Nursing in the USA - Research Paper Example

Nursing Research Study In the USA Number That the world has been rendered a global village by the forces of globalization such as technological advancement in the information and technology (IT) field, transport and diplomacy is a fact that is beyond gainsay. Globalization has not just redefined trade, commerce, diplomacy and international trade, but also fundamentally redrawn the delivery of healthcare. The import of this is that with the world having been knit into a global village, it is clear that the strengths and drawbacks that characterize this industry are now shared on a global scale. One of the pitfalls that beset the healthcare industry at the global level is the shortage of nurses. Shortage in nursing is epitomized by a higher patient-to-nurse ratio. Usually, the proper patient-to-nurse ratio should be 5:1. A ratio higher than this means that nursing resources are overstretched and this prompts serious setbacks to the delivery of healthcare services. The need to revisit this problem is informed by the serious drawbacks (such as deaths and injury of patients, the inability to render effective healthcare services, the undermining of nurses’ health and wellbeing and working stress levels) that characterize shortage of nurses. Part A: The reality of the shortage of nurses is underscored by statistical data. Results from research studies indicate thus. For instance, the STTI board in 2000 reveals that there has been an increase in the average age of registered working nurses over the past years by 4.5 to 41.9 years. This was between 1983 and 1998. Between 1999 and 2009, the average age rose to 50. The National Sample Survey of Registered Nurses (NSSRN) also revealed that even if the number of licensed and registered nurses increased to 2.7 million (by 5.4%), this was the lowest annual increase to be ever recorded ever since the department began its data collection in 1977. NSSRN also shows that the number of licensed and registered nurses under 30 is continually diminishing. This figure has specifically dropped from 25.1% to 9.1% between 1980 and 2000. Likewise, between 1996 and 2000, registered and licensed nurses’ average age increased from 42.3 to 43.3. The Bureau of Labor Statistics also reports that there will be a 23% growth of jobs by 2008. This is not only an average that is higher than those of other occupations, but also an indication of the straining that the nursing industry is being subjected to. The need to discuss this topic is informed by the gravity of this problem which accosts nursing on a universal scale. Shortage of nurses is a problem that has multiple riveting effects. The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations stated that in developed countries alone, inadequate staffing has accounted for 24% of 1,609 patient deaths, loss of organ functions and injury in 1997-1998 alone. The problem is definitely aggravated when developing countries are brought into consideration. The same problem has also frustrated the administration of effective or patient-centered treatment. Statistics by JCAHO show that 90% of long-term healthcare facilities are derelict of adequate nurses needed for basic patient care. The problem is so grave that many healthcare organizations have been compelled to turn away new patients. The scope of the problem above is further accentuated by the fact that statistics reveal by 2020, the world will have a shortage of at least 1 million nurses and America, 400,000. The same problem is similarly affecting the very few nurses who are seriously needed. Specifically, in order to attract the much-needed nurses, some healthcare organizations have offered huge sign-one bonuses. The same organizations have in the need to stem the tide advertised and extended significant salary increases for essential specialties such as intensive care. Nevertheless, this development has opened the door for increased stress levels, work burnouts and job dissatisfaction. This is because, longer working hours, increased workloads and the inadequacy of resources needed for effective patient care consistently accompany these higher emoluments. This means that nursing is not only becoming increasingly stressful, but is also being a highly eschewed profession, and thereby making the entire strategy a zero-sum game. The developments above clearly show that the problem of the shortage in the number of nurses is a reality in the United States and the world over. PART B: The chosen articles that sufficiently are four. Three are American-based peer reviewed journal articles, while the third one analyses the problem outside the context of the United States. Their usefulness and veracity are underscored as follows. McNeal, G. (2012). The Nurse Faculty Shortage. The ABNF Journal: Official Journal of the Association of Black Nursing Faculty in Higher Education, Inc, 23 (2), 23 In this article, McNeal discusses factors that have informed the declining numbers of nurses and nurse academicians. McNeal also points out at some of the indicators of the dwindling statistics of nurses. McNeal identifies the factors behind the crises as: the aging faculty workforce, heavy faculty workload, poor compensation, the scarcity of doctorally-prepared nurse faculty and the lack of diversity. McNeal contends that the low rate of admission of nurses into America’s 1,500 nursing schools and the world’s nursing schools is a strong factor to this. McNeal reveals that in the United States, in 2008, more than 119,000 qualified applicants were turned down, due to the limited capacity in these schools of nursing. She adds that those who have shared similar predicament in the world amounted to more than 1.5 million. McNeal contends that to correct this situation, it is necessary to take strategic measures such as: creating higher rates of compensation that are commensurate with nursing and medicine and the faculty salaries pertinent to other disciplines; utilizing more efficient lecturing strategies as a way of abating the nurse faculty workload; incentivizing the pursuit of advanced nursing education; and making concerted efforts as a way of enhancing diversity within the nursing professorate. Spurgeon, D. (2000). Canada Faces Nurse Shortage. BMJ: British Medical Journal, 320 (15), 1030 Spurgeon reiterates the serious shortage of nurses in Canada. He predicts that between 2001 and 2015, Canada will be facing a shortage of about 11,000 nurses. References McNeal, G. (2012). The Nurse Faculty Shortage. The ABNF Journal: Official Journal of the Association of Black Nursing Faculty in Higher Education, Inc, 23 (2), 23. Spurgeon, D. (2000). Canada Faces Nurse Shortage. BMJ: British Medical Journal, 320 (15), 1030. Read More