Nursing Shortage
How can the facility recruit and retain sufficient nursing staff?
Nursing shortage is a global trend (American Association of Colleges of Nursing, 2012)
Ageing patient population
Long hours and stress mean high turnover
How the nursing shortage effects the facility
Not enough nurses per shift to cover patient needs
Nurses showing signs of physical stress (American Nursing Association, 2012a)
Nurses showing signs of emotional stress (American Nursing Association, 2012a)
Patient care is delayed, jeopardizes patient safety
High turnover rates (Raphael, 2011)
Lack of experienced staff, everyone is new
More medical and drug errors (American Nursing Association, 2012a)
Lack of experienced staff compromises patient health (Aiken, 2008)
Facility cannot grow without enough nurses to handle increased patient load
Greater number of patients means potential for increased business
Opens up opportunities in other local facilities to take away business from the facility
III. Potential solutions to the problem of how to attract and retain sufficient nursing staff to be able to provide better quality patient care
A. Increase salaries and benefits
1. Studies show that this is not enough, especially if nursing staff is unhappy
2. Does not solve stress issues
3. Not enough current funds to provide increases due to declining patient load
B. Utilize nursing temporaries to solve immediate facility needs and conditions (AYA Healthcare, 2012)
1. Immediate effect on load and stress to the regular staff
2. Will be able to provide more relief and days off to regular staff
3. Help all staff achieve better work/life balance
4. Concerns over temporary staff quality and knowledge
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