the general public. The aim of the nursing profession is to provide possible health care assistance, and providing assistance to those who are in trouble, all cultures and social ideology have supported such notion, therefore no culture has barred the youth from their involvement into the nursing profession, unless the profession is responsible for the source of physical or moral harm (Bernice, 2006).

The social issues relevant to the shortage of the nurses are with reference to the abuse and injustice meted towards the nurses. The sexual and verbal abuse either by the senior professionals or influential patients is cause of concern not only for the society, but such practices have demoralized the youth, who were initially planning to adopt the profession, such actions and concerns have derailed the interest of the youth and therefore the general humanity along with the nursing profession has suffered immensely (Susan, 2005).