Nursing Shortage
According to the World Health Organization, fifty seven countries faces severe challenge of nurse shortages to an extent of compromising the delivery of nurse care (WHO, 2006). This is attributed to market forces and health systems that fail in their attempts to retain practicing nurses are the main cause of escalating universe shortages of the nurses (WHO, 2006). Additionally, the nursing labor force is ageing cause the baby boomer workforce to reach the retirement age very fast. Though this is a global issue of concern, it has grilled New Zealand prompting the country to conduct various research focusing on generational issues in retaining and recruitment of nurses. According to the report by New Zealand councils of nurses, a shocking revelation revealed that out of forty seven thousand, seven hundred and fifty one registered nurses, forty six percent were reported to be aged above half a century (Nursing Council of New Zealand). The afore mentioned challenge in New Zealand is attributed to low morale, emotional exhaustion, low job satisfaction, lack of recognition and autonomy and excessive workload.
There are various strategies that have been put a cross to address this challenge. The article stresses on forming an intergenerational labor force equipped with good leadership skills that listen to the needs of various groups as well as developing a strategy that is predominantly meant to address those issues (Hoare, 2016). Additionally, leaders in health organizations are required to develop a diverse and multigenerational team of nurses that will encourage nurses to air their grievances and to pinpoint argument about their points (Hoare, 2016). The leaders should take the insights gotten from the nurses and deduce a strategy that is meant to articulate the issues raised. Secondly, the article emphasizes on dealing with transitional shock. It posits that novice nurses should be integrated in collegial environment to initialize their socialization skills. Furthermore, it talks about setting of mentorship programs to support the mentees during transitional period and increase job satisfaction of the mentors. Lastly, it accentuates on reciprocal role modelling and Chambliss’ theory of routinization. This strategy is primarily meant to help new GNs to work in a health set up where misery, pain and fatalities are common experiences (Hoare, 2016). I postulates that the GNs nurses should be properly mentored to cope up with such instances.
Addressing nursing shortages in serious issue that every government of the day ought to look into. Nurses are the pillar that societies lean on to comprehend various health issues such as mental, emotional and physical experiences an individual may experience when they are ailing. They help various people to cope up with illness and if needed be to live with it. Their shortages therefore pose a serious risk to the society. More so, shortages of nurses maybe factor that demotivates various prospecting nurses to join the career. This is because their shortages is associated with low morale, emotional exhaustion, and low job satisfaction, lack of recognition and autonomy and excessive workload. These factors may even cause the existing nurses to give up on their career and perhaps pursue another career that is not associated with the challenges mentioned above.
I believe a long-lasting solution to this challenge would be attain and maintain life balance between professional and personal life amongst the nurses. More so, human resource manager in health institutions can improve retention of nurses in their institution by offering altered schedules to accommodate professional and personal needs of nurses. Part time shifts should be availed to the nurses so that they can choose the shift that does not concede with their personal life. This way, job satisfaction amongst the nurses will have been improved leading to decrease in number of nurses who quit their profession.
In summary, shortages in practicing nurses is a serious global problem that ought to be carefully looked in and rectified. Various strategies have been used to address this as outlined in the previous paragraphs. However, an efficacious solution would be the one that focus on job satisfaction of the nurses. This can only be done by moderating nurses’ job workload and altering the existing schedules to accommodate their professional and private life.
References
Hoare, K. J. (2016). Retaining new graduate nurses in practice; under-pinning the theory of reciprocal role modelling with ‘routinisation’theory and transition shock. Social Theory & Health, 14(2), 224-238.
Retrieved from https://0-search-proquest- com.liucat.lib.liu.edu/healthmanagement/docview/1781497235/12B40CF7B8D14AB9PQ /2?accountid=12142
Nursing Council of New Zealand. (2014) The New Zealand Nursing Workforce . Wellington, New Zealand: Nursing Council of New Zealand. Retrieved from https://www.nursingcouncil.org.nz/Public/Publications/Workforce_Statistics/NCNZ/publ ications-section/Workforce_statistics.aspx
World Health Organization. (2006). The world health report 2006: working together for health. World Health Organization. Retrieved from https://www.who.int/whr/2006/en/