Discuss the events that have contributed to the nursing shortage

Discuss the events that have contributed (or will continue to contribute) to the nursing shortage Essay Assignment Paper

Topic 1 DQ 1

Discuss the events that have contributed (or will continue to contribute) to the nursing shortage, or that contribute to a shortage in a region or specialty. Discuss at least one way that the nursing profession is currently working toward a resolution of this problem. In replies to peers, offer different examples of how the nursing shortage has been addressed in your state, community, or specialty area.

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According to Whitney (2018), the American Association for Colleges of Nursing (AACN) has identified many factors that have contributed to the nursing shortage:

55% of RNs were 50 years or older in 2013, meaning many RNs will be retiring in the near future and at that rate, nursing school enrollments are not increasing fast enough to compensate for the demand
There is a nursing faculty shortage which has caused the restrictions on nursing program enrollments
Patients demographics are changing, people are living to be older and have more complex heath needs which indicates the need for more nurses
Due to insufficient staffing, job satisfaction is reduced, and nurses are getting burnt out – these stress levels are causing more nurses to leave the profession
High nurse retirement and turnover rates are directly impacting access to health care
The Institute of Medicine (IOM) established a goal that 80% of RNs are to obtain a BSN by 2020. The expectation of this goal was that the educational system would be seamless from one degree to the next while in turn, increasing diversity of students would create a workforce which was prepared to meet the demands of diverse population (Whitney, 2018). According to Boivin (2017), the profession is a ways off from meeting that goal, the number of BSN prepared nurses has doubled and now exceeds the number of ADN prepared nurses, so progress is being made. Nurses are encouraged to take this next step as some employers are offering incentives for their RNs to further their education. In addition, more hybrid or online RN to BSN completion programs are being offered which provide convenience to their students, allowing them to continue working full-time while completing their education from home.