Nursing Shortage and The Future of The Profession

The existence of health discrimination among racial and ethnic minorities is a significant problem within the health care industry and is a topic of importance. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) indicates that the frequency of injury, incapacity, illness, and death is excessively greater in minority people.

The impact of dissimilarities can bother many different people in many different ways. Suggestions of this may involve reduced quality of living, an increased chance of an early demise, or maybe even a loss of possibility for economic development. Furthermore, there is a rise in disability associated with deteriorating health, and consequently increasing costs of health care could also create an increased economic difficulty to the general public.

The identified details are why the situation is imperative to address the many differentiations to all of the specific racial and/or ethnic people. One objective of this essay is that the minority society and the increased risks they acquire within this particular population be studied. The cultural and socioeconomic barriers to health will be looked at and the influence of ethnicity, race, and socioeconomic standing will be reviewed.

The Problem Identified

Minorities are far too often discriminated against for a multitude of reasons, some of which are completely out of their own control. Statistically, Hispanic Americans experience socioeconomic barriers contradictory to their non-Hispanic counterparts. Differences like this may include lesser education which results in little pay and a greater predisposition to working out in the fields which is known to many present work-related dangers. The number of lower than average living situations with much larger chemicals and pest/rodent infiltrations are socioeconomic blockades to health in this particular population. An additional preventive to satisfactory health care in the Hispanic community may be a different language factor, although the Pew Research Center indicated the percent of Hispanics that speak English fluently, in 2013 achieved a high of sixty-eight percent (Krogstad et al., 2015).

From another view, many are afraid that repatriate can pose as a problem to Latino immigrants who have migrated to the United States illegally and have yet to become a citizen, those who appear in this class might put off any remedy until it is absolutely essential. Furthermore, minorities are extremely underinsured as compared to the non-minority people, offering more economic blockades when obtaining care from a health care professional.

Nursing shortages continue to be a growing issue in the healthcare industry which could change culture enormously and involves a great number of things. Overall, those who remain in the healthcare profession continue to experience a discredit in society’s view because the result of remaining incapable to maintain the demands of healthcare. Unfortunately, the professionals who remain in nursing continue to take the impact. As nurses become overworked and burned out, they, unfortunately, take their frustration out on their vulnerable patients those being the minority. Nursing shortage has such a huge impact that we often question if nurses are being more judgmental because of the shortage and lack of compassion because they are being overworked and nearing burnout.

Strategies to Eliminate the Nursing Shortage

The nursing shortage has been addressed numerous times at various levels and continues to be addressed today. There have been a number of different actions that have been looked at and taken into consideration in hope to derive a solution to this problem that seems to be getting worse as the years go on. Nevertheless, the ideas continually seem to fail. Some of the approaches that were taken seem to have been approved ultimately in order to reduce patient to nurse ratios. There have been many studies correlating that lengthened work hours leads to unsatisfactory outcomes with patients as well as a dip and patient satisfaction (Jennings, 2008). This tradition still remains, with what seems to be very little progress with the overall outcome. They’re many nurses who choose to work overtime for other reasons primarily the motivating factor is to help people, as well as extra money, and a possible feeling of inadequacy with the pressure to keep one job even when unable to manage heavy workloads (Burns, 2016).

Strategy Number One

One of the strategies would be that facilities could hire nurses that are either in a registry or go through an agency to hire nurses or they could even consider hiring nurses who travel to the area during peak times which would allow them to almost guarantee there will be an adequate amount of staffing at the most busiest of times. Incentives where offered in the form of money, scholarships, electronics, or paying off student loans were used to entice staff to work a heavier than average workload (Tourangeau et al., 2012). It is imperative that management in this particular field to perfect the factors that influence the staff, pledging to reduce the number of patient turnovers and to also uncover what the supporting causes are for these types of issues. The more experienced nursing staff would more than likely be able to offer a tremendous amount of information and some type of insight on what might be some of the causes of such fast turnover and help identify a system that demonstrates the efficiency in maintaining ones employment.

Strategy Number Two

Department leaders could explore various approaches to decreases the overhead without conceding a safe nurse patient number. Investigating other ways of waste savings and expanding sources, executives might be capable of fighting for extra means and also for other staff to help ensure that the staff and patient safe.

Other things that the leaders might consider doing to facilitate and decrease the impacts of the shortage in nursing might be to encourage a collaboration with the local nursing schools as enticements for any new staff members that could possibly be acquired and also encourage experienced staff to begin and continue effective communication with their management. Doing this, will increase educational opportunities as well as provide support and funding for nurses of the future.

