Nurse Staffing Shortages

Nowadays, more and more people have became aware of nurse staffing shortages. Nurses play a critical role in our daily healthcare needs, when there are not sufficient nurses, the health and security of our society may be impacted. Let's look at some facts first:

• According to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, 90% of long term-care organizations lack sufficient nurse staffing to provide even the most basic of care.
• A study published by Johnson & Johnson in February of 2002 revealed that there was a current estimated shortage of 126,000 registered nurses in hospitals nationwide--a dearth that is expected to grow to more than 400,000 vacancies in healthcare facilities by 2020.
• The AONE survey showed national vacancy rates for RN's range from 14.6% in critical-care units to 6.5% for nurse managers.
• Over one-third (34%) of hospitals report increased patient complaints or decreased patient satisfaction because of the shortages. Over one-half (59%) report that RN's feel that it is more difficult to provide quality care due to the workforce shortage.
• The 76 million member baby boom generation is aging and is increasing demands for more healthcare services. Together with this fact is the aging of nurses themselves. The average age of RN is expected to increased from 43.3 in 2000 to 50 in 2010.

Due to the declining quality of healthcare caused by nurse staffing shortages, in January of 2002, California became the first state to adopt minimum nurse-to-patient ratios. Since then, many state have followed this model.

However, although hospital administrators are calling for more nurses to be trained, the California Nurses Association has emphasized improving work conditions as the best way to attract more nurses. Two recent events may support this conclusion:

1. According to a study released in December 2004 in The Journal of Nursing Administration, "It's fair to say it will take many years of research before we know how much ratios directly improve patient care."
2. State regulators discovered that more than half the hospitals they checked were in violation of California's strict nurse-to-patient ratios. This was found in 18 of 28 hospitals and can presumably apply to the overall situation.

In a white paper published by Joint Commission, the following strategies are recommended to relieve the evolving nurse staffing shortages:

1. Create organizational cultures of retention.
2. Bolster the nursing educational infrastructure.
3. Establish financial incentives for investing in nursing.

This nursing crisis has also created opportunities in travel nursing employment and nurse staffing services.