NURS 6050 Assignment: Analysis of a Pertinent Healthcare Issue Essay

NURS 6050 Assignment: Analysis of a Pertinent Healthcare Issue Essay

NURS 6050 Assignment: Analysis of a Pertinent Healthcare Issue Essay

Analysis of a Pertinent Healthcare Issue Sample Essay

Nurses and healthcare organizations encounter a host of issues that affect their delivery of care to patients and health populations. Frameworks like the Quadruple Aim offer a host of goals for individuals to pursue so as to maintain and enhance healthcare. The changes and reforms in healthcare sector mean that healthcare providers and organizations will always encounter challenges like the nurse staffing shortage amidst a rising demand for care and need to reduce costs (Broome & Marshall, 2021). The purpose of this paper is to analyze nurse staffing or personnel shortage in healthcare sector and how organizations are navigating the issue to meet rising patient needs, reduce costs, and offer high quality care.

ORDER A PLAGIARISM-FREE PAPER HERE ON; NURS 6050 Assignment: Analysis of a Pertinent Healthcare Issue Essay

Description of Nursing Shortage

Nursing shortage entails the lack of sufficient levels of staff to meet the legal requirements or ratios for effective care delivery. Different sources and organizations, including federal agencies like the Bureau of Labor Statistics estimate that the number of available nursing jobs would increase compared to all professions (ANA, 2022). The BLS attributes this rise to newly created roles, nurses leaving the profession for other areas, and those retiring due to age. The implication is that these factors will lead to the creation of over 175,000 openings for registered nurses every year until 2029 (Department of Labor, 2022). The agency opines that within this period, more openings will occur simultaneously among other advance practice roles like nurse practitioners, nurse midwives and even anesthetists.

In our organization, nurse shortage is a critical issue as evident through the need for nurses to work for long hours and having few of them per shift. These working conditions mean that nurses experience stress, burnout and fatigue as well as being susceptible to events like medication errors. Nurses also have to endure increased workload that makes them to experience mental exhaustion since they cannot undertake their duties effectively. Again, nurses in the organization do not get leadership support since the reporting procedure and policy for medication errors lacks sufficient safeguards to protect them from any litigations. For instance, two nurses left the organization last month because of these issues and lack of effective mechanism to solve the ever rising shortage of personnel, especially when handling emergencies in the emergency room.

Summary of Two Articles on Nursing Shortage

Nursing shortage is not just a national healthcare issue but also a global one that affects the health industry in many countries, especially in developing nations. However, developed nations like the United States also face increased shortages of nurses, including specialty nurses to meet the rising care needs as a result of reforms in the industry. The first article by Aiken et al. (2022) explores the issue of nursing shortage before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study notes that before and during the pandemic, many healthcare organizations experience nurse shortages leading to high levels of nurse burnout. The authors note the need for healthcare facilities to improve their nurse ratios to attain better outcomes and prevent chronic hospital understaffing.

The second article by Shah et al. (2021) explores the prevalence and factors leading to nurse burnout in the U.S. The authors are categorical that one of the factors causing burnout among nurses is nurse shortage as the remaining nurses carry on the workload of others to offer patient care. The implication is that nurses leave their profession and organizations because of burnout and fatigue since they face a myriad of patients with diverse health conditions. Again, the study by Bourgault et al. (2022) emphasizes the effects of burnout associated with the current problem of nursing shortage. While addressing this issue requires data informed and country or setting-unique approach, it is no doubt that nurse shortage is a serious healthcare stressor for nurses and healthcare organizations.

Addressing Nursing Shortage in Other Organizations

Organizations vary in their approach to nursing shortage based on the interventions that they initiate and implement. A majority of organizations are addressing the issue through innovative care models that reduce the demand for in-person interactions between nurses and patients. These include telehealth and telemedicine as evidence-based practice approaches to address the issue. The implication is that they are investing in health technologies to allow them offer better patient care to diverse patient populations. Organizations are also seeking better ways to retain their nurses and reduce nurse turnover through incentives like professional development opportunities and better working conditions (Spurlock Jr., 2020). They are ensuring that they have a satisfied nursing staff that is dedicated to offering quality care.

Summary of Strategies

According to the two articles, addressing the issue of nurse staffing shortage requires a collaborative effort and leveraging technology as well as promoting primary care interventions to reduce demand for care in facilities. Primary health promotion ensures that individuals reduce their susceptibility and vulnerability to diverse conditions while leveraging technologies means that organizations can integrate better and innovative ways to meet care demands.

