Health and economics 3 | Nursing homework help
The nursing shortage is a serious problem that can have major implications for both healthcare providers and patients. It is a result of many factors including an aging population, increased demand for healthcare services, shortages in nurse educators, inadequate working conditions and pay, and lack of incentives to attract new nurses.
1) Increase funding: Increasing the funding allocated to health care organizations can be one way to address the nursing shortage. This would help provide better wages and working conditions for nurses as well as allow hospitals to hire more personnel.
2) Expand Nursing Education Programs: Increasing access to nursing programs by expanding online options or increasing capacity at existing schools could help alleviate some of the shortage issues by training more new nurses each year.
3) Improve Working Conditions: Improving working conditions such as providing better pay, more flexible work schedules, improved benefits packages, tuition reimbursement programs etc., could make it more attractive to join the profession or stay in it.
4) Promote Professional Development Opportunities: Providing opportunities such as certification courses or education assistance programs would help nurses keep their skills up-to-date which would benefit them personally while also benefiting their employers.
5) Improve Recruitment Efforts: Healthcare facilities should focus on recruitment efforts aimed at attracting both current and potential nurses into their organization either through job fairs or other methods of outreach such as social media campaigns.
The series of events that led to this shortage began with changes in demographics starting in 2010 when Baby Boomers started reaching retirement age combined with an increase in chronic illnesses due demands from patients who are living longer than ever before creating a higher demand for medical services due to an aging population needing more care and treatment than ever before; this created a shift that increased the need for professional healthcare workers especially RN’s (Registered Nurses). As larger numbers of RN’s retired without enough young professionals entering into the field there was an imbalance between supply (nurses available), versus demand (patients requiring care); leading us into our current state where we have fewer people qualified within this profession creating what has become known today as “the nursing shortage”