Strategy Number Three

Since administrators have a responsibility to control factors that lead to abnormal rate of staff turnover, they must come up with a way to maintain the valuable team members, they should begin by creating as well as continue to have an encouraging and supportive setting. Well-organized and efficient management which might include things such as quality listening abilities as well as encourages independence which also gives credit for high-level accomplishments and expert work ethic. Offering acknowledgement for exceptional work achievements frequently boosts and inspires similar behaviors. When some have to speak about insignificant performing circumstances, management must approach this in a unbiassed and positive way. They should also create an effort to determine if sufficient help was there to support enhancements as well as offer anything that would aid in doing so. They could also make certain staff members are furnished with sufficient supplies and adequate nurse to patient ratios. Encourage staff to be become part of the policymaking development and also boost the team’s confidence and determination by involving them and making them feel like they are truly a part of a team.

The Impact of the Nursing Shortage on Quality of Care

Healthcare companies all over the United States are suffering from several disturbing effects of professional healthcare shortages, specifically nurses. It is sometimes almost impossible for nurses to get to patients in an appropriate amount of time which could possibly lead to avoidable problems, for such as increased pain and mortality. Imaging studies, procedures and lab tests take much longer, for instance, it could impede on diagnosing a potential problem which could possibly delay necessary treatment. Nurses are swamped with the excessive patient and workloads that are unfair and unsafe. Regardless of their workload or patient load nurses are continually required to complete their responsibilities in an appropriate, safe and competent way. These factors provide an increased potential for caregiver burnout as well as adverse outcomes and overall dissatisfaction for the profession.

Regardless of these trends, healthcare and the nursing profession is still one of the most respected occupations (Cockey, 2005). Nurses are known to stay devoted to their profession regardless of family responsibilities, fatigue and general dissatisfaction in their profession. When nurses lack adequate periods of rest in between shifts, this results in emotional and physical fatigue which can contribute to a considerable number of nurses who experience burnout.

When we talk about culture developing core competency is a chapter that never ends. Nurses must learn what is basis are we trustworthy, each culture see’s certain behaviors as disrespectful as well as respectful so we should take time to learn these and what behaviors support the cultural decisions and care beliefs. These incidents are just a few examples of how the subject of cultural competence is attracting increased attention given the concern with improving access, eliminating racial and ethnic health disparities, and providing more culturally competent, high-quality care to diverse populations (Cross-Cultural Challenges: Improving the Quality of Care for Diverse Populations, 2019).

QSEN Competencies Applied to Chosen Problem

Some of the competencies we could apply to discrimination of minority groups would be to better education. Learning and understanding the different cultures and their belief is beneficial when caring for others who do not have the same beliefs as you. Immigrants have also been discriminated against, though as they assimilate and new immigrants enter, the targets shift (Bulatao et al., 2011). When a different culture migrates to an area, they seem to be the new target of discrimination while the culture who was targeted is no longer the immediate target.

QSEN Competency Number One

Entering into the world of the minority population and learning how they live. Learning why they live the way they do could give a better understanding of the life they live and why they make the decisions that they do especially when it comes to healthcare. If getting directly into their lives gives us a better understanding, then it should start immediately with nursing students and be something that could be required for CEU’s.

QSEN Competency Number Two

In order to gain a better understanding of things you typically do research to learn more, why doesn’t anyone do research on the many different cultures we take care of. Why is it that a healthcare provider doesn’t quickly look up a patient’s cultural background before entering a room to simply get a very basic understanding of their culture and beliefs. With just a few simple steps enhanced care could be given to a patient who is of a minority group. Though we do not take the time to do some very simple things we have no problem discriminating because we ultimately did not take a little extra effort or make a commitment to learn more.

ANA advances the nursing profession by fostering high standards of nursing practice, promoting the economic and general welfare of nurses in the workplace, projecting a positive and realistic view of nursing, and lobbying Congress and the regulatory agencies on health care issues affecting nurses and the public .

Although the impression of socioeconomic, ethical and racial dissimilarities may demonstrate a critical problem for nurses and healthcare in the Latino population, the effect of educating with regard to reducing the threat cannot be underestimated. Once providers commit to delivering ethnically capable treatment to the Latino population the guidance of integral dissimilarities can be significantly reduced, directing all to acquire improved outcomes for the entire population.