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    3 Big Problems Facing Nursing Today

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    Shell Balangue
    Three big problems facing nursing today are: 1) A hospital staffing crisis exacerbated by increasing healthcare costs and focus on profits over patient care. 2) Difficulty meeting patient expectations as nurses are stretched thin. 3) A continued lack of respect from others in the healthcare field and physical/verbal abuse, though rates have decreased. These problems stem from a lack of legislation and advocacy on issues important to nursing. If left unaddressed, they will negatively impact patient care and the future of the nursing profession.

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    3 Big Problems Facing Nursing Today

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    Shell Balangue
    129 views2 pages
    Three big problems facing nursing today are: 1) A hospital staffing crisis exacerbated by increasing healthcare costs and focus on profits over patient care. 2) Difficulty meeting patient expectations as nurses are stretched thin. 3) A continued lack of respect from others in the healthcare field and physical/verbal abuse, though rates have decreased. These problems stem from a lack of legislation and advocacy on issues important to nursing. If left unaddressed, they will negatively impact patient care and the future of the nursing profession.

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    Three big problems facing nursing today are: 1) A hospital staffing crisis exacerbated by increasing healthcare costs and focus on profits over patient care. 2) Difficulty meeting patient expectations as nurses are stretched thin. 3) A continued lack of respect from others in the healthcare field and physical/verbal abuse, though rates have decreased. These problems stem from a lack of legislation and advocacy on issues important to nursing. If left unaddressed, they will negatively impact patient care and the future of the nursing profession.

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    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    129 views2 pages

    3 Big Problems Facing Nursing Today

    Uploaded by

    Shell Balangue
    Three big problems facing nursing today are: 1) A hospital staffing crisis exacerbated by increasing healthcare costs and focus on profits over patient care. 2) Difficulty meeting patient expectations as nurses are stretched thin. 3) A continued lack of respect from others in the healthcare field and physical/verbal abuse, though rates have decreased. These problems stem from a lack of legislation and advocacy on issues important to nursing. If left unaddressed, they will negatively impact patient care and the future of the nursing profession.

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    3 Big Problems Facing Nursing Today

    July 11, 2012 By Michelle Wong, HEALTHeCAREERS.com



    According to the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN), nursing represents the
    nations largest healthcare profession with more than 3.1 million nurses and 2.6 million licensed
    RNs. Being that nurses represent the majority of the workforce, they are often targeted as a way
    for hospitals to decrease their costs now that healthcare costs are increasing. Nursing, as a
    profession, can be very rewarding and challenging, however many problems exist and most are
    becoming worse due to lack of legislation to address these issues. Three big problems nursing is
    facing today are the hospital staffing crisis due to increased healthcare costs, meeting patients
    expectations, and the lack of respect towards nurses.

    1. Hospital staffing crisis

    The hospital staffing crisis , a long drawn out problem, is intensifying as healthcare costs are
    increasing. This problem may be worsening due to more hospital CEOs investing in advanced
    medical technologies and failing to pay attention to maintaining adequate staff levels. Corporate
    greed has seemed to have taken precedence over safe patient care as well. Chuck Idelson, a CNA
    representative, voiced this concern by telling In These Times, The problems are systemic,
    primarily because the focus of the corporate giants that control most hospitals now is on profits,
    not on safe patient care.

    One solution that can help alleviate this problem is if other states follow Californias lead in
    adopting a Safe Staffing RN Ratios law. This is not an easy task -- it took California 12 years for
    the state to have this legislation approved. As for now, National Nurses United is working on
    implementing federal legislation to establish nationwide nurse-ratio guidelines.

    2. Meeting patient expectations

    In a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, NPR and Harvard School of Public Health poll , one out
    of three patients who stayed in a hospital at least one night, reported that nurses weren't
    available when needed or didn't respond quickly to requests for help." Meeting patient
    expectations is hard enough as it is and some people fear it may worsen as healthcare and the
    elderly population increases. They also worry that nurses will be stretched too thinly and may not
    be able to achieve the needs and demands for their patients. Currently, the Emergency
    Department is becoming too crowded due to blood tests and other diagnostic procedures that
    slow patient flow.

    3. Lack of respect

    Nursing can be a gratifying profession; however, nurses continue to experience lack of respect
    from their patients, doctors, administrators, and even from their coworkers. Medscapes online
    survey early this year reported that 31.4 percent of the respondents interviewed identified "lack
    of respect from other healthcare providers/non-nurses" as being one of the most distressing job
    factors in 2011.

    Also, in an ANA 2011 Health and Safety Survey, physical assault and verbal abuse were shown
    to have gone down but the issue still remains to be a big concern. RNs in the survey reported that
    on-the-job assault was one of their top-three safety concerns. The survey reported that within a
    12-month period, 11 percent of RNs were physically assaulted and 52 percent were either
    threatened or verbally abused. Many cases go unreported because some feel that this problem is
    just part of their job.

    These are only three problems nursing is facing today. Many of the problems in nursing are due
    to the lack of legislation to address these issues. Because the healthcare industry is constantly
    evolving due to health reform, more problems will continue to emerge.

    SOURCE: http://www.healthecareers.com/article/3-big-problems-facing-nursing-today/170629
    1. How it affects the nursing profession today and the future?
    The effects of these issues to our profession, is that there lack

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