NURS 6053 Discussion Review of Current Healthcare Issues Essay
NURS 6053 Discussion Review of Current Healthcare Issues Essay
NURS 6053 Discussion Review of Current Healthcare Issues Essay
Reducing Stress on Healthcare
According to the ANA The balance of safety and efficacy and the perception of personal risk versus overall benefit are at the core of acceptability of immunization practices. The known and potential benefits of a COVID-19 vaccine must outweigh the known and potential risks. ANA strongly recommends that registered nurses be vaccinated against COVID-19. All health care personnel (HCP), including registered nurses (RNs), should be vaccinated according to current recommendations for immunization of HCP by the CDC and Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC). ANA also believes that it is imperative for everyone to receive immunizations for vaccine-preventable diseases as vaccines are critical to infectious disease control and prevention. Moreover, nurses have a professional and ethical obligation to model the same health care standards they prescribe to their patients. There is now significant clinical evidence on the safety and effectiveness with approved COVID-19 vaccines being administered under the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Emergency Use Authorization process.
Annals of Internal Medicine stated We need to be more aggressive about respiratory hygiene and placing restrictions on patients, visitors, and health care workers with even mild symptoms of upper respiratory tract infection. Potential policies to consider include the following: 1) screening all visitors for any respiratory symptoms that may be related to a virus, including fever, myalgias, pharyngitis, rhinorrhea, and cough, and excluding them from visiting until they are better; 2) restricting health care workers from working if they have any upper respiratory tract symptoms, even in the absence of fever; and 3) screening all patients, testing for all respiratory viruses (including SARS-CoV-2) in those with positive screening results regardless of illness severity, and using precautions (single rooms, contact precautions, droplet precautions, and eye protection) for patients with respiratory syndromes for the duration of their symptoms regardless of viral test results. A collateral benefit is that if a patient is subsequently diagnosed with COVID-19, staff who used these precautions will be considered minimally exposed and will be able to continue working.
Conclusion
Laureate education (2015) states, that one thing that individuals and leaders can do to be prepared for healthcare challenges of the future is to develop cultural competency, gain skills to view multiple perspectives, and develop greater understanding the survival side of any healthcare organization. Having Beyond the immediate needs in responding to COVID-19, the pulse survey documents hospitals’ perspectives about longer-term opportunities for improvement to address challenges that existed before, and were exacerbated by, the pandemic. These include reducing disparities in access to health care and in health outcomes; building and maintaining a more robust health care workforce; and strengthening the resiliency of our health care system to respond to pandemics and other public health emergencies and disasters.

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References
ANA Board of Directors September 2020 www.NursingWorld.org/COVID19Vaccines/
Annals of Internal Medicine https://doi.org/10.7326/M20-0751
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2020). Daily updates of totals by week and state. Retrieved June 2, 2020 from, https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nvss/vsrr/covid19/index.htm
Vahedian-Azimi, A., Hajiesmaeili, M., Kangasniemi, M., Fornes-Vives, J., Hunsucker, R. L., Rahimibashar, F., … Miller, A. C. (2017). Effects of Stress on Critical Care Nurses: A National Cross-Sectional Study. Journal of Intensive Care Medicine, 34(4), 311–322. doi: 10.1177/0885066617696853
If you were to ask 10 people what they believe to be the most significant issue facing healthcare today, you might get 10 different answers. Escalating costs? Regulation? Technology disruption?
These and many other topics are worthy of discussion. Not surprisingly, much has been said in the research, within the profession, and in the news about these topics. Whether they are issues of finance, quality, workload, or outcomes, there is no shortage of changes to be addressed.
In this Discussion, you examine a national healthcare issue and consider how that issue may impact your work setting. You also analyze how your organization has responded to this issue.
To Prepare:
- Review the Resources and select one current national healthcare issue/stressor to focus on.
- Reflect on the current national healthcare issue/stressor you selected and think about how this issue/stressor may be addressed in your work setting.
By Day 3 of Week 1
Post a description of the national healthcare issue/stressor you selected for analysis, and explain how the healthcare issue/stressor

may impact your work setting. Then, describe how your health system work setting has responded to the healthcare issue/stressor, including a description of what changes may have been implemented. Be specific and provide examples.
Higher mortality rates, extended hospital stays, and significant healthcare expenses are some of the adverse effects of nurse shortages, making this a significant problem for the United States healthcare system. The scarcity is expected to worsen in the next several years, making it a significant issue for the medical field (Griffiths et al., 2021). Therefore, this paper will discuss the nurse shortage’s effects, social causes, and potential remedies.
