Nursing Shortage Essay
Causes That Attribute to the Nursing Shortage
Sheina Serrano
Felician University
Causes That Attribute to the Nursing Shortage
Nursing is a wonderful and reward filling profession to embark on. Nursing programs are becoming more intense and may require a higher degree of education to work in specialty fields. In spite of having many nursing and certification programs available, whether on campus or online, along with many graduates’ yearly, we still have a deficit in this profession. It is apparent that the nursing shortage has been an ongoing problem for countless years. There are several issues that influence this shortage including injuries, mandatory overtime, the aging generation vs. the new generation, and job …show more content…
If nurses are constantly challenged in a negative way, that starts to take a toll on the nurse’s overall well-being. If this continues, it will no longer be that reward filling profession it was once to our nurses. Demands in the nursing profession are very extreme and people also want to live a life outside of work. If mandatory overtime continues in this way due to the shortage, I feel like people will lose interest in this field. Those already working in the field may leave nursing all together for something that is better suited for their lifestyle. Shortage does not only affect the nursing profession, but it is also affecting health care as a whole. It has been found that effects of lack of sleep can be related to being under the influence of alcohol. Depending on the number of hours you have been awake it may be equivalent to having a blood alcohol level of 0.05-0.10 (Dolamo et al., 2012). Extended shifts over 12.5 hours have shown to increase injuries and car accidents (Dolamo et al., 2012). Nurses should not be subjected to this because not only can it be a safety issue for the nurse but the patient as well. With lack of sleep and extreme fatigue it can result in slowed reaction and cause disregard to detail which may cause medication errors and can lead to lawsuits (Dolamo et al.,
Sheina Serrano
Felician University
Causes That Attribute to the Nursing Shortage
Nursing is a wonderful and reward filling profession to embark on. Nursing programs are becoming more intense and may require a higher degree of education to work in specialty fields. In spite of having many nursing and certification programs available, whether on campus or online, along with many graduates’ yearly, we still have a deficit in this profession. It is apparent that the nursing shortage has been an ongoing problem for countless years. There are several issues that influence this shortage including injuries, mandatory overtime, the aging generation vs. the new generation, and job …show more content…
If nurses are constantly challenged in a negative way, that starts to take a toll on the nurse’s overall well-being. If this continues, it will no longer be that reward filling profession it was once to our nurses. Demands in the nursing profession are very extreme and people also want to live a life outside of work. If mandatory overtime continues in this way due to the shortage, I feel like people will lose interest in this field. Those already working in the field may leave nursing all together for something that is better suited for their lifestyle. Shortage does not only affect the nursing profession, but it is also affecting health care as a whole. It has been found that effects of lack of sleep can be related to being under the influence of alcohol. Depending on the number of hours you have been awake it may be equivalent to having a blood alcohol level of 0.05-0.10 (Dolamo et al., 2012). Extended shifts over 12.5 hours have shown to increase injuries and car accidents (Dolamo et al., 2012). Nurses should not be subjected to this because not only can it be a safety issue for the nurse but the patient as well. With lack of sleep and extreme fatigue it can result in slowed reaction and cause disregard to detail which may cause medication errors and can lead to lawsuits (Dolamo et al.,