This paper examines the nursing shortage through the lens of leadership and management theory, comparing how nursing leaders and managers might approach this persistent challenge. Drawing on peer-reviewed research, the paper explores key factors in nurse retention — including leadership style, organizational commitment, and professional satisfaction — as well as the role of participative leadership in reducing workplace tension. The importance of succession planning is also addressed, including early identification and mentoring of future nurses. The author ultimately argues that while the shortage cannot be solved overnight, strong leadership practices and proactive career outreach can meaningfully reduce its impact on healthcare quality.
Nursing leadership is a widely debated subject within the broader paradigm of nursing practice. This paper focuses on one specific subtopic within that paradigm: the nursing shortage. The goal is to compare and contrast how nursing leaders and managers would be expected to approach this issue. The assertions made are supported by theories, principles, skills, and role distinctions between leaders and managers as presented in the relevant literature. The paper also identifies the approach that best fits a personal and professional leadership philosophy and explains why it is most suitable. While the impending nursing shortage is daunting, it can and must be addressed because the quality of care and the health of the overall healthcare system depend on it.
There is no shortage of scholarly literature on the shortage of nurses and the leadership challenges that must be met as a result. One notable source, authored by Byrne and Martin, explored the relationship between the leadership style of the nursing department head and the level of professional satisfaction and organizational commitment among nursing staff. There is much to be said for a leader who can retain nurses when the overall headcount — both within a facility and across the broader industry — is clearly lower than needed.
The study found that the three variables most important to keeping nurses satisfied and employed are department head leadership, organizational commitment, and professional satisfaction. If one or more of these metrics falters, nurse retention at a facility will tend to decline as well (Byrne & Martin, 2014). This finding underscores the direct connection between leadership quality and workforce stability during a period of systemic shortage.
Another study examined whether participative leadership reduces the risk of what is known as "mobbing" — a form of workplace harassment — within nursing teams. This study is directly relevant because its two main variables were participative leadership style and the presence or extent of a nursing shortage in the setting being studied. The findings indicate that, regardless of staffing levels, a participative leadership style reduces tension within nursing teams. However, the authors also note that this moderated leadership approach is not a cure-all, and that maintaining proper staffing levels remains critically important.
In other words, the right leadership approach can mitigate problems caused by shortages and other nursing team challenges, but it can only do so much in any given situation (Bortoluzzi, Caporale, & Palese, 2014). This is an important caveat: leadership quality and workforce quantity are both necessary, and neither fully substitutes for the other.
"Argues for early identification of future nurse leaders"
"Synthesizes sources and states personal leadership philosophy"
As long as the nursing shortage remains present, there will be ongoing problems and challenges. The best way to proceed is to do whatever can reasonably be done to mitigate or even eliminate the shortage — through job fairs, informational outreach about the profession, and similar efforts. Even so, only so many people will be drawn to nursing, and only those who truly commit to the field should enter it. A nurse who is merely "punching a clock" could, in some respects, be a liability rather than an asset. Nevertheless, the pool of talent available for nursing and related professions is large, and it can and should be tapped as fully as possible — provided that the nurses who emerge from that pipeline are well trained, genuinely motivated, and loyal to the profession and to their patients.
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