Nursing Shortage in Florida - Article Example

Nursing Shortage in Florida There are not enough nurses to care for the sick and the elderly in Florida and many parts of the United s. Based on the latest statistics, Florida has “fewer employed RNs per 100,000 members of the population (763) than does the South Atlantic region as a whole (810) or the entire U.S. (825)” (Florida Center for Nursing, 2007). Nurses working in hospitals have declined as ambulatory care clinics, nursing homes, and other health care clinics have increased their employment of nurses. In 2005 alone, there were over 6000 vacancies for nurses in Florida. The age of the nursing population in Florida has also continued to rise, and about 40% of nurses in Florida are nearing their retirement age. These are the facts and figures to best describe and define the nursing shortage in Florida. Nursing shortage in Florida is caused by various factors. One of these factors is that many nurses are leaving the profession. Many nurses have left their jobs because of low wages and unfavorable working conditions. Long hours of work are also contributing to burn-out in many of the nurses. Staff shortages are also making nurses work overtime. The number of patients has also increased throughout the years, but the numbers of nurses have remained unchanged. A study revealed that one of every three nurses under the age of 30 has plans to leave the nursing profession within the next few years (FHA Eye on the Healthcare Workforce, 2001). Another cause of the nursing shortage in Florida is that fewer people are seeking careers in nursing. Enrolment in baccalaureate degrees in nursing has also declined during the past few years. The admission slots in schools have increased during the past years however, this has not been sufficient in filling in the nursing shortage. The Florida Board of Nursing has to approve first an increase in the slots to be issued to nursing students. These slots however are dependent on the faculty available in the nursing school, and the facilities available for the nursing curriculum. In recent years, there has been a shortage of faculty for the nursing program. Many of the faculty members in nursing schools are near their retirement age. Low salaries, not enough experience, and graduate program education requirement for faculty members are just some of the reasons why it has become very difficult to fill in the faculty shortage in the nursing schools. As a result, nursing schools are unable to increase their entrants and eventually their nursing graduates. The nursing shortage is impacting greatly on the health care of Florida. “When there is a shortage of nurses, patients suffer and health-care costs increase” (Delaney, 2006). When nurses are prompted to work for longer hours, the quality of their work is sometimes compromised. The shortage also causes them to care for more patients than they can handle. This often increases the possibility of patient neglect and errors in the administration of care. The Balanced Budget Act of 1997 contributed greatly to the nursing shortage in Florida. The entry of managed care caused the decrease in the wages of many nurses, and consequently caused many nurses to leave their profession for other jobs. “With lower payments through managed care, as well as lower reimbursements for Medicare and Medicaid, hospitals were forced to reduce operational costs (Ayala & Fries, 1993; Curtin, 1994, as cited by Hickey-Keegan, 2005). Managed care caused hospitals to close beds, lay off nurses, and increase outpatient services. Nurses greatly suffered from hospital restructuring because of managed care. In 2001, Governor Jeb Bush signed the bill creating the Florida Nursing Center. This Center was created in order to address issues of supply and demand of nurses, including issues of retirement, retention, and utilization of nurse workforce resources. “The primary statutory goals address collecting and analyzing nursing workforce data, developing and disseminating a strategic plan for nursing, developing and implementing reward and recognition activities for nurses, promoting nursing excellence programs, image building, and recruiting into the profession” (Florida Center for Nursing, 2007). This law was the first step in coming up with a solution for Florida’s nursing shortage. This Center is still in its infancy, and its long-term effects and benefits have yet to be seen. However, since its inception it has produced promising results for the state of Florida in addressing the nursing shortage problem. Other factors affect nursing shortage in Florida. Social, economic, political, and legal/ethical factors shape this nursing shortage. On a social standpoint, many individuals see nursing as a low paying job, hence, many people hardly venture into this profession knowing that it would not be a very lucrative career for them to be in. Nursing is also seen more as a woman’s job (Al-Smadi, n.d). And so, not many men venture into this career. Nursing is also viewed by society as a dirty and messy job. Many people are turned-off by the idea of cleaning patients’ bottoms, wounds, vomit, and other bodily fluids. They attribute little glamour to the profession, and so they steer clear of it. Economic factors also affect the nursing shortage in Florida. The low salaries of nurses coupled with long hours of work are not encouraging many nurses to stay in nursing or to pursue a career in nursing. This fact also prompts many nurses to opt for early retirement. The job satisfaction in nursing is low because of these economic factors. A study covering 5 countries reported job dissatisfaction for nurses. “Surveyed nurses consistently reported perceived hospital nurse staffing levels