Workplaces with a scarcity of nurses may experience poor quality patient treatment, higher rates of medical mistakes, and more stress for their current nursing staff. Patients may have to wait longer, receive less individualized care, and see fewer doctors if there are not enough nurses (Griffiths et al., 2021). As a result of rising healthcare expenses and lower employee morale, nursing shortages can make it hard to find and retain qualified staff. Thus, eliminating the current shortage of nurses is essential for maintaining high standards of care for patients and a safe and supportive workplace for healthcare workers.
Several socioeconomic factors might influence the nurse shortage. One crucial societal component that influences the nurse shortage is educational attainment. As the population ages, there will be a greater need for nursing services, but there are now insufficiently trained professionals to meet this need. Moreover, a lack of socioeconomic elements, such as money and access to educational resources, may have contributed to the scarcity and a lower supply of qualified nurses (Gemuhay et al., 2019). Stress and burnout are common in nursing, contributing to low work satisfaction and high turnover rates. Hence, addressing these socioeconomic variables is critical to attracting and maintaining talented nurses and solving the nursing crisis.
My healthcare system has boosted its recruitment efforts and introduced more adaptable staffing arrangements to address the critical shortage of registered nurses. For instance, the number of available nursing posts has grown, and correspondingly, the number of organizations able to supply extra nursing staff has grown. In aiding nurses in fixed work and family responsibilities, the healthcare system has instituted a system of flexible scheduling that allows for both part-time and full-time employment and shift-swapping (Nurmeksela et al., 2023). Also, the health system has created a mentorship program to ease the transfer of new nurses into their responsibilities and an incentive system to encourage nurses to continue in their existing positions. Lastly, the healthcare system has introduced several training and professional growth possibilities for nurses to enhance their expertise and credentials.
In conclusion, there is an urgent need to address the nurse shortage since it directly impacts healthcare outcomes. When finding a solution to this problem, it is necessary to examine its many factors from a socioeconomic perspective. Therefore, for patients to get high-quality treatment and nurses to have a positive and safe working environment, healthcare providers must work together to increase the number of registered nurses.
References
Gemuhay, H. M., Kalolo, A., Mirisho, R., Chipwaza, B., & Nyangena, E. (2019). Factors Affecting Performance in Clinical Practice among Preservice Diploma Nursing Students in Northern Tanzania. Nursing Research and Practice. https://www.hindawi.com/journals/nrp/2019/3453085/Links to an external site.
Griffiths, P., Saville, C., Ball, J. E., Jones, J., & Monks, T. (2021). Beyond ratios – flexible and resilient nurse staffing options to deliver cost-effective hospital care and address staff shortages: A simulation and economic modelling study. International Journal of Nursing Studies, 117(117), 103901. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijnurstu.2021.103901Links to an external site.
Nurmeksela, A., Välimäki, T., Kvist, T., Savolainen, H., Tahiraj, V., & Hult, M. (2023). Extending ageing nurses’ working lives: A mixed‐methods systematic review. Journal of Advanced Nursing. https://doi.org/10.1111/jan.15569Links to an external site.
By Day 6 of Week 1
Respond to at least two of your colleagues on two different days who chose a different national healthcare issue/stressor than you selected. Explain how their chosen national healthcare issue/stressor may also impact your work setting and what (if anything) is being done to address the national healthcare issue/stressor.
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Staffing Shortages as a National Health are Issue/Stressor
Staffing shortages in the health care industry has become a significant issue and stressor all over the nation. Nurses work extremely hard and that is not a secret. With imminent staffing shortages in the health care profession and an increase in the volume of patients seeking care services, patient loads are increasing rapidly, thus making it difficult for nurses already short staff to manage all patient care needs effectively and efficiently (Bakhamis et al.,2019). The United States has a massive nursing shortage, and the problem is only set to grow. Due to an influx of patients into our health system, the retirement of baby boomers, and educational bottlenecks, nursing positions are not being filled fast enough to keep up with demand (Xue et al., 2016). Nurses overworked and understaffed on the front lines. There are millions of registered and licensed practical nurses in the United States. Most of these nurses, however, are not happy and comfortable in their work, they are stress, overworked, underappreciated, and underutilized leading to significant impact on the delivery of care.
