The Nursing Shortage

Persuasive Essay # 100191

Medical and Health > Nursing

This paper discusses the implications of and effective approaches to the nursing shortage.

1,225 words () | 4 sources | MLA | 2007 United States

Paper Summary:

The paper explains that hospital conglomerates elected to begin reducing their nursing labor workforce in order to achieve the financial results that they desired. The paper discusses how, as a result of that decision, nurses found themselves having to work extra shifts and administer treatment to a larger patient load than they were accustomed to and these conditions led many nurses to leave the profession. The paper then discusses how nurses are workers in an industry that has ultimately failed to provide for their needs on a personal and professional level and, therefore, no matter how many programs are created to entice nurses to the profession, nurses will continue to leave until they know that the health care system respects their need to function in an ethically strong manner.

From the Paper:

"Over the past few decades hospitals began to see themselves as competitive businesses that needed to grow and become prosperous in the health care industry. In order to achieve this growth and prosperity hospital leaders determined that merging with other hospitals to form systems or conglomerates would be the most effective route. Yet, in order to accomplish this task the hospital administrators had to provide funding for their endeavor. Consequently it was found that one of the highest costs for the hospitals was labor, specifically nursing labor. Therefore, after some deliberation these hospital conglomerates elected to begin to reduce their nursing labor workforce in order to achieve the financial results that they desired."

Sample of Sources Used:

Boeree, C. (2006). Abraham Maslow. Personality Theories. Retrieved November 1, 2006, from http://www.ship.edu/~cgboeree/maslow.html
Marquez, L. (2006). Nursing shortage: How it may affect you. ABC News. Retrieved November 1, 2006, from http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/Health/story?id=1529546
Nursing facts: Nursing shortage. (2006). American Nurses Association. Retrieved November 1, 2006, from http://www.ana.org/readroom/fsshortage.htm
Nursing shortage in critical stage. (2003). CBS News. Retrieved November 1, 2006, from http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/01/17/60minutes/main536999.shtml