that were inadequate to provide safe care, leading to increased pressure to accomplish work, need for overtime, and stress-related illnesses” (Scanlon, 2001, as cited by Mion, 2003). Political factors also impact on the nursing shortage in Florida. This mostly relate to the policy-making and administration frameworks contributing to the nursing shortage. These factors often relate to poor working conditions set by hospital administrators and the lack of adequate support from concerned administrators. Some administrators also set inflexible scheduling policies for their nursing staff. Many of these nurses often become subject to layoffs and forced casual work. The political climate in Florida does not also allow for adequate support and investment in nursing education. Political factors often impact economically on the nursing shortage. The political tide dictates policy that consequently affects the salaries and working conditions of many nurses. The legal/ethical factors being raised in this issue of nursing shortage have something to do with the legislative enactment regarding managed care. Managed care cuts down hospital cost which may be directed towards increasing the salaries of nurses. With lesser salaries, many of the nurses have great dissatisfaction with their work and have little motivation to pursue it further as a career. Many politicians and some medical and nursing practitioners are also of the opinion that to allow foreign recruitment of nurses where there are shortages in their own countries are in fact unethical practices (Mee & Robinson, 2003). Many countries like the Philippines encourage their graduates to seek employment abroad. Their miserable financial conditions in their country have driven them to seek greener pastures in the U.S. These nurses are often willing to make do with low salaries, and this fact is often taken advantage of by the U.S. and other countries. Many believe that this is very unethical; they believe that the U.S. should not take advantage of foreigners looking and willing to work despite low salaries and miserable working conditions. Conflicts of interest that contribute to the nursing shortage is the fact that in order to be a qualified member of the nursing faculty, there is a need for masters level or even doctorate level studies. This limits the number of applicants and possible members of the faculty qualified to teach in the nursing schools. Florida requires that before any nursing school can increase the number of their nursing students, they have to have competent faculty with masters or doctorate level training and sufficient experience. There are not many faculty applicants who really fit this level of post-graduate competence; hence not many schools can be qualified to increase the number of their students. It is an unfortunate cycle. There are few students the nursing schools can accept and consequently graduate, and because of high standards required of their faculty, they cannot really admit more students. As a result, it is difficult to really increase the number of nurses in Florida in order to fill in the shortage (Habel, n.d). In many states, the Healthy People 2010 program is being used in order to help motivate people to adopt healthier habits in their lives. Healthier habits would help reduce hospital visits and eventually reduce the need for nurses. The Healthy People 2010 program is an adjustment for nurses. “What we’re accomplishing is not only teaching people how to stay healthy – wash your hands, cover your mouth when you cough, maintain a three-foot social distance – but we’re also looking at other full campus health initiatives like smoking cessation, exercise, diet, hypertension, sexually transmitted diseases, access to care, the whole shebang” (White, as quoted by Wayne Sate University E-Nurseletter, 2007). Through the program, the people are engaged as active collaborators to their health. And with lesser people getting sick, there would be lesser people hospitalized. This would help stem the increase in the nursing shortage problem and direct better care for sick patients. Healthy People 2010 program also hopes to attract more minorities into the medical profession. Their numbers can help fill in gaps in the health care service and improve our nurse population. “The goal is to award 13 percent of nursing and other health degrees to African Americans and 12 percent to Hispanics by 2010” (Hellinghausen, 2000). The nursing shortage issue in Florida can be defined by the decreased number of nurses caring for a large and increasing population of sick people. There are presently not enough nurses in our hospitals, and their numbers are continuing to decline while the patient population is continuing to increase. Social factors contributing to this problem can be attributed to the fact that the nursing profession is seen as women’s work, and so not many men venture into the profession; society also views the nursing profession as dirty, difficult work, and not a very lucrative profession to be in. One of the economic factors that contribute to this problem is the fact that nursing IS a low paying job. It also commands long and difficult hours of work, with often long hours of overtime. On the political aspect, legislation creating managed care has cut down hospital cost, and consequently the budget for the salaries of nurses. These factors, along with nursing faculty shortage, have exacerbated the nursing shortage problem not just in Florida, but also in other states. In order to solve this nursing shortage problem in Florida, I would like for our Governor to reduce the restrictions for nursing faculty in nursing schools. One of the key factors contributing to nursing shortage is the fact