The Impact of the Most Recent Nursing Shortage 1. Problems associated with nursing shortages are not new. With some exceptions, the United States has experienced a chronic nursing shortage for the last half a century. Yet, there is something different about the current acute shortage. Driven by a worldwide pandemic in addition to the complexity of the healthcare system in general, this shortage has huge consequences. Approximately 100,000 Registered Nurses and 34,000 Licensed Practical/Vocational Nurses have left the workforce in the last two years as a result of stress, burnout, and retirement. These findings from the 2022 National Nursing Workforce Survey are quite alarming. However, additional findings paint an even more disturbing picture. Another 610,388 nurses reported an “intent to leave” the workforce by 2027. An additional 188,962 RNs younger than forty reported similar intentions to leave nursing. Altogether, approximately one-fifth of RNs nationally are projected to leave the workforce by 2027 (Smiley, Allgeyer, 2023). Moving forward, we may think that nurses’ workload will improve as COVID-19 wanes. Yet, the healthcare delivery system is likely to remain chaotic for the foreseeable future. In addition, data from research reported by Joi (2022) suggests that the annual probability of extreme epidemics occurring could increase threefold in the coming decades. The probability of a pandemic similar to COVID-19 is about 2% in any given year. Since much of the world is still reeling from the shock of the pandemic, additional extreme medical conditions that further tax healthcare workers must be considered possible. The researchers in Joi’s (2022) report emphasized the urgency to develop plans for rapid response to disease outbreaks, building capacity for pandemic surveillance, strengthening health systems, and increasing research to understand why large outbreaks are becoming more common. The crisis of the current nursing shortage is being addressed by numerous groups. For example, (Beal, 2022), Beckers Hospital Review reports on the recommendations of a 2022 Nursing Staffing Think Tank, sponsored by the American Association of Critical Care Nurses, the American Nurses Association, the American Organization of Nurse Leaders, Healthcare Financial Managers Association, and Institute for Healthcare Improvement. The recommendations included six priorities for hospitals to address the shortage: 1. Promoting a healthy workplace. 2. Fostering diversity, equity and inclusion. 3. Offering work schedule flexibility. 4. Addressing the stress injury continuum. 5. Implementing innovative care delivery models. 6. Providing comprehensive compensation packages, including paid time off for self-care. (Beal, 2022) In addition, there have been widespread recommendations for federal, state, and local policy changes, such as financial assistance to increase the number of nurse educators available to teach more students. In the midst of all these approaches designed to address the problems brought about by a chaotic healthcare environment, what can nurse educators do to prepare students? Developing nursing students who have sufficient resilience to move through challenging times without significant burnout is a responsibility that nurse educators are in a position to assume. Healthcare is unlikely to be significantly less stressful for health professionals going forward. However, developing resiliency can be an antidote to negative stress. The American Psychology Association defines resilience as the process and outcome of successfully adapting to difficult or challenging life experiences, especially through mental, emotional, and behavioral flexibility and adjustment to external and internal demand. The ways in which individuals view and engage with the world, the availability and quality of social resources, and the ability to apply specific coping solutions increases the individual’s resiliency to stress and burnout. Psychological research has demonstrated that developing resilience can be cultivated and practiced (https://www.apa.org/topics/resilience).
2
Powered by FlippingBook