The Realities of the Nursing Shortage

A long-term nursing shortage—that began nearly ten years ago and is predicted to last nearly two decades—meets a worldwide pandemic wrought by a highly contagious, complex virus, and the healthcare field is thrust into a crisis. Unfortunately, that is the reality of the current nursing shortage in the U.S.

Pre-pandemic, many components drove the shortage, including the aging of America’s largest generation, the Baby Boomers. The 65+ demographic has soared in recent years, with census data indicating that this age group will reach 73 million by 2030. Lengthened lifespans that stretch the timeframe for needed medical services have increased the need for healthcare services. And, not only do these folks require more services for a more extended time, these same Baby Boomers are retiring in droves from, you guessed it, nursing and other healthcare positions.

All of these driving forces have culminated in an extreme need for nurses. Various studies estimate that over 500,000 to a million new registered nurses will be needed by 2030. And that was before COVID-19.

The coronavirus outbreak has exponentially intensified the nursing shortage, creating additional factors that have impacted the supply and demand of nurses. As a result, nurses continue to leave the profession, citing exhaustion, overwhelming despair, mounting stress, and fear for their health. While awaiting the vaccine, the hopes of frontline workers were buoyed, encouraging them to stay the course. But the resurgence of COVID-19 cases again pummeled these exhausted, frustrated caregivers.

Many facilities find themselves with ever-increasing open positions. Being so short-staffed puts additional strain on nurses who have been coping with staffing shortages, in many instances, for years. The fear that more nurses will move up their retirement plans, take a leave of absence, or seek less stressful jobs is indeed real and quite troubling to administrators, who are all too familiar with the challenges presented by long-term staffing shortages, including—

• Nurse burnout
  The ripple effect of being understaffed dramatically increases the likelihood of burnout, which impacts the number of nurses leaving the profession due to the physical and mental toll on them. The burnout results in more open positions creating poorer working conditions which initiate more nurses leaving. 

• Longer wait times for care
  When staffing shortages result in longer wait times for healthcare services, it impacts patient care and satisfaction. Trying to squeeze in additional patients too often creates dissatisfaction on both sides as patients feel rushed, nurses feel overwhelmed, and adverse patient outcomes increase.

• Medication errors and fatalities
  Operating in a chronically short-staffed scenario increases the likelihood of errors and other care deficiencies, resulting in serious consequences for patients.

Solutions that address this ongoing crisis include—

• Greater access to educational opportunities
  Flexible options combined with large doses of support and encouragement should create greater educational opportunities for those aspiring to a career in nursing. By increasing enrollment in nursing programs, we can collectively make strides toward the number of nurses needed to staff the country’s healthcare facilities adequately.

• An increase in nurses taking leadership roles
  Veteran nurses can provide invaluable mentoring and educational roles to students and new graduates. In addition, their years of experience can give the insight to develop benefit packages and frame policies and procedures that will make nursing more attractive and aid in retention.

Healthcare systems continue to feel the strain of our aging population and nurses shoulder much of the patient's responsibility. For these organizations, establishing a working partnership with a recruitment firm such as LeaderStat can be an ongoing tool for recruitment and staffing needs.