that prospective nursing students seeking a career in nursing are prevented or are being curtailed by nursing school requirements. And as much as nursing schools would like to accept more students, the education laws mandate that before nursing schools can increase their entrants, they have to have fully qualified and graduate level faculty members. I believe that a baccalaureate degree and experience are sufficient qualifications for a nursing faculty to have. With lesser restrictions to nursing entrants, there would be more students who will be enticed to join the nursing profession. I would also like the Governor to reduce hours of mandatory overtime for nurses. This will help reduce the number of nurses leaving the profession for other careers, and also reduce worker dissatisfaction. This will help put across the message to nurses that their place in the health care profession is valued, and that they can enjoy long and satisfactory careers in the profession. This will also help persuade more people to join the nursing profession and to stay there. Nurse anesthetists are part of the solution to the nursing shortage problem. Nurse Anesthesiology has now emerged as one of the top draws to the nursing profession. It pays a higher salary as compared to other fields of nursing, and it does not require as much hours of work. At present, there is an anesthesiology shortage in the United States, and nurses are being trained as anesthesiologists. They eventually work under the supervision of surgeons and practitioners. “The anesthesiologist shortage has resulted in higher pay for nurse anesthetists--and the numbers keep climbing” (Medical News Today, 2006). Training in the nurse anesthesiology field can be increased in order to encourage more people to join the nursing profession. This will help ease the nursing shortage problem and ensure that more nurses will stay in the profession, and not seek other careers or opt for early retirement. The nursing shortage in Florida is a serious problem and a dangerous threat to the health care delivery in the United States. It is a problem that stems so much from work dissatisfaction due to low salary and long difficult hours of work. The Governor should do something immediately about this problem. There are so many possible solutions that may be adapted in order to ease the nursing shortage. The solutions chosen should keep in mind the many factors causing the nursing shortage and work dissatisfaction. Greater job satisfaction will reduce nurses shifting to other careers with more people choosing nursing as a career. Works Cited About the FCN (2007) Florida Center for Nursing. Retrieved 17 December 2008 from http://www.flcenterfornursing.org/about/history.cfm Al-Smadi, Ashraf (n.d) Analysis Barrier Paper. Scribd.com. Retrieved 17 December 2008 from http://www.scribd.com/doc/1027000/Nursing-Shortage Cheeseman, K (n.d) Health Care Crisis. University of South Florida College Writing. Retrieved 16 December 2008 from http://collegewriting.us/bullitzer/Prize_Submissions/Karen%20Cheeseman.doc. Delaney, J. (17 February 2006) Nurse Shortages Mean Patients Suffer. Jacksonville Business Journal. Retrieved 16 December 2008 from http://www.bizjournals.com/jacksonville/stories/2006/02/20/editorial2.html Florida Nursing Shortage: It is Here and It is Getting Worse (November 2001) FHA Eye on the Health Care Workforce. Retrieved 17 December 2008 from http://www.ucihs.uci.edu/cspcn/flanursshort.PDF. Governor Targets Nursing Shortage in State of State Address (20 February 2007) Wayne State University E-Nurselettter. Retrieved 16 December 2008 from http://www.nursing.wayne.edu/About%20Us/Publications/Feb2007_e_nurseletter.pdf Habel, M. (n.d) Who Will Teach Nursing’s Next Generation? Nursing Spectrum. Retrieved 17 December 2008 from http://nursingspectrum.netstation.us/ce414.pdf. Hellinghausen, M. (13 March 2000) Closing the Gap: Program Aims to Add More Minorities to Healthcare Professions. NurseWeek. 16 December 2008 from http://www.nurseweek.com/features/00-03/minority.html Hickey-Keegan, J. (2005) The Nursing Shortage and Reasons for RN Flight from Florida Hospitals. Florida State University. Retrieved 17 December 2008 from http://etd.lib.fsu.edu/theses/available/etd04112005134229/unrestricted/HickeyKeegan_Thesis.pdf. LaMendola (29 August 2008) Florida Nursing Shortage Could Have Crippling Effect on State in 10 years, Study Finds. Kaiser Network. Retrieved 16 December 2008 from http://www.kaisernetwork.org/DAILY_REPORTS/rep_index.cfm?DR_ID=54218 Mee, C. & Robinson, E. (January 2003). What’s Different About This Nursing Shortage. Find Articles. Retrieved 16 December 2008 from http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3689/is_200301/ai_n9190962 Mion, L. (3 May 2003) Care Provision for Older Adults: Who Will Provide?. The Online Jounral of Nursing Issues. Retrieved 17 December 2008 from http://www.nursingworld.org/MainMenuCategories/ANAMarketplace/ANAPeriodicals/OJIN/TableofContents/Volume82003/No2May2003/CareProvisionforOlderAdults.aspx Most Nurse Anesthetists Would Choose The Career Again - Anesthesiologist Shortage Raises CRNAs Stature And Earnings (12 February 2006) Medical News Today. Retrieved 16 December 2008 from http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/37577.php Seago, J (n.d) The Global Nursing Shortage and Nurse Migration. Center for Policy Analysis on Trade and Health. Retrieved 17 December 2008 from http://www.cpath.org/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles/seago_nurse_migration_slides.ppt The Economic Benefits of Resolving Florida’s Nursing Shortage (n.d) Florida Center for Nursing. Retrieved 17 December 2008 from http://www.flcenterfornursing.org/files/Econ_Benefits.pdf. Read More