Nursing Workforce Shortage

Paper Summary:

The paper discusses the indicators and contributing factors to nursing workforce shortages. The paper then examines the impact and corrective measures necessary. The paper reveals that without intervention, the current nursing workforce shortage is only expected to grow. The paper concludes that there is much need for concern with the nursing shortage.

Outline:
Indicators
Contributing Factors
Impact
Corrective Measures
Conclusion

From the Paper:

"There has been much work to study the current and projected nursing workforce shortages because of their vast impact on healthcare and the nation in general. There is a current Registered Nurse national vacancy rate of 8.5% (American Association of Colleges of Nursing [AACN], 2007). These vacancy rates soar even higher when looking at evening and night shifts. Because nursing requires personal twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, three hundred and sixty-five days a year, healthcare facilities are having increased difficulty in filling "off shift" vacancies. Of hospitals surveyed in 2006, "off-shift" vacancies were reported in 77% to 85% of hospitals (Nursing vacancies decline, 2006)."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Aiken, L., Clarke, S., Cheung, R., Sloane, D., & Silber, J. (2003). Educational Levels of Hospital Nurses and Surgical Patient Mortality. Journal of American Medical Association , 290, 1617 - 1623.
• Aiken, L., Clarke, S., Sloane, D., Sochalski, J., Busse, R., Clarke, H., et al. (2001). Nurses' reports on hospital care in five countries. Health Affair, 20 (3), 43-53.
• American Association of Colleges of Nursing. (2007, March). Nursing Shortage. Retrieved July 5, 2007, from American Association of Colleges of Nursing: www.aacn.nche.edu/Media/FactSheets/NursingShortage.htm
• American Hospital Association. (2006). The State of America's Hospitals - Taking the Pulse. Chicago: American Hospital Association.
• Auerbach D., Buerhaus P., & Staiger D. (2007). Better Late Than Never: Workforce Supply Implications of Later Entry Into Nursing. 26 (1), 178-185.

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