Nursing Workforce Shortage Research

Nursing Workforce Shortage Research

See instructions:  must be APA style and peer reviewed academic articles of last 5 years.  thank you

Review the Topic Materials and the work completed in NRS-433V to formulate a PICOT statement for your capstone project.

A PICOT starts with a designated patient population in a particular clinical area and identifies clinical problems or issues that arise from clinical care. The intervention should be an independent, specified nursing change intervention. The intervention cannot require a provider prescription. Include a comparison to a patient population not currently receiving the intervention, and specify the timeframe needed to implement the change process.

Formulate a PICOT statement using the PICOT format provided in the assigned readings. The PICOT statement will provide a framework for your capstone project Nursing Workforce Shortage Research.

In a paper of 500-750 words, clearly identify the clinical problem and how it can result in a positive patient outcome.

Make sure to address the following on the PICOT statement:

Evidence-Based Solution

Nursing Intervention

Patient Care

Health Care Agency

Nursing Practice

Prepare this assignment according to the guidelines found in the APA Style Guide, located in the Student Success Center. An abstract is not required.

This assignment uses a rubric. Please review the rubric prior to beginning the assignment to become familiar with the expectations for successful completion.

ORDER A FREE-PLAGIARISM PAPER NOW

Nursing workforce shortage is a source of concern in the US health industry. The concern arises from an increasing demand for nurses that is not matched by supply. The issues has been occasioned by an aging nurse workforce, more knowledgeable patient population whose expectations are rising, and increasing cost of healthcare (Buerhaus et al., 2017). The issue is further complicated by poor nurse retention figures that indicate likely worsening of the current issue and future demand. The reality is that nurse population in the US is significantly lower than the national population with unfavorable nurse-patient ratios (Kurnat-Thorma et al., 2017). As a result, low nurse populations in relation to patient population is a source of concern.

As earlier indicated, the reality is that the US is facing a nursing shortage. As nursing education programs accept fewer students, nursing personnel approach the age of retirement, and the Baby Boomers advance in age, the current nursing shortage is only anticipated to continue, if not worsen. This state of affairs has serious implication for medical facilities and nursing personnel within the workforce, but perhaps the more significant effect is felt by patient who require nursing care to facilitate their recuperation (Mincer, 2017; Russell, 2016). That is because nursing personnel are forced to work for longer hours and more shifts within a stressful environment, with the outcome that nurses report higher dissatisfaction levels, injury and fatigue incidences. The overworked nurses who operate in these stressful environments are more prone to causing medical errors and making mistakes. The unfortunate result is that patients’ care outcomes are negatively affected by preventable problems that include errors in managing medication, overcrowding in medical facilities, and higher mortality rates (Walker, 2017). In this respect, nurses’ shortage results in unfavorable care outcomes for patients.

To address the issue of lower nursing shortage that has resulted in unfavorable patient outcomes, three strategies are proposed. The three strategies are intended to improve retention efforts since they support practicing nurses. The first strategy is to build leadership capacity. This would encourage nurses to engaged in innovation, research activities, and support all decisions with evidence to improve their efficiency so that fewer nurses handle more patients without negatively affecting care outcomes. The second strategy is to improve retention by supporting nurses in the workplace (to include offering them counselling services) and encouraging them to make early career preparations through balancing workplace demand and competence. This would ensure that each nurses works where he or she is required since responsibilities are matched to education, experience and expectations. The third strategy is to improve productivity through innovation in the workplace. This would address the existing organizational and managerial shortcomings as well as barriers inherent in the health industry that halt innovation (Twigg, 2014). For instance, using population demographics to determined nurse staffing decisions and arrangement Nursing Workforce Shortage Research.

The PICOT question to address this issue has been presented as: ‘among patients receiving nursing care (P), can optimizing nurse-patient ratios (I) versus not addressing nurses shortage (C) improve patients’ outcomes (O) over a period of three months (T)? Presenting this question into the five PICOT elements takes the form of firstly (P), targeting patients of all ages receiving nursing care as the population of interest. Secondly (I), optimizing nurse-patient ratios so that more nurses care for the patients. Thirdly (C), comparison with nurse shortages. Fourthly (O), the desired outcome that sees improved patient outcomes. Finally (T), the desired outcome being observed for the next three months after the start of the intervention.

P (population) – Patients receiving nursing care

I (intervention) – Optimizing nurse-patient ratios

C (comparison) – Versus not addressing nurses shortage

O (outcome) – Improve patients’ outcomes

T (time) – Positive results expected to occur within three months of the program starting

References

Buerhaus, P., Skinner, L., Aurhach, D. & Staiger, D. (2017). Four challenges facing the nursing workforce in the United States. Journal of Nursing Regulation, 8(2), 40-46.

Kurnat-Thorma, E., Ganger, M., Peterson, K. & Channell, L. (2017). Reducing Annual Hospital and Registered Nurse Staff Turnover—A 10-Element Onboarding Program Intervention. SAGE Open Nursing, 3. Retrieved from http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/2377960817697712#articleCitationDownloadContainer

Mincer, J. (2017). Short on staff: nursing crisis strains U.S. hospitals. Retrieved from https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-healthcare-nursing/short-on-staff-nursing-crisis-strains-u-s-hospitals-idUSKBN1CP0BD

Russell, J. (2016). Retirements, aging population cause nursing shortage. Retrieved from https://www.ibj.com/articles/57067-retirements-aging-population-cause-nursing-shortage

Twigg, D. (2014). Nurse retention: a review of strategies to create and enhance positive practice environments in clinical settings. International Journal of Nursing Studies, 51(1), 85-92.

Walker, N. (2017). Embrace action: protect the future of nursing. AORN, 105(6), 535-537 Nursing Workforce Shortage Research.