REGISTERED NURSING SHORTAGE

Registered Nursing Shortage

Abstract

Nursing constitutes an essential function in the advancement of health care towards the public. Community Health Nursing defines as a set of actions that are aimed at providing care to individuals who are ill, mentally incapable, or dying, not only within the realms of the hospitals but in any other environment where health care may be required. This study aims to investigate the causes behind the increased shortages of Registered Nurses (RNs) across United States in particular. The study finds out that there are certain reasons behind this shortage and that education is a key element in improving this situation. It has also been found out that nurses are migrating to other countries in search of a better job opportunity. As an example, Saudi Arabia provides better working conditions to these expatriate nurses. Certain policy implications have also been studied in detail, mainly focusing on the Emergency Nursing Supply Relief Act (H.R. 5924). This Act addresses the issue more specifically and proposes the need to establish better working conditions and educational opportunities for these nurses. This study aims to analyze the issues, its challenges and implications, potential impact on the service provided; as well as formulating a justified strategic response for future course of action. The social, economic, and ethical considerations for RN shortage provide much scope for strategy formulation and its implementation. A well-defined course of action wills only prove useful for this issue.

Registered Nursing Shortage

Introduction of Problem and Related Bill

The current global nursing shortage of Registered Nurses (RNs) has become a pressing problem for the world's health care sector due to a drastic lack of nurses who are needed to care for patients and individuals. Nursing is an increasingly significant profession of the world's health care sector. It is an autonomous domain of the health care institutions and skilled nurses constitute an integral part of health and social care entities. These are the skilled practitioners who work all day to save human lives and improve patient outcomes in general. They are the ones who assist in increasing the longevity of even the most chronic patients. Hence nursing is a distinct scientific field, which is, unfortunately, underestimated by the masses. The gap between what is the actual duty of nurses and what is their perception in the minds of the people is a rising cause of a shortage of nurses within the sector.

The issue of a shortage of Registered Nurses (RNs) in the United States has been reported by various sources since quite a long time now. The shortage is growing to be very acute and is responsible for many loopholes that are developing within the sector. Hospitals, particularly in the western and southwestern states, are bearing the brunt of the situation. They are suffering from a lack of RNs, which has adversely, impacted upon their services and its quality. Estimates of average nurse vacancy rates at hospitals range from 10.2 percent to 13 percent, with one in seven hospitals reporting more than 20 ...