ANALYSIS OF A PERTINENT 1 Module One Assignment: Analysis of a Pertinent Healthcare Issue Interprofessional Organizational and Systems Leadership NURS 6053

MODULE ONE ASSIGNMENT: 2

Short Staffing

The nursing shortage has been a growing concern for many years, and the need for

registered nurses (RNs) is becoming more acute than ever. As the United States continues to deal

with the fallout of COVID-19, it's clear that the nursing shortage persists. It's no secret that many

nurses feel that short staffing could jeopardize themselves and their patient's safety. Where does

the problem with healthcare facilities always being short staffed? What can healthcare leaders to

about it? This paper will explore the statistics surrounding the nursing shortage, along with the

impact of staffing shortage of nurses and patients.

Statistics on Nursing Shortage

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) projects a 7% job growth for registered nurses

between 2019 and 2029. There will be so much potential for growth because of the nursing

shortage that these employment prospects sound great for people considering nursing as a career.

As nurses retire, the need for RNs grows. One million nurses are expected to retire by 2030,

according to the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN). Approximately 3.9

million nurses are employed in the United States, and about a quarter is 50 years old or older, so

the number of RNs retiring will increase over the next 15 years. As a result of retiring nurses,

175,900 new nursing positions will become available each year, according to the BLS. There

may indeed have been slight improvements in the number of registered nurses finding

employment in each city or region. Still, the overwhelming problem is simply a mismatch: There

are more people requiring nursing care than there are nurses to provide it (Marymount University

Online, 2021). In the state of Texas where I live and work in 2018 there were a reported 279,000

nurses, with a population of 28,996,000 calculating to a 9.62 nurses per 1000 people (Nurse

Journal, 2022)