FALLING SHORT IN THE NURSING SHORTAGE:

A LOOK INTO THE CRISISBy: Amber D. Fierro

ARE YOU CONCERNED?

• Most people are not worried about the nursing shortage until they are in the care of a nurse.

• This effects everyone. People need to be aware of the nursing shortage because they or someone they love will someday be in their care and maybe at risk.

NURSING SHORTAGES OF THE PAST

• WW I & WWII

• The depression

• The Nurse Training Act in 1943 led to the creation of the United States Cadet Nursing Corps

• Picture retrieved July 12, 2007 from http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USA/USA-Nurse/index.html

HOW DID AMERICA OVERCOME THE SHORTGES OF THE PAST?

• The United States Nursing Corps attracted many women to the field of nursing by offering favorable incentives

• The desire to support the country by caring for the troops also attracted practicing nurses and students

• The project was considered a success and is still alive today

• Legislation continued to help by funding money to create nursing schools throughout the country

ADVERTISING EXAMPLE

United States Cadet Nurse Corps Advertisement poster. Note. From the Rochester General Hospital Website. (June 2007). Retrieved July 4, 2007 from

http://www.viahealth.org/body_rochester.cfm?id=512

THE CURRENT CRISIS

• Computer and technology boom leads to better jobs

• Baby-boomers are retiring before being replaced

• Not enough nursing faculty in nursing school programs, therefore, limiting available seats per semester

• Limited clinical sites

• Creating a backlog of qualified applicants who wait over a year to begin nursing school resulting in many potential nursing students to pursue a different career.

HOW NURSES ARE AFFECTED

• Working long hours and extra shifts to help relieve the effects of the nursing shortage leaving them feeling exhausted

• At risk of losing their nursing license because they take on more patients during a shift than what is safe

• Feel dissatisfaction within their career because of the lack of recognition for the extra effort to help

WHAT NURSES ARE SAYING

American Nurses Association (April 2001). Retrieved July 4, 2007 from http://www.op.nysed.gov/nurseshortage.htm

DANGER! DANGER!

• Nurses are having to compromise their ethics by taking on more patients than what is safe

• Patient safety is at risk

• Nurses are overworked, exhausted, and dissatisfied

WHY WE SHOULD CARE

• By 2010, the United States is projected to need almost one million more registered nurses than will be available (Cherry & Jacob, 2005, p. 30)

• YOU could be in danger with an exhausted or over-tasked nurse

• Medical costs may increase

• Medical mistakes and neglect can result in death

THERE IS HOPE

• Schools, government and hospitals are working together

• Legislation has allowed millions of dollars to fund nursing programs with grants and scholarships

• Hospitals are offering incentives for nurses to return back to the profession

THE FUTURE

• The image of nursing is changing from a negative to a positive and respectful profession

• As nurses increase in numbers so will job and patient satisfaction

REMEMBER TO. . .

• BE KIND TO NURSES!!!

CREDITS• American Association of Colleges of Nursing (2007, March). Nursing shortage [Fact

sheet]. Washington, DC: Rosseter, R. Retrieved June 7, 2007,from http://www.aacn.nche.edu/Media/FactSheets/NursingShortage.htm

• American Nurses Association. (1985). Code for nurses with interpretive statements. Kansas City, MO: American Nurses Association. Retrieved July4, 2007 from http://nursingworld.org/ojin/topic14/tpc14_1.htm

• American Nurses Association. [February 6, 2001.] Analysis of American Nurses Association Staffing Survey. Retrieved July 4, 2007 from http://www.op.nysed.gov/nurseshortage.htm

• Cherry, B., Jacob, S. (2005). Contemporary Nursing: Issues, Trends, & Management (pp. 30-31). St. Louis, Missouri: Mosby Inc.

• Clark, P., Leddy, K., Drain, M., Kaldenberg, D. (2007). State nursing shortages and patient satisfaction [Electronic Version]. Journal of Nursing Care Quality, 119-127. Glendale Community College Library Media Center Glendale, AZ. 7 June 2007

CREDITS• Kelly, J. (2007, June 10). Nursing programs struggle to expand. The Arizona

Republic, p. B3, B7.

• Nursing reflections: A century of caring. (2000). Missouri: Mosby Inc.

• West, E., Griffith, W., Iphofen, R. (2007, April vol.16/no.2). A historical perspective on the nursing shortage. Professional Issues, 124-130.

• Zerwekh, J., Claborn, J. (2006). Nursing today: Transitions and trends (pp. 343-346). St. Louis, Missouri: Mosby Inc.