In recent years, a shortage of nurses has become one of the most acute problems on a global scale. According to the World Health Organization (2020), the global nurse shortage could widen to nearly 13 million. For example, among the main reasons for the shortage of nurses are the aging and retirement of health workers, the shift of nurses to higher-paying jobs, the growth of the world’s population, and poor recruitment or shortage of new staff. Moreover, Kurnat-Thoma et al. (2017) assert that one of the main reasons for understaffing and nursing shortages is ineffective planning and inadequate employment of available nursing resources.
Thus, a growing shortage of nurses has a serious negative impact on the activities of the entire system, which affects the decrease in the quality of medical care for the population and the deterioration of the results of their treatment.
The lack of nurses is a factor in the decline in the quality of care, which directly affects patient outcomes. Drennan and Ross (2019) affirm that a shortage of medical staff can affect the quality of care provided in all settings, leading to an increase in the number of complications and sometimes even death among the patients involved. Thus, the growing shortage of nurses due to increased staff turnover increases the burden on working nurses. As a result, these working conditions become very stressful and lead to job dissatisfaction, nursing burnout and fatigue, and sometimes even injury. MacPhee et al. (2017) note that the increasing burden on nurses enhances nursing burnout, readmission rates and patient risk of infection, and higher mortality rates. Such errors or related outcomes result in patients being forced to receive poor quality medical services and thus cause various complications that could have been prevented in the first place.
Thus, to solve this problem, the following PICOT question is proposed: Among patients receiving nursing care (P), optimization of the ratio of nurses to patients (I) compared to not solving the problem of shortage of nurses (C) can improve patient outcomes (O) during period six months (T)? First, the first element, population, is patients of all ages with different diagnoses and nursing care. Secondly, optimization of the ratio of the number of nurses and patients is investigated as an intervention. Third, the comparison is that there is no solution to the problem of nursing shortages. Fourth, the outcome is improved patient outcomes. Fifth, the desired positive results are expected within six months after the launch of the program. It appears that addressing this issue will conclude that a shortage of nurses harms patient outcomes. Patient outcomes can be improved through the use of strategies to overcome the nursing shortage.
Evidence-Based Solution
Strategies such as developing nursing leadership, supporting nurses in the workplace, and increasing productivity through workplace innovation can be proposed to address the nursing shortage that leads to poor patient outcomes.
Nursing Intervention
There is a need to optimize the ratio of the number of nurses and patients. An increase in the number of nurses will improve the quality of care.
Patient Care
Due to the inefficient patient-to-nurse ratio, nurses feel dissatisfied, and patients may have poor treatment outcomes.
Health Care Agency
The scarcity of nurses is a problem that the healthcare industry is increasingly facing today. Medical organizations face a growing challenge to meet the demand for medical services, facing a shortage of nurses.
Nursing Practice
Health care professionals, from doctors to registered nurses, provide medical services depending on their field. However, the lack of nurses leads to difficulties in all areas.
References
Drennan, V. M. & Ross, F. (2019). Global nurse shortages—the facts, the impact and action for change. British Medical Bulletin, 130(1), 25–37. Web.
Kurnat-Thoma, 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, 1–13. Web.
MacPhee, M., Dahinten, V., & Havaei, F. (2017). The impact of heavy perceived nurse workloads on patient and nurse outcomes. Administrative Sciences, 7(7), 1-17. Web.
World Health Organization (2020). State of the world’s nursing 2020: Investing in education, jobs and leadership [PDF document]. Web.