Impact on Work Setting
Staffing shortages can have a significant impact on the quality of work, on productivity, creativity, competitiveness, nursing care outcomes, and on ensuring patients’ safety (Norful et al., 2018). At my health care organization due to staffing shortage, nurses sometimes work long hours because other nurses calling in sick, running one to four hours late from working under very stressful conditions resulting in burnout, injury, fatigue, and job dissatisfaction. Nurses suffering in my health care facility delay treatments and make other mistakes due to the relationship of the nurse-to-patient ratio (Xue et al., 2016). An unfortunate outcome is that patient quality of care suffers, resulting in a variety of complications including emergency room overcrowding and delay of treatment.
Organizational Response and Changes Implemented
A range of solutions has been offered as a way to solve the nursing shortage in my health care organization from subsidized funding, hiring new nurses, wage increases, and contracting with nursing agencies for nurses to fill in periodically. My health care organization provides tuition for nurses seeking to advance their degree. In addition, resources have been allocated towards increasing wages which has affected recruitment as well as retention of Registered Nurses already in the facility.
Another important strategy to further address the nursing shortage is that, nurses are allowed scheduling flexibility and coverage. This has help nurses to juggle their busy work schedule with home life and educational opportunities, and also allows room for decompressing between stressful, emotionally demanding shifts and days of work.
Health care of the nation, and patients, in particular will benefit the most from adequate staffing and a healthy and well rested nurse because efficiency and productivity will increase, the number of work-related mistakes at the same time will reduce, sick leaves are going to be rare, shorter, and burnout will not occur often (Norful et al., 2018). By introducing said strategies, we would not only increase staffing in health care but equally, reduce the stress-related illness rate among nurses and would also significantly raise the quality of healthcare and patient outcomes.
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NURS 6053 Discussion Review of Current Healthcare Issues Essay
NURS 6053 Discussion Review of Current Healthcare Issues Essay
Nurses work in different settings with varying work demands, support mechanisms, and approaches to work. Regardless of these differences, healthcare stressors are part of everyday work. These stressors are usually workplace challenges widespread in the United States that hamper nurses’ ability to deliver timely and effective care (Rose et al., 2021). The nursing shortage is a prevalent national stressor with far-reaching effects on patient care. It is characterized by higher demand for nurses than the current supply.
The effects of the nursing shortage witnessed in other organizations may be experienced in my work setting. As Shah et al. (2021) explained, the nursing shortage is a leading cause of burnout among nurses. It increases the nurse-patient ratio implying that nurses are overworked and may lack time for self-care and other activities that enhance commitment to work. Shah et al. (2021) further observed that nurses experiencing burnout are more likely to commit medical errors than nurses working within the standard nurse-patient ratios. Errors risk patient safety and damage patients’ trust in healthcare providers. Burnout triggers turnover and increases an organization’s management costs since replacing nurses is costly.
To avert the damaging effects of the nursing shortage, healthcare organizations should implement robust strategies, both staff-centered and organization-wide. My healthcare setting has responded to the nursing shortage through continuous supervision of staff, motivation programs, and formulating policies that prevent work overload. As Lee and Lee (2022) noted, nurse motivation is critical to creating a positive work atmosphere and retaining nurses. The same perspective guides the management when developing and implementing motivation programs. Regarding the changes that may have been implemented, nurses need mental strength to cope with the increasing workload. As a result, the management should invest more in coping programs and organize appropriate training initiatives to improve nurses’ resilience.
References
Lee, J. Y., & Lee, M. H. (2022). Structural model of retention intention of nurses in small-and medium-sized hospitals: Based on Herzberg’s Motivation-Hygiene theory. Healthcare, 10(3), 502. https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare10030502
Rose, S., Hartnett, J., & Pillai, S. (2021). Healthcare worker’s emotions, perceived stressors and coping mechanisms during the COVID-19 pandemic. PLoS One, 16(7), e0254252. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0254252
Shah, M. K., Gandrakota, N., Cimiotti, J. P., Ghose, N., Moore, M., & Ali, M. K. (2021). Prevalence of and factors associated with nurse burnout in the US. JAMA Network Open, 4(2), e2036469-e2036469. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2020.36469
Thanks for sharing your thoughts and experiences about healthcare worker shortages. Serving our veterans is so important but I have heard about the challenges with getting care through the VA both professionally and through friends with VA benefits.
