Scholarly Shortfall= Nursing Drought

     As baby boomers begin and continue to retire, the demand for health care professionals is on the rise. Demographic changes may limit the access to health care unless the number of care givers rises in relation to the rising elderly population, which is actually expected to decrease by 40% in the next 20 years. There are also several other factors affecting the "nursing drought" including retirement-aged nurses planning for their future, educational programs experiencing budget and expansion restrictions, and the impacts of job satisfaction causing many to leave the profession.
     This is a serious problem. Without adequate staffing, patients cannot safely be cared for--the drought is potentially causing a vicious cycle of inadequate care and ill or injured patients, with these illnesses and injuries possibly caused by the lack of personnel in the institution. The problem is not the demand--the problem is the supply of trained professionals that qualify for the health care positions. The nursing workforce is expected to grow by 22% by 2018 due to the creation of more RN positions. Also, with the passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act in 2010, 32 million Americans will soon gain access to health care services provided by RNs or ARNPs. In addition to this, the qualified nurses and ARNPs are getting older--average age is up from 45.2 to 46 years old. This correlates to more nurses retiring, several at the same time--making large amounts of vacancies and no one to fill them.
     These vacancies can lead to employed nurses putting in overtime hours and becoming burnt out which decreases their job satisfaction. Many individuals that experience this go and seek work in another field, feeling that the demands of health care are too much for them to handle.
     However, educational programs are coming up short on faculty to train and provide individuals the information to become nurses or health care professionals. In 2010, U.S. nursing schools turned away 67,563 qualified individuals simply because they did not have the faculty to educate them or the budget to support a larger program. This is where I come in. I am a student trying my hardest to get into nursing school. I have training. I have experience. I have the minimum requirements, but apparently "minimum" means "inadequate" these days. If the government is able to provide more funding, then I would be able to help others without trying to worry about whether or not I am able to get the training I need. So many more people would get the opportunity to learn and work as a nurse and help Americans with their health care needs. The nursing drought would be forgotten, vacancies would be filled, and job satisfaction for RNs would increase dramatically.
     Solutions to this problem are being explored, although to many they may seem looming or impossible. More to come on this topic....




Sources:
http://www.aacn.nche.edu/media/factsheets/nursingshortage.htm
http://www.uscollegesearch.org/blog/medical-assisting-info/solving-the-nursing-shortage