Table of ContentsNursing Shortage Essay OutlineIntroductionRecruitment Challenges and StereotypesImpact of an Aging PopulationIncreasing Nurse Workloads and FatigueNurse-Patient RatioMissed Nursing CareConclusionNursing Shortage Essay ExampleWorks CitedNursing Shortage Essay OutlineIntroductionIntroduction to the significance of nurses in healthcareProblem statement: Nursing shortage in New Zealand Recruitment challenges and stereotypes Difficulty in recruiting young people into nursing Influence of nursing stereotypes and media representation on career choices Impact of recruitment challenges on nursing shortages Impact of an aging population Increased demand for healthcare services, particularly in elderly care Expected growth in the need for elderly healthcare workers and nurses Consequences of recruitment difficulties in the context of an aging population Increased workloads and fatigue of nurses Effect of Nursing shortages on nurse workloads Burnout among nurses due to expansion of roles and workload The relationship between nurse fatigue and patient safety Nurse-patient ratio Alteration nurse-patient patient ratio due to staffing shortages Impact on patient safety , on error rates and health outcomes Examples and statistics illustrating the consequences of changes in nurse/patient ratios Missed nursing care Definition and meaning of missed nursing care Causes of missed nursing care, including staffing shortages Impact on quality and quality of patient care outcomesConclusionSummary of key points related to nursing shortages and their consequencesOverall impact on the nursing profession and the quality of patient careSample essay on nursing shortageNurses are a vital component of the healthcare workforce. They do more than just take care of sick patients, they are technical experts, educators, consultants and many more. However, they remain on the long-term skills shortage list in New Zealand. This assignment will investigate issues surrounding the healthcare workforce shortage and its impact on the nursing profession. The quality of care that nurses provide to patients affects their recovery and health outcomes. However, there has been a clear trend towards a shortage of nurses and, as a result, nurses face difficulties in providing satisfactory care to their patients. Factors such as increased workload, altered nurse-to-patient ratios, and missed care are one of the consequences of the shortage crisis that reduces the quality of patient care. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay One factor contributing to the nursing shortage is difficulty recruiting among young people. In a recent study, Pool (2012) takes into account that to improve the recruitment and retention of nurses, young people must first focus on improving the social value of the nursing profession. In this study, a group of young students were asked what their opinion was towards nursing. Research highlights that nursing stereotypes are one factor influencing why young people do not choose nursing as a career. One participant identified the nurse's role based on taskswhich according to her they do. He quotes: “It's [nursing] just like doctors, but doctors are more qualified. They [nurses] do things with people. I don't know... they carry the booklet around or help the doctors; the doctor's right hand." The research highlights that this mentality that young people viewed nursing as inferior to doctors is consistent with many other studies. Furthermore, participants stated that their inclination towards a nursing career is influenced by media The nursing profession rarely appears in the media as it is mentioned in only “4% of cases out of 2,000 health-related articles from 16 publications”. Their lack of visibility in the media has had a negative impact on the profession as they are not seen as experts or as key leaders and therefore are not good sources for the media. For this reason, nursing as a career choice was invisible to these young participants due to the absence of a positive nursing role portrayed in the media recruiting young people into nursing schools plays a huge role in why there is a shortage of nurses. A further factor and consequence contributing to the nursing shortage in New Zealand is the aging population. As the population survives longer, the need for healthcare services such as professional nurses increases. Evidently – within 10 years – there is a likelihood of a 75% increase in demand for healthcare workers and nurses for aged care, due to approximately 20,000 people requiring residential aged care facilities. With the difficulty of recruiting young people into the workforce, the elderly care nursing profession is facing a crisis. Due to the shortages facing the nursing profession, nurses experience increased workloads. As a result, this work intensification induces fatigue among nurses, thus compromising patient safety. An article written by "Nursing Praxis in New Zealand" found that almost 1/3 of New Zealand nurses reported increased involvement in non-nursing clinical activities. Nearly 2/3 of New Zealand respondents reported an increase in clerical and administrative tasks and 40% reported the amount of time spent on their medical role had increased over the past 12 months. In addition to long shifts and assigned roles, it is evident that many nurses overwork, leading to “burnout.” An increasing number of nurses are experiencing burnout due to the expansion of their roles which has consequential effects on care delivery, thus compromising patient safety. High rates of burnout have important implications for the quality of care provided to patients and consequently patient outcomes. An example of the effects of nursing fatigue can be seen in an infamous 2007 case, in which a Wisconsin nurse accidentally killed a patient by giving him intravenous bupivacaine intended for an epidural that had not been prescribed. According to the case, “the nurse had been working her regular eight-hour shift and had volunteered to work an extra shift that same day. Scheduled for the 7am shift on July 5th, she slept in the hospital at the end of the two shifts.” In summary, as the samples show, the burnout rate our nurses face due to increased workload is a consequence of the shortage crisis. Nurse fatigue has a negative impact on the quality of patient care as they have the most intimate contact with their patients, therefore, fatigue-related errorsthey can start a chain of inadequate patient care that can be fatal. Due to staff shortages and an increasing number of patients admitted to hospitals, the nurse/patient ratio is negatively altered. This shortage poses a threat to patient safety as it increases error, morbidity, and mortality rates. According to a thesis written on patient safety, a nurse – in a New Zealand hospital – said the nurse-to-patient ratio changed from 1:4 to 1:7. This unbalanced ratio can be very taxing on a nurse and can compromise the delivery of patient care. The thesis highlights an important point where the risk of patient falls increases due to the shortage of nursing staff. Patient falls can often be prevented, but it is a challenge that nurses face due to lack of numbers, so not all patients are rigorously monitored. One case involved a patient with dementia who was placed in a room not easily visible from the nurses' station. The department was understaffed and nurses were “running around frantically”. The patient fell and broke his hip while going to the bathroom. At that time there were no nurses around. Occasionally the staff shortage was aggravated by absenteeism due to illness. As fewer nurses are in contact with more patients, the risk of spreading infections and other illnesses that affects patient safety and the nursing profession increases. The author highlights that on one occasion 26 nurses had called in sick but, due to the shortage, only 7 could be replaced. One study found that each additional patient per nurse was associated with a 7% increase in mortality and non-rescue rates for patients, a 23% increase in the odds of burnout, and a 15% increase in the odds of job dissatisfaction for patients. the nurses. The study concludes that the impact of a higher number of registered nurses was associated with improved patient care and outcomes. Therefore, a good supply of nurses in the workforce is likely to provide adequate patient care. Due to insufficient staffing ratios, nurses may prioritize certain aspects of care, some of which are less important than others, resulting in some nursing care being delayed or missed. Missed nursing care is generally defined as any aspect of needed patient care that is excluded or delayed. The quality of care provided by nurses is of utmost importance to patient outcome. It is very likely that when there are not enough staff members available, a nurse may not be able to complete all necessary care for patients. Therefore, as highlighted previously, there are notable impacts on patient outcomes, such as medication errors, pressure ulcers, and patient falls. A thesis written by Conelis Teekman found that nursing assessment documentation was not always completed and was unlikely to be reviewed. It was customary for some parts of the assessment form to be completed without consulting the patient. This could be detrimental to patient safety. Furthermore; Teekman determined that although some patients' basic needs were not being met, such as showering or not getting out of bed, this did not mean care was being neglected but rather "undone because in the bigger picture of keeping patients alive" . : This is just an example. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Get a custom essay To conclude the essay, the deficiency-19..