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Current Issues in Nursing

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Current Issues in Nursing
Current Issues of Nurses Today

Submitted by:
Lindsay G. Bunyi, RN

PUBLICIZED ISSUES OF NURSES

● Number of Pinoy nurses seeking US jobs fell by 42% in 2011 from 9,789 in 2010 to only 5,630 in 2011. The US labor market for foreign nurses is getting overcrowded.

● Extended Hours Issues in Nursing: Exploring the Problems, Finding the Solutions
By:Acacia Aguirre, M.D., Ph.D. and Ann L. Curley, Ph. D., R.N.

The challenges of operating 24/7, focusing on scheduling, training, and staffing. Despite projections that nursing is one of the top ten growth jobs for the next 15 years, our health care system is on the verge of an overwhelming nurse shortage and health care crisis. Adding to the problem is the fact that hospitals and many other health care facilities are extended hours operations that face unique challenges unknown to the 9-5 world.

Hazards for nurses discussed in the book: * Health care shows the second highest turnover rate of all “extended hours” industries * Nursing is one of the ten industries with the highest levels of occupational injury or illness requiring days away from work. * The most prevalent injuries in nursing are musculoskeletal disorders and needlestick injuries. In 89% of needlesticks, the needle was contaminated. * Work related fatigue prompted nearly 20% of nurses to cite “having an accident while commuting back home” as one of the top three jobs related health and safety risks. * Nurses show high instances of sleep disorders severely affecting productivity. * High failure and short staffing severely affect quality of patient care.

●Problems With Nursing Informatics
By: Heidi Cardenas
Informatics is the process of advancing in a discipline with a combination of data, information and knowledge. Nursing informatics encompasses the devices, machines, resources, and methods of utilizing information, computers, and nursing science in nursing. It's a recognized specialty for registered nurses, but

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