Across healthcare settings, staff shortages harm patient outcomes. APRNs and PAs need less training time, have similar patient outcomes, and are less costly to patients. Growing numbers and increased integration of these providers will help fill service gaps (Auerbach et al., 2018). In inpatient settings, I am beginning to see better utilization of these types of providers. They tend to take over as patients become more stable or in specialized roles working under physicians. Despite these hopeful trends in education, while we wait for more providers we need to optimize short staffing. There are creative ways to use staff resources as efficiently as possible. In inpatient settings as a travel nurse, I am seeing team nursing used more frequently. Out of survival, team nursing emerged in overcrowded hospitals during the pandemic. As staff shortages continue, we use the team nursing approach to balance out poor staff-to-patient ratios. Lead nurses have larger groups of patients, but often have other nurses working under them in addition to CNAs so that they are licensed to perform nursing tasks when appropriate and when the primary nurse cannot get to it. In addition to being more efficient, team nursing can improve outcomes. A structured team nursing approach with experienced nursing leads and structured interventions for patients requiring percutaneous coronary intervention after a myocardial infarction had improved outcomes versus standard emergency nursing care. Benefits included the faster movement to the OR for stent placement, higher ejection fraction after recovery, and shorter hospital stays (Li et al., 2021). Even without formal team nursing, strong teamwork with CNAs is vital in providing quality care. An integrative review found that strong teamwork and delegation between nurses and CNAs decreased rates of falls and pressure injuries, and increased patient satisfaction (Campbell et al., 2020). Hopefully, we continue to find creative ways to optimize available staff while new nurses and providers are being educated and integrated into the workforce.

Tim Dolan
References
Auerbach, D. I., Staiger, D. O., & Buerhaus, P. I. (2018). Growing ranks of advanced practice
clinicians — implications for the physician workforce.
New England Journal of Medicine, 378(25), 2358–2360. https://doi.org/10.1056/nejmp1801869
Campbell, A. R., Layne, D., Scott, E., & Wei, H. (2020). Interventions to promote teamwork,
delegation and communication among registered nurses and nursing assistants: An integrative review. Journal of Nursing Management, 28(7), 1465-1472.
Li, Y., Lin, Y., & Bai, H. (2021). Effects of a structured team nursing model on the efficacy and
quality of cardiopulmonary resuscitation in myocardial infarction patients undergoing
PCI. American Journal of Translational Research, 13(4), 3129.
The perennial nursing shortage is a national healthcare issue of concern. Statistics at national and international levels show that the shortage of healthcare worker (HCWs) is profound and affects effective and quality service delivery. The World Health Organization (WHO) projects that the nursing shortage could hit 12.9 million by 2035 (Marc et al., 2018). Nursing shortage creates unsafe working environment and increases fatigue, high turnover rates, and make nurses susceptible to medication administration errors. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the situation as the demand for healthcare services has increased, leading to more strain and burden on nurses, especially those working in critical care settings and others with elderly patient populations with chronic and terminal conditions.
Nursing shortage has impacted my work setting negatively as we enhance efforts to provide care to a patient diversity coming to the facility. Low staff retention, reduced levels of patient’s satisfaction, and a rise in hospital acquired infections are some of the negative effects of nursing shortage in our facility. When patient workload exceeds the available shift nurses, patients experience low levels of satisfaction. Unsafe staffing ratios contribute to burnout and high turnover rates (Alenezi et al., 2018). Further, increased length of stay happens due to higher nurse-to-patient ratios lead to more complications and a rise of hospital acquired infections.
Many healthcare settings are struggling in responding to nursing shortage because of the few options available (Marshall & Broome, 2017). Our facility is now leveraging technologies like telehealth to enhance access and quality for patients with chronic conditions like diabetes and hypertension who require constant monitoring. While studies show that nursing supply may exceed demand in the near future, using technologies and innovative models like increased training and flexibility can help organizations mitigate the adverse effects of nursing shortage.
References
Alenezi, A. M., Aboshaiqah, A., & Baker, O. (2018). Work‐related stress among nursing staff
working in government hospitals and primary health care centers. International Journal of Nursing Practice, 24(5). https://doi.org/10.1111/ijn.12676
Marc, M., Bartosiewicz, A., Burzynska, J., Chmiel, Z., & Januszewicz, P. (2018). A
nursing shortage – a prospect of global and local policies. International Nursing Review, 66(1), 9-16. https://doi.org/10.1111/inr.12473.
Marshall, E. S., & Broome, M. E. (2017). Transformational leadership in nursing: From expert
clinician to influential leader (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Springer

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