|
Nursing shortage refers to a situation where the demand for nursing professionals, such as Registered Nurses (RN), exceeds the supply, either locally (e.g. within a given health care facility), nationally or globally. It can be measured, for instance, when the nurse-to-patient ratio, the nurse-to-population ratio, or the number of job openings necessitates a higher number of nurses working in health care than currently available. This situation is observed in developed and developing nations around the world. Nursing shortage is not necessarily due to a lack of supply of trained nurses in a jurisdiction. In some cases, perceived shortages occur simultaneously with increased admission rates of students into nursing schools. Potential factors include: lack of adequate staffing ratios in hospitals and other health care facilities, lack of placement programs for newly trained nurses, and inadequate worker retention incentives.〔Goulette, C. "Nursing (Job) Shortage. New Grads are finding the Job Hunt Tough." Advance for Nurses. Issue January 18, 2010.〕 Globally, the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates a shortage of almost 4.3 million nurses, physicians and other health human resources worldwide - reported to be the result of decades of underinvestment in health worker education, training, wages, working environment and management. ==Market philosophy== Nursing shortage is an issue in many countries around the world. In order to remedy the problem, psychological studies have been completed to ascertain how nurses feel about their career in the hope that they can determine what is preventing some nurses from keeping the profession as a long term career. In a study completed by sociologist Bryan Turner, the study found that the most common nursing complaints were: * subordination to the medical profession on all matters, even over standardized regulations * difficult working conditions. A report from the Commonwealth of Australia identified a few other matters that led to nurse dissatisfaction: * constant schedule changes * work overloads due to high number of patients and paperwork. * shift work * lack of appreciation by superiors * lack of provided childcare. * inadequate pay Later, another study found that nurse dissatisfaction stemmed: * conflicting expectations from nurses and managers due to regulation of cost * inability to provide comprehensive nursing care due to work * loss of confidence in the healthcare system.〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://www.nursestraining-visa.ru/eng/careersEng.html )〕 In many jurisdictions, administrative/government health policy and practice has changed very little in the last decades, cost-cutting is still the priority, patient loads uncontrolled, and nurses are rarely consulted when recommending changes through health care reform.〔Mitchell, G. J. (2003). Nursing shortage or nursing famine: Looking beyond numbers? (Version ). Nursing Science Quarterly, 16(3), 219-24. Retrieved October 12, 2006 from Pubmed (12876879).〕 The major reason why nurses plan to leave the field, as stated by the First Consulting Group, is because of the working conditions.〔Stone, P. W., Clarke S., Cimiotti J., & Correa-de-Araujo R. (2004). Nurses' working conditions: implications for infectious disease. (Version ). Emerging Infectious Diseases, 10(11), 1984-9. Retrieved October 12, 2006 from Pubmed (15550212).〕 With the high turnover rate, the nursing field does not have a chance to build up the already frustrated staff. Aside from the deteriorating working conditions, the real problem is "nursing’s failure to be attractive to the younger generation." There’s a decline in interest among college students to consider nursing as a probable career. More than half of currently working nurses "would not recommend nursing to their own children" and a little less than a quarter would advise others to avoid this as a profession altogether.〔Wieck, K. L. (2003). Faculty for the millennium: changes needed to attract the emerging workforce into nursing. (Version ). Journal of Nursing Education, 42(4), 151-8. Retrieved October 25, 2006 from Pubmed (12710805).〕 Australian nursing researchers, John Buchanan and Gillian Considine described hospitals as "being run like a business" with "issues of patient care… of secondary importance."〔Forsyth, S. & McKenzie, H. (2006). A comparative analysis of contemporary nurses' discontents. (Version ). Journal of Advanced Nursing, 56(2), 209-216. Retrieved October 25, 2006 from Blackwell Synergy .〕 Emotional support, education, encouragement and counseling are integral to the everyday nursing practice. However, these practices are not easily quantified and considered by managers as unjustified cost for the patients, who are also viewed as consumers.〔 Therefore, only clinical responsibilities, such as medication administration, dressing changes, foley catheter insertions, and anything that involves tangible supplies, are quantified and incorporated into the organizational budget and plan of care for the consumers. The nursing shortage also affects the developing countries that supply nurses through recruitment to work abroad in wealthier countries. For example, to accommodate perceived nursing shortage in the United States, American hospital recruit nurses from overseas, especially the Philippines and Africa. This in turn can lead to even greater nursing shortage in their home countries. In response to this growing problem, in 2010 the WHO's World Health Assembly adopted the ''Global Code of Practice on the International Recruitment of Health Personnel'', a policy framework for all countries for the ethical international recruitment of nurses and other health professionals. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア(Wikipedia)』 ■ウィキペディアで「nursing shortage」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|