Western Carolina: NSG 516 Nursing Shortage Editorial

This opinion editorial addresses the critical nursing shortage in the United States, highlighting its multifaceted causes and far-reaching consequences. The essay identifies key factors contributing to the shortage, including the increasing number of students failing to qualify for nursing programs, the negative impact of nurse managers on the work environment leading to high turnover rates, and the aging of the baby boomer population, which increases the demand for healthcare services. The editorial emphasizes the potential decline in patient care quality, reduced patient satisfaction, and increased competition among healthcare facilities. It underscores the urgent need for proactive measures to mitigate the shortage and ensure the sustainability of the healthcare system. The author references several sources to support the claims and provides a comprehensive overview of the issue.

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There is a severe shortage of nurses in the united states. The current number of trained and
registered nurses is not able to meet the demand for nursing care. The Bureau of labor and
statistics (2019) also showed that there are about three million nursing jobs available and the
number is expected to grow at a rate of 12%. The nursing shortage has been caused by increase
in number of students failing, nursing mangers creating negative working environment, and
aging of baby boomers. With a rise in the demand of nursing and the decrease in the number of
nurses that are being trained, the shortage is likely going to increase unless drastic action is
taken.
An increase in the number of students failing high school has resulted in a shortage of nurses. A
study conducted showed that the grading scale of the number of pupils who are getting Fs or Ds
is expected to increase by six times by 2030 (Drake, 2019). This means that the number of
students who cannot qualify for a degree or a diploma in nursing will increase. This will result in
a small number of trained nurses. It is not clear whether it is the teaching methods that need to be
changed or the knowledge requirements that have become more complex, thus resulting in many
students failing. There is a possibility that the human species could be becoming less intelligent.
Further research needs to be conducted on the causative factor of the increase in failed grades.
Another underlying problem that is resulting in the deficit is nurses quitting because of their
nurse managers. Nurse managers play a significant role in the profession of a nurse. The nurse
manager is responsible for creating, designing and carrying out plans for change initiatives. They
are also responsible for recognizing deficiencies in the work environment. In general, a nursing
manager as the ability to change the healthcare organization, but most of them do not. Most

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nursing mangers mold the working environment, and some of them create an environment where
the subordinates and the peers are constantly burned out. The healthcare workers are unable to
cope with the demand that arises in the profession. The subordinate’s constant fatigue ignites the
desire to quit and change career path (Buerhaus, Skinner, Auerbach & Staiger, 2017).
The shortage of nurses in the work force has a ripple effect. The nursing managers are forced to
mentor new entrants who can complete the job. The new entrants are usually fresh from school,
and most of them have no idea about the pressures of the profession. They only have the clinical
practice that was in the school curriculum as their only professional work experience. Entering
the professional field when there is a shortage puts pressure on the entrants. They are expected to
perform the same duties as their predecessors and with the same skill. The tension builds up, and
the entrants begin to burn out. They begin to long for a change in their career path, and
eventually they quit. The cycle then repeats itself (Jurascheck, Zhang, Ranganathan, & Lin,
2019).
Nursing shortages are also caused by the aging of the baby boomers. The majority of the
population in United States is composed of individuals born between 1946 and 1964. The
Population Reference Bureau estimates that the number of aging baby boomers is expected to
increase to 2.3 million individuals by 2030. An increase in number of aged people means an
increase in the number of people who require specialized care, physician shortages and
retirements of registered nurses. It will also result in legislative consequences in the health care
reform (Nursing management. 2019).
In conclusion, nursing shortages have a major impact, especially on the audience. A shortage of
nurses will result in a decline in the patient care quality. The patient satisfaction rates will also

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reduce. The shortage will also result in high competition among the healthcare facilities. Most
facilities will compete to obtain nurse to cater for the demand. On the other hand, some facilities
might be closed because they will not have enough nurses to care for the influx of patients. It is
evident that drastic action needs to be taken to reduce the shortage (Drake, 2019).

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References
Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2019, September 4). Registered nurses. Retrieved from
https://www.bls.gov/ooh/healthcare/registered-nurses.htm.
Buerhaus, P. I., Skinner, L. E., Auerbach, D. I., & Staiger, D. O. (2017). Four challenges facing
the nursing workforce in the United States. Journal of Nursing Regulation, 8(2), 40-46.
Retrieved from http://healthworkforcestudies.com/images/JNR0717_40-
46_Buerhaus.pdf.
Drake, K. (2019). Developing confident decision makers. Nursing Management, 50(9). Retrieved
from https://www.nursingcenter.com/journalarticle?
Article_ID=5090652&Journal_ID=54013&Issue_ID=5090503.
Jurascheck, S. P., Zhang, X., Ranganathan, V., & Lin, V. W. (2019). United States registered
nurse workforce report card and shortage forecast. American Journal of Medical Quality,
34(5), 473-481. Retrieved from
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/1062860619873217.
Nursing management. (2019). Lippincott NursingCenter. Retrieved from
https://www.nursingcenter.com/journalissue.aspx?journal_id=54013#.