Healthcare Administration Issues - Research Paper Example

Health Care Administration Issues: Shortage of Nurses Health Care Administration Issues: Shortage of Nurses There is a situation in many nursing facilities where the demand for nurses is higher than the supply, which is noted in developed and developing nations across the globe. As such, there is understaffing of nurses the world over. In recent times, the World Health Organization attributed the situation to underinvestment in the nursing sector. To balance between the resources and nurses that are employed, there has to be a manageable number of nurses leading to a small number of nurses that offer services in medical facilities.

The determination to research on this issue will be based on concrete research and data from concerned facilities. This will include scrutinizing and evaluating the nursing shortage in the facilities and how this affects service delivery (Rouse, 2006). Similarly, the research will also have to be based on the availability of resources in employing nurses. There are a number of factors that are considered vital when employing nurses. The demand for nurses is, therefore, affected with changes in the wage rate, training and training facilities, the working environment, education of health workers and the management in the workplace.

These are issues that will have a direct impact on the nursing profession, which could create a shortage. For example, the retention of nurses is low in many parts, which shows that the management is not apt in executing its duties. Therefore, researching on all these factors would give the reasons behind the shortage of nurses.Research questions will be vital as they are likely to offer critical information in regards to the issue. For example, research questions will be asked concerning the staffing process, retention rate and nursing turnover.

With such information, the research will gather information on how nursing facilities employ nurses and how they replace them in case of retirement or quitting. Similarly, the research questions will also reflect on the acceptable nurse-to-patient ratio and nurse-to-general population ratio (Kelly, 2011). These are crucial figures that will enlighten on the extent of the shortage of nurses and the acceptable ratio in the medical facilities. Apparently, when there is an influx of patients, it is obvious that there should be a corresponding number of nurses.

However, limiting the number of nurses to a manageable level will almost certainly lead to poor service deliver as the few available nurses will be overworked. In addition, the research questions will also be used to gather information on the potential factors that have led to this problem. For example, the research questions will be directed towards the preparedness of the management in mitigating this problem. This includes preparedness in placement programs; which are meant for newly trained nurses, improvement in working conditions and lack of incentives to retain nurses.

The nursing profession is faced with a shortage of nurses, and this affects the service provision in many medical facilities. This is a problematic situation that affects the quality of health care services. This situation has led to long queues, overworked nurses and reduced attention to patients thus poor care provision. Therefore, the research will have to consider this; if the health care facilities have more nurses, will the health care sector record improvement?ReferencesKelly, P. (2011).

Nursing leadership & management. New York: Cengage Learning.Rouse, S. M. (2006). Shortage of nursing faculty in accredited schools of nursing in the state of Indiana. New York: ProQuest.