Nursing Shortage is NOW!
Nurses themselves are already feeling the effects of the shortage. They report that they are taking care of sicker patients, more patients, and that they are feeling the pressures of not being able to do their job the way that it was meant to be done. Some nurses report feeling unsafe in their working environments and go on to say that some patients have expressed real anger toward them at times because of the situation.
Nurses in the health care system today are burning out at alarming rates. Many express the desire to change careers and a lot of them do go on to change jobs. In the best of times, nursing can be very physically and mentally demanding and the ever growing shortage can only compound this. The average age range for a working hospital nurse today is from their late 40’s to their early 50’s. They themselves will be ready for retirement soon and what will be there for them?
The shortages isn’t just limited to the registered nursing staff. There are not enough hospital secretaries,nursing assistants, or other support staff either so one cannot expect to see help coming from those arenas. It is possible that people could see elective procedures being put off indefinitely because of the shortages. What will the care be like for those that have no choice but to be in the hospital? They have to put their faith in the medical system but might it possibly let them down?
Patients of all ages are feeling the beginning ripples of the impact. The personal touch is just not there as much as it was even as recently as ten years ago. There is not time for the back rub or the reassuring conversation with their nurse. They see nurses running from room to room just trying to keep up and hope that their own care needs can be met.
Statistically, patients are being sent home so much more quickly than they were just a few short years ago. They often report feeling rushed out of the health care system to make room for other patients needing to come in. It is now common practice that patients needing elective surgeries come in on the actual day of surgery, not the night before like is used to be. Surgery patients that used to stay in the hospital for two or three days for recovery are now being sent home the same day that their surgery took place. What more can be done? Will patients have to be sent home even sooner which would undoubtedly then stress the home health care system and family members with care that they were not expecting or prepared to give?
Medical centers across the country already have had to intermittently close beds, transfer patients to other facilities, bring in more traveling nurses, and encourage even more overtime from already taxed nurses. This is today. This isn’t even the peak of the nursing shortage. Things are serious now.
The news stories are referring to the nursing shortage now and then but there are no easy solutions on the horizon. The ad campaigns recruiting nurses are starting to pop up and admission numbers at colleges and universities are slowly increasing but it is not enough. Nursing needs to be made a very appealing career choice for our future generations.
What can be done now? One possibility is that nursing with its current staffing structures consider changes and creative staffing methods. Some hospitals are already trying by changing work schedules so as to be better staffed during the busiest parts of shifts. Four hour blocks of work are being offered to fill in during those times and sometimes management staff is stepping in more than they have in the past. All levels of the hospital staffing structure need to be looked at to see where additional resources can be pulled from. Programs aimed at nursing retention need to be put into place.
Nursing needs to be promoted to our high school populations through job fairs and whatever means possible. It needs to seem like a good career choice and when they get into the real world, it needs to be a good career choice or else they will not stay. More scholarships for nursing programs might be another option. Perhaps hospitals and other health care services need to look at the pay and benefits that they offer nurses. Anything that can make nursing a safe, satisfying, and appealing career choice needs to be considered.
The country has worked hard over the last decade to shift more focus to preventative health care and this needs to continue more than ever. If people can stay healthier, they will tax the health care system less. Programs for weight management, diabetes management, and smoking cessation just to name a few have to be implemented more. Employers are even starting to bring some of that education into the workplace realizing that it benefits them to have a healthier workforce.
Realizing that the nursing shortage is real is an important first step. Consider whatever means you have as a family to help care for your family members when they are patients. Hospitals are usually receptive to have a family member stay and help calm a loved one that might be anxious or confused or even in other instances, family can assist with some personal care needs of their loved one.
We ALL need to continue to address the nursing shortage. We don’t want to lose ground on all of our medical advances by having our quality of care compromised today or ever. Consider also contacting your state senators and legislators to express your concerns. Working to resolve this shortage needs to be put on the forefront now before it truly spirals out of control. It is so very vital to the future health and well being of each and every one of us and to our future generations.