These strategies may impact the organization positively and negatively if it decides to implement them. positively, it will mean that the organization will address shortage and improve its care delivery. It will mean that the entity can attain the Quadruple Aim goals (Drennan et al., 2019). However, it requires investment in these technologies and what they portend for diverse patients, especially improving their outcomes and access to care services. The organization should also invest in better conditions and terms of service for its staff.

Conclusion

Nursing shortage requires interventions that will help reduce its prevalence and allow organizations to attain better nurse to patient ratios. The effects of nurse shortage are profound and having technologies may help improve the current situation. More fundamentally, engagement of all stakeholders is necessary to improve quality outcomes.

References

Aiken, L. H., Sloane, D. M., McHugh, M. D., Pogue, C. A., & Lasater, K. B. (2022). A repeated

cross-sectional study of nurses immediately before and during the Covid-19 pandemic: Implications for action. Nursing Outlook, 101903. DOI: 10.1016/j.outlook.2022.11.007

American Nurses Association (ANA). (2022). Nurses in the Workforce.

https://www.nursingworld.org/practice-policy/workforce/

Bourgault, A. M. (2022). The nursing shortage and work expectations are in critical condition: is

anyone listening? Critical Care Nurse, 42(2), 8-11. https://doi.org/10.4037/ccn2022909

Broome, M., & Marshall, E. S. (2021). Transformational leadership in nursing: From expert

            clinician to influential leader (3rd ed.). New York, NY: Springer.

Department of Labor (2022). US Department of Labor announces $80M funding opportunity to

help train, expand, diversify nursing workforce; address shortage of nurses. https://www.dol.gov/newsroom/releases/eta/eta20221003

Drennan, V. M., & Ross, F. (2019). Global nurse shortages: the facts, the impact and action for

change. British medical bulletin, 130(1), 25-37. https://doi.org/10.1093/bmb/ldz014

Shah, M. K., Gandrakota, N., Cimiotti, J. P., Ghose, N., Moore, M., & Ali, M. K. (2021).

Prevalence of and factors associated with nurse burnout in the US. JAMA network open, 4(2), e2036469-e2036469. DOI:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2020.36469

Spurlock Jr, D. (2020). The nursing shortage and the future of nursing education is in our hands.

Journal of Nursing Education, 59(6), 303-304. DOI: 10.3928/01484834-20200520-01.

Yang, Y. T., & Mason, D. J. (2022). COVID-19’s impact on nursing shortages, the rise of travel

nurses, and price gouging. Health Affairs Forefront.

DOI: 10.1377/forefront.20220125.695159

BUY A CUSTOM-PAPER HERE ON; NURS 6050 Assignment: Analysis of a Pertinent Healthcare Issue Essay

