nurse staffing issues - nursing shortage
Nursing shortage: Here is what some
Hospitals are doing
by Sam Khan,MD
Nursing shortage has been an issue for sometime now in the
country. The causes are varied and have been discussed in many
articles in the recent past.
The purpose of this article is to
explore the strategies US Hospitals are employing to overcome the
nurse shortage. The remedy of a problem is dependent on its cause.
This is no different here. Since the causes of shortage of nurses
are varied the possible solutions proposed are many too.
Nurse shortage stems from lesser
number of students choosing nursing as profession.
Uncertainty created by a wrong research report in 1988 by a
reputable organization predicting impending nurse oversupply
(resulting in students deciding not to chose nursing), more nurses
choosing to work in out patient setting creating a mal
distribution of nurses in some areas of the country ,
dissatisfaction among nurses because of shift work, mandatory
overtime, insufficient pay, lack of a career ladder are some of
the common causes.
Many nurses are choosing Temp. work as it pays more money and
allows some control over work hours and benefits. In the private
sector the turnover is higher then in the govt. sector. Hospitals
are doing all sorts of things to recruit and retain the nurses.
Financial incentives to recruit nurses are temporary fix in
general. These do not guarantee retention of the nurse in the same
facility.
Long term planning for this
national problem is addressed by federal as well as state level.
These will have effect though not in very near future.
A serious effort by the hospitals, nurses themselves as well as
the government and the nursing organizations will be needed. Image
building , making the profession attractive are the sort of things
which will take time but will have lasting effects.
For the short term it is the hospitals which have to deal with the
nursing shortage.
The latest news is that ....
continue to part 2 nursing
retention |