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Health Care Workforce Shortages

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Health Care Workforce Shortages

The access to quality healthcare is at risk due to the healthcare workforce shortages. The shortages include all members of the hospital work staff from nurses to primary care physicians to highly trained surgeons. Many hospitals do not have enough nurses to tend to the patients.
The United States is projected to have a nursing shortage that is expected to intensify as baby boomers age and the need for health care grows. Compounding the problem is the fact that nursing colleges and universities across the country are struggling to expand enrollment levels to meet the rising demand for nursing care. ("AACN") The enrollment in for educational programs for medical professions whether hospital-based or in colleges and universities has declined significantly. There are simply not enough graduates to fill existing or anticipated vacancies.
There are other issues that add to the shortages of nurses in the healthcare workforce. Such as; insufficient staffing which is raising the stress level of nurses, impacting job satisfaction, and driving many nurses to leave the profession. The high turnover and vacancy rates have an impact on healthcare. Insufficient nurse staffing is related to higher patient mortality rates. The mortality risk for patients was about 6% higher on units that were understaffed as compared with fully staffed units. (Clark) The mortality risks also increases when the nurse’s workload increased due to high patient turnover. Nurses often need to work long hours under stressful conditions, which can result in fatigue, injury, and job dissatisfaction. Nurses that work long hours are prone to making mistakes and medical errors. Patient quality can suffer. The ratio of nurses to patients is important. Patients are real satisfied with their care and have

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