• Broome, M., & Marshall, E. S. (2021). Transformational leadership in nursing: From expert clinician to influential leader (3rd ed.). New York, NY: Springer.
o Chapter 2, “Transformational Leadership: Complexity, Change, and Strategic Planning” (pp. 34–62)
o Chapter 3, “Current Challenges in Complex Health Care Organizations and the Quadruple Aim” (pp. 66–97)
Read any TWO of the following (plus TWO additional readings on your selected issue):
• Auerbach, D. I., Staiger, D. O., & Buerhaus, P. I. (2018). Growing ranks of advanced practice clinicians—Implications for the physician workforceLinks to an external site.. New England Journal of Medicine, 378(25), 2358–2360.
• Gerardi, T., Farmer, P., & Hoffman, B. (2018). Moving closer to the 2020 BSN-prepared workforce goal.Links to an external site. American Journal of Nursing, 118(2), 43–45.
• Jacobs, B., McGovern, J., Heinmiller, J., & Drenkard, K. (2018). Engaging employees in well-being: Moving from the Triple Aim to the Quadruple AimLinks to an external site.. Nursing Administration Quarterly, 42(3), 231–245.
• Norful, A. A., de Jacq, K., Carlino, R., & Poghosyan, L. (2018). Nurse practitioner–physician comanagement: A theoretical model to alleviate primary care strainLinks to an external site.. Annals of Family Medicine, 16(3), 250–256.
• Palumbo, M., Rambur, B., & Hart, V. (2017). Is health care payment reform impacting nurses’ work settings, roles, and education preparation?Links to an external site. Journal of Professional Nursing, 33(6), 400–404.
• Park, B., Gold, S. B., Bazemore, A., & Liaw, W. (2018). How evolving United States payment models influence primary care and its impact on the Quadruple AimLinks to an external site.. Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine, 31(4), 588–604.
• Pittman, P., & Scully-Russ, E. (2016). Workforce planning and development in times of delivery system transformationLinks to an external site.. Human Resources for Health, 14(56), 1–15. doi:10.1186/s12960-016-0154-3. Retrieved from
https://human-resources-health.biomedcentral.com/track/pdf/10.1186/s12960-016-0154-3
• Poghosyan, L., Norful, A., & Laugesen, M. (2018). Removing restrictions on nurse practitioners’ scope of practice in New York state: Physicians’ and nurse practitioners’ perspectivesLinks to an external site.. Journal of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners, 30(6), 354–360.
• Ricketts, T., & Fraher, E. (2013). Reconfiguring health workforce policy so that education, training, and actual delivery of care are closely connectedLinks to an external site.. Health Affairs, 32(11), 1874–1880.
ANALYSIS OF A PERTINENT HEALTHCARE ISSUE
The Quadruple Aim provides broad categories of goals to pursue to maintain and improve healthcare. Within each goal are many issues that, if addressed successfully, may have a positive impact on outcomes. For example, healthcare leaders are being tasked to shift from an emphasis on disease management often provided in an acute care setting to health promotion and disease prevention delivered in primary care settings. Efforts in this area can have significant positive impacts by reducing the need for primary healthcare and by reducing the stress on the healthcare system.
Changes in the industry only serve to stress what has always been true; namely, that the healthcare field has always faced significant challenges, and that goals to improve healthcare will always involve multiple stakeholders. This should not seem surprising given the circumstances. Indeed, when a growing population needs care, there are factors involved such as the demands of providing that care and the rising costs associated with healthcare. Generally, it is not surprising that the field of healthcare is an industry facing multifaceted issues that evolve over time.
In this module’s Discussion, you reviewed some healthcare issues/stressors and selected one for further review. For this Assignment, you will consider in more detail the healthcare issue/stressor you selected. You will also review research that addresses the issue/stressor and write a white paper to your organization’s leadership that addresses the issue/stressor you selected.

To Prepare:
The Assignment (2-3 Pages):
Analysis of a Pertinent Healthcare Issue
Develop a 2 to 3 page paper, written to your organization’s leadership team, addressing your selected national healthcare issue/stressor and how it is impacting your work setting. Be sure to address the following: PERSONNEL SHORTAGES
• Describe the national healthcare issue/stressor you selected and its impact on your organization. Use organizational data to quantify the impact (if necessary, seek assistance from leadership or appropriate stakeholders in your organization).
• Various sources and organizations, including federal agencies like the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the American Nurses Association (ANA), project a rise in the number of available nursing jobs for the next five years, more than any other profession. The Bureau of Labor Statistics asserts that newly created roles, nurses leaving the profession, and those retiring will lead to the need for over 175,000 openings for registered nurses each year till 2029. The Bureau of Labor Statistics states categorically that many other advanced practice roles like nurse practitioners, nurse midwives, and nurse anesthetists will also be required during this time (Broome et al., 2021). The implication is that nursing staff shortages are a critical healthcare issue that needs evidence-based practice (EBP) interventions to address this issue.
• References
• Auerbach, D. I., Staiger, D. O., & Buerhaus, P. I. (2018). Growing ranks of advanced practice
• clinicians—Implications for the physician workforce. New England Journal of Medicine, 378(25), 2358–2360. DOI: 10.1056/NEJMp1801869.
• Broome, M., & Marshall, E. S. (2021). Transformational leadership in nursing: From expert
• clinician to influential leader (3rd ed.). New York, NY: Springer.
• Spurlock Jr, D. (2020). The nursing shortage and the future of nursing education is in our hands.
• Journal of Nursing Education, 59(6), 303-304. DOI: 10.3928/01484834-20200520-01.

• Provide a brief summary of the two articles you reviewed from outside resources on the national healthcare issue/stressor. Explain how the healthcare issue/stressor is being addressed in other organizations. SEE ABOVE
• Summarize the strategies used to address the organizational impact of national healthcare issues/stressors presented in the scholarly resources you selected. Explain how they may impact your organization both positively and negatively. Be specific and provide examples.
MY HEALTHCARE ISSUE – STAFF SHORTAGES