Respond to this discussion using two scholarly references APA format
Nursing staffing shortages are among the most significant national stressors within the United States healthcare system. Specifically, the nursing shortage has increased dramatically following the COVID-19 outbreak due to a rise in demand for healthcare services. Nurses enhance patient care quality, safety, efficiency, and timeliness to achieve desired health outcomes (Bakhamis et al., 2019). Additionally, nurses transform healthcare organizations through leadership roles (Broome & Marshall, 2021). Therefore, the nursing shortage affects the US healthcare system adversely.
The shortage of nurses has impacted our healthcare organization negatively. Nurses’ workload has increased substantially in the healthcare organization to meet the high demand for healthcare services. Studies show that healthcare outcomes in medical facilities significantly depend on nurses’ workload (Norful et al., 2018). Therefore, nurses’ job performance, productivity, and ability to provide high-quality and safe patient care have been compromised, resulting in adverse health outcomes. The social determinant with the most significant effect on the nursing shortage is the decrease in nursing graduates in the United States. A lower number of nurse graduates is a significant challenge facing the United States healthcare system (Chan et al., 2021). As a result, it is challenging to meet the high demand for nurses nationwide.
The management has introduced various measures to address the nursing shortage in the healthcare organization. First, the organization hires contract nurses to meet the high nurse demand. Additionally, nurses are hired depending on the demand for healthcare services. For instance, more critical care nurses are hired to meet the increased demand for healthcare services in the emergency department during the COVID-19 pandemic. These measures resolve nursing in the healthcare organization, improving the quality and safety of patient care.
References
Bakhamis, L., Paul, D.P., Smith, H., & Coustasse, A. (2019). Still an Epidemic: The Burnout Syndrome in Hospital Registered Nurses. Healthcare Management; 38(1):3-10
Broome, M., & Marshall, E. S. (2021). Transformational leadership in nursing: From expert clinician to influential leader (3rd ed.). New York, NY: Springer.
Chan, G. K., Bitton, J. R., Allgeyer, R. L., Elliott, D., Hudson, L. R., & Burwell, P. M. (2021). The impact of COVID-19 on the nursing workforce: a national overview. Online Journal of Issues in Nursing, 26(2), 1–17.
Norful, A. A., de Jacq, K., Carlino, R., & Poghosyan, L. (2018). Nurse practitioner–physician comanagement: A theoretical model to alleviate primary care strain. Annals of Family Medicine, 16(3), 250–256.