Both Patrick Cox and Karlene Richardson narrowed the causes of the nursing shortage and turnover to the aging nurse population, patient demographics, insufficient staffing, nursing school, and salaries. Starting off with aging, in 2004 the average age of a nurse was 46.8 and in 2008 it increased to 47 years (Cox, 2014). By 2008, 44.7% of nurses were over 50 years old and they mainly work in nursing homes, academic programs, and other home health areas. The older nurses tend to stay with the same employer longer when compared to younger nurses who often jump between different areas as the provider's age. As the baby boomers continue to age, more skilled nurses go into retirement, endure chronic pain, and face increased pressure as a result of
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The second cause is the patient demographics, similar to the aging nursing problem, America is growing older as its baby boomers are making more frequent visits to the hospital for increasing chronic diseases. As a result, the ratio of nurses-to-elderly population is widening each year. If current trends continue, the quality of care to the elderly will suffer. Therefore, nurses need to be educated on a long-term case like dementia care which is considered specialized training and often not taught as part of general nursing education. Government funds can be offered to nurses who are willing to obtain additional education and training on how to care for the elderly (Cox, 2014). The third cause is the nursing shortage due to long hours, overworking, stressful situations, and understaffing. The average registered nurse (RN) turnover rate was 13.9% and it’s a problem that needs to be addressed. Healthcare institutes need to have policies and incentives in place to convince nurses to stay. Policies should be made to reduce the burden on nurses and find more efficient ways to provide services with the use of
The second cause is the patient demographics, similar to the aging nursing problem, America is growing older as its baby boomers are making more frequent visits to the hospital for increasing chronic diseases. As a result, the ratio of nurses-to-elderly population is widening each year. If current trends continue, the quality of care to the elderly will suffer. Therefore, nurses need to be educated on a long-term case like dementia care which is considered specialized training and often not taught as part of general nursing education. Government funds can be offered to nurses who are willing to obtain additional education and training on how to care for the elderly (Cox, 2014). The third cause is the nursing shortage due to long hours, overworking, stressful situations, and understaffing. The average registered nurse (RN) turnover rate was 13.9% and it’s a problem that needs to be addressed. Healthcare institutes need to have policies and incentives in place to convince nurses to stay. Policies should be made to reduce the burden on nurses and find more efficient ways to provide services with the use of