Nursing Shortage
Nursing Shortage HCS/552
April 7, 2014
Nursing Shortage Shortages of registered nurses have taken place repeatedly in the past. Agencies have examined the reasons for the decline in the supply of nurses. There seems to be a cycle of nursing shortages in the United States. “Economist argue that the shortages are related to the lack of increase wages, an imperfectly competitive market, geographic distribution problems, or the delay between salary increases and the ability to afford the education needed to enter the job market,”(ACHE, 2013). Other resources site the nursing shortage on the aging nurse population or the “baby boomers” leaving the workforce. The decrease individuals attending the nursing programs due to not enough professors to teach are causing a reduction in the number of graduate nurses. This paper will discuss two economist tools used to understand the nursing shortage. The two tools are supply and demand and marginal analysis. How the nursing shortage can affect the economy will also be discussed.
Supply and Demand
Nursing shortages are a predictable occurrence in healthcare. In the United States alone, five significant shortages have happened in the last 50 years (Censullo, 2008).The lack of nurses lasts 1 to 2 years. It is predicted the by the year 2016 nearly 587,000new jobs will be on available for new nurses (Aiken, Cheung, & Olds, 2009); the United States Bureau of Labor and Statistics have determined there will be a shortage of 581,520 nurses by the year 2018 (Conley, 2012).
The decrease in the number of new graduate nurses from colleges and universities have put a strain on the supply needed to meet the needs of an aging population. Graduate nurses are met with high expectations from employers. The transition from graduate nurse to staff nurse can be challenging. Quality care and high performance standards are required of the new nurses. Accountability is required in the work arena as the acuity of the
April 7, 2014
Nursing Shortage Shortages of registered nurses have taken place repeatedly in the past. Agencies have examined the reasons for the decline in the supply of nurses. There seems to be a cycle of nursing shortages in the United States. “Economist argue that the shortages are related to the lack of increase wages, an imperfectly competitive market, geographic distribution problems, or the delay between salary increases and the ability to afford the education needed to enter the job market,”(ACHE, 2013). Other resources site the nursing shortage on the aging nurse population or the “baby boomers” leaving the workforce. The decrease individuals attending the nursing programs due to not enough professors to teach are causing a reduction in the number of graduate nurses. This paper will discuss two economist tools used to understand the nursing shortage. The two tools are supply and demand and marginal analysis. How the nursing shortage can affect the economy will also be discussed.
Supply and Demand
Nursing shortages are a predictable occurrence in healthcare. In the United States alone, five significant shortages have happened in the last 50 years (Censullo, 2008).The lack of nurses lasts 1 to 2 years. It is predicted the by the year 2016 nearly 587,000new jobs will be on available for new nurses (Aiken, Cheung, & Olds, 2009); the United States Bureau of Labor and Statistics have determined there will be a shortage of 581,520 nurses by the year 2018 (Conley, 2012).
The decrease in the number of new graduate nurses from colleges and universities have put a strain on the supply needed to meet the needs of an aging population. Graduate nurses are met with high expectations from employers. The transition from graduate nurse to staff nurse can be challenging. Quality care and high performance standards are required of the new nurses. Accountability is required in the work arena as the acuity of the
References: Censullo, J. (2008). The nursing shortage: Breach of ideology as an unexplored cause. Advances in Nursing Science, 31(4), E11-E18. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com. Conley, B. (2012). What Does "Shortage" Really Mean? Tennessee Nurse, 75(1), 5. Retrieved from http://content.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.apollolibrary.com/pdf29_30/pdf. Erlen, J. A. (2004). Wanted-nurses: Ethical issues and the nursing shortage. Orthopedic Nursing, 23(4), 289-92. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/195969568. Getzen, T. E. (2007). Health economics and financing. (3rd ed.). John Wiley and Sons, Inc.: Hoboken, NJ. Yucha, Carolyn; Smyer, Tish; Strano-Perry, Sybil (2014). Sustaining nursing programs in the face of budget cuts and faculty shortages. Journal of Professional Nursing, 30 (1) 5–9. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.profnurs.2013.07.002.