NURS FPX 4000 Assessment 5

NURS FPX 4000 Assessment 5

Student Name

Capella University

NURS-FPX4000 Developing a Nursing Perspective

Prof. Name:

Date

Analyzing a Current Healthcare Problem or Issue

Healthcare Workforce Shortage

The shortage of healthcare professionals, including doctors, nurses, and support staff, remains a pressing issue within hospitals and clinics. This workforce deficiency creates significant challenges in providing high-quality patient care, as overworked healthcare workers experience fatigue, stress, and burnout. These conditions often lead to increased turnover rates, further exacerbating staffing shortages and increasing risks to patient safety. Addressing this crisis requires strategic interventions such as improving salaries, optimizing work schedules, and offering professional development opportunities. Additionally, technological advancements, including telehealth services, can help alleviate some of the burdens on healthcare workers, leading to more efficient patient care delivery (Jonasdottir et al., 2022). Healthcare administrators must prioritize these solutions to prevent further negative impacts on both patients and medical staff. This assessment explores the implications of healthcare workforce shortages, their effects on healthcare delivery, and potential strategies to mitigate the problem.

Implications of the Shortage

The lack of sufficient healthcare professionals has severe consequences for healthcare institutions, as hospitals and clinics struggle to meet patient demand with limited staffing. High workloads contribute to stress and exhaustion among healthcare workers, resulting in job dissatisfaction and increased turnover rates. In the United States, annual nurse turnover has reached approximately 27.65%, posing significant challenges to maintaining a stable workforce (Bae, 2023). Research also indicates a direct correlation between nurse staffing levels and patient mortality. A study conducted in a Swiss university hospital found that exposure to low registered nurse staffing levels increased patient mortality odds by 10%, whereas higher staffing levels decreased mortality rates by 8.7% (Musy et al., 2021). These findings highlight how healthcare workforce shortages impact not only professionals but also patient outcomes and overall healthcare quality.

Addressing the Issue

To combat workforce shortages, healthcare organizations must adopt evidence-based strategies that focus on staff retention and recruitment. Increasing wages and optimizing work schedules have been identified as effective measures in reducing turnover rates (Zhang et al., 2024). Additionally, investing in training programs and career development opportunities can enhance job satisfaction and encourage long-term employment. Rural healthcare settings, in particular, can benefit from financial incentives such as housing benefits and salary increases to attract and retain healthcare professionals (Witter et al., 2021). Without proactive interventions, understaffing will continue to contribute to burnout, increased patient mortality rates, and reduced healthcare quality. Continued research into staffing policies, the role of technology in alleviating workforce shortages, and the sustainability of retention strategies remains crucial in addressing this crisis (Zhang et al., 2024).

Healthcare Workforce Shortage Table

References

Bae, S.-H. (2023). Comprehensive assessment of factors contributing to the actual turnover of newly licensed registered nurses working in acute care hospitals: A systematic review. BMC Nursing, 22(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12912-023-01190-3

Jonasdottir, S. K., Thordardottir, I., & Jonsdottir, T. (2022). Health professionals’ perspective towards challenges and opportunities of telehealth service provision: A scoping review. International Journal of Medical Informatics, 167, 104862. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijmedinf.2022.104862

Musy, S. N., Endrich, O., Leichtle, A. B., Griffiths, P., Nakas, C. T., & Simon, M. (2021). The association between nurse staffing and inpatient mortality: A shift-level retrospective longitudinal study. International Journal of Nursing Studies, 120(103950), 103950. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijnurstu.2021.103950

NURS FPX 4000 Assessment 5

Witter, S., Herbst, C. H., Smitz, M., Balde, M. D., Magazi, I., & Zaman, R. U. (2021). How to attract and retain health workers in rural areas of a fragile state: Findings from a labour market survey in Guinea. PloS One, 16(12), e0245569. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0245569

Zhang, H., Abdullah, V. C. W. B., & Wong, L. (2024). The association between burnout, perceived organizational support, and perceived professional benefits among nurses in China. Heliyon, e39371. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e39371