Shortage And Nursing Staff Article 2022

Running head: SHORTAGE OF NURSING STAFF 1
Nursing Shortage
Euphemia Okeke
Walden University
NURS 6053
03/08/2020
Dr. E. Townsley

SHORTAGE OF NURSING STAFF 2
Nursing Shortage
Nursing accounts for the largest proportion of healthcare professionals and is a critical
part of healthcare. However, the shortage of nursing staff has become a major issue of concern
(Haddad & Toney-Butler, 2020). The aging population in the US significantly contributes to the
shortage due to the increased demand for healthcare services. (Buerhaus, Skinner, Auerbach, &
Staiger, 2017). Currently, the highest number of US citizens is above the age of 65 years and in
2029, it is expected that the last baby boomer generation will reach the age of retirement. The
shift will mark an increase of 73% in the population of US citizens above 65 years. The number
is expected drastically rose from 21 million in 2011, to 71 million in 2019. Older adults are
affected mu multiple comorbidities and need treatment for long-term conditions that may strain
the nursing workforce (Haddad & Toney-Butler, 2020). The aging nursing workforce and faculty
also causes reduced enrollment of new nurses and a decline in the quality nursing teaching
programs (Buerhaus et al. 2017). The nursing shortage has resulted in increased turnover, with
the national average rates ranging from 8.8% to 37.0% depending on the geographic region. The
turnover rate continues to worsen the shortage problem (Haddad & Toney-Butler, 2020). The
nursing shortage has been felt in the organization where I work.
A conversation with the General Manager in my organization, revealed that the patient-
to-nurse ration has increased significantly, from 10:1 to 35:1 in five years, due to the rise in
number of clients, and increased turnover among colleagues. Most of the nurses in the
organization are females and leave their profession due to factors such as childbearing, or work-
life balance. There are 32 nurses within the organization and at least 4 nurses leave the
organization annually, while only two to three nurses are recruited into the organization. Over
the past five years, the nursing professionals have reduced from 36, to the current 32. The

SHORTAGE OF NURSING STAFF 3
organizational management has also not been able to replace the nurses due to lack of qualified
professionals. The General Manager cited that the shortage of nursing staff is a national issue and
all organizations are competing for the few qualified nurses. The nursing shortages have a
significant clinical significance on our patient outcomes and nursing staff performance. The
nursing shortages result in increased medical errors, high mortality and morbidity rates for
patients, burnout and dissatisfaction among nurses.
Informational Summary
The article by Marć, Bartosiewicz, Burzyńska, Chmiel, and Januszewicz (2019) explored
the selected factors that determine nursing shortages, due to the aging employee era. The article
outlines that the changes in demographics across the globe has resulted in a rise in elderly
population, and decreasing birthrates, resulting in nursing human resource crisis. Using strategic
documents and national listings, and literature review on nursing, Marć et al. (2019) explained
that the nursing shortage is caused by multifaceted factors that have no local or global measure in
nature. The findings align with Drennan & Ross (2019) revealing that the societal context
significantly affects the size and nature of the nursing profession. Political decisions on health
systems recourses allocation, demographics healthcare demands, nursing image and social
inequalities determine the concept of nursing shortages.
From a nurses’ perspective, the work environment significantly contributes to attracting
and retaining quaklified nursing proffessionals. An article by Rivaz, Momennasab, Yektatalab,
and Ebadi (2017) investigated the perception of nurses regarding the major components of their
practice environments. The qualitative study was based on the background that inability to attract
and retain qualified nursing is a global challenge that has contributed to nursing shortage. The
findings revealed that nurses perceived work environments with imbalanced workloads,