The nursing shortage is a significant professional organizational policy issue that continues to affect the healthcare system. This issue has negative consequences for patient care and healthcare organizations. Factors contributing to the nursing shortage include the increasing demand for healthcare, aging nursing professionals, and limited nursing education resources. A lack of capacity to retain qualified nursing professionals in healthcare organizations also contributes to the nursing shortage. Nursing professionals have a high turnover rate due to huge workloads, burnout, and a lack of professional support. According to Drennan and Ross (2019), the nursing shortage can detrimentally affect care quality and patient safety. It leads to a high patient-to-nurse ratio, leading to fatigue and burnout among the nurses, increasing the risks of medication errors. Nursing professional organizations, including the American Association of Nurse Practitioners (AANP), must advocate for policy solutions to help address the nursing shortage. The AANP should lobby for various policy interventions and strategies for addressing this issue.
Definition and Analysis of the Issue
The nursing shortage is a persistent issue affecting patient care and healthcare organizations in the US. According to AACN.org, the expected nursing shortage in the United States will increase since nursing schools struggle to increase their capacity to meet the increasing demand for care. The health policy area impacted by the nursing shortage in the US includes advocating for increased funding programs to hire more nurses and licensure and accreditation for nursing graduates. The nursing shortage worsened during the COVID-19 pandemic due to the increased demand for healthcare services. Costa and Friese (2022) maintained that federal and state governments should develop policy solutions to prevent nursing workforce losses. Another concern contributing to the increasing nursing shortage in the US expressed by Costa and Friese (2022), includes a lack of access to real-time nursing workforce data to guide policymaking.
Advocating for increased funding programs is fundamental to addressing the nursing shortage in the US. Potential nursing students face financial challenges, hindering them from pursuing nursing degrees. Therefore, federal and state governments should introduce grants and scholarship programs to increase access to nursing education, especially among marginalized populations. Introducing financial aid encourages many students to take nursing degrees. Federal and state governments should also help fund and support the nursing school faculties to recruit and maintain qualified teaching staff (AACN.org, n.d.). Funding and supporting the faculty is crucial for accommodating more nursing students and enhancing the quality of nursing education. Increased federal and state funding programs can also help expand access to nursing programs and create collaboration with healthcare organizations to enable nursing students to access quality clinical training and practicums. Funding can also be used to develop and implement support programs, including professional development programs to help retain qualified nurses.
Background of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners (AANP) and Policy Analysis of the Nursing Shortage
The AANP is among the largest nursing professional organizations that focus on promoting the roles of NPs, advancing their education and professional development, and advocating for policies that improve their capacity to deliver high-quality care (AANP.org, 2023). It operates nationally and partners with state nursing professional organizations to help advocate for issues affecting nurses and the healthcare system, including the nursing shortage. It is a membership-based institution where nurses can join the organization by subscribing to acquire membership. It has a board of directors who manage and oversee its operations. AANP offers various membership assistance, including advocacy, nursing education resources, healthcare industry trends, and networking.
The organization focuses on issues affecting nurses and the healthcare system, including the nursing shortage. It advocates for growing the scope of practice for nurse practitioners to enable them to gain full practice authority. It also committed to expanding access to quality care, especially in marginalized areas, by advocating for increased federal funding to address the nursing shortage. The organization also advocates for integrating nurse practitioners into primary care settings to help close gaps in healthcare delivery (AANP.org). Most importantly, AANP participates in policymaking discussions to advocate for policies affecting the nursing profession, patients, and the healthcare system.
The nursing shortage is a complex policy-related issue affecting the healthcare system and the nursing profession. The issue of nursing shortage is associated with the huge workload, poor patient care, and burnout among the existing nursing workforce (Tamata & Mohammadnezhad, 2022). Political factors, including governmental policies, significantly influence the nursing shortage. For instance, immigration laws and regulations impact the recruitment and training of foreign nursing students. Social factors, including the public views of the nursing profession, work-life balance, and gender roles, significantly influence the nursing shortage. Li et al. (2023) reported that social support was necessary in helping address compassion fatigue and burnout among nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, social support is crucial for addressing the nursing shortage. Economic factors, including salaries, job security, and benefits, are vital in the nursing shortage. These factors can influence the nurse’s decision to stay and continue serving in nursing. The nursing shortage is associated with legal and ethical implications, especially the increasing risks of compromised patient safety.
The nursing shortage can negatively impact the healthcare system. It can compromise the care quality since a high patient-to-nurse ratio can lead to burnout and medication errors. Drennan and Ross (2019) added that the nursing shortage is associated with high healthcare costs due to straining the healthcare system’s resources. Nursing shortage can also impact disease prevention and health promotion, which are the core roles of nurses. The AANP supports policies and initiatives to improve nursing education to address the nursing shortage. The organization also advocates for competitive compensation and develops strategies to address barriers limiting the scope of NPs.
Policy Options
One of the alternative policy-associated options for addressing the nursing shortage includes advocating for increased salaries and incentives for nurses to encourage retention (Peters, 2023). This option focuses on attracting more people to nursing, improving retention, and ensuring many nurses meet the increasing healthcare demands. Benefits of this option include attracting new talents to the nursing profession and retaining qualified nurses to improve the quality of healthcare delivery. Demerits of this option include the increased costs and neglecting other significant issues contributing to the nursing shortage. Another policy-associated option for addressing the nursing shortage includes advocating for increased investment in the nursing education and training program to ensure professional development (Peters, 2023). Benefits of this option include encouraging professional development and developing skills. The third policy-associated option for addressing the nursing shortage includes advocating for improved automation and using technology in healthcare to reduce the burden on nurses (Peters, 2023). Benefits of this option include increasing the efficiency of healthcare delivery, saving costs, and improving care quality. However, it can lead to loss of jobs and ethical implications. Advocating for increased investment in nursing education and training programs is ranked as the first priority since it helps address the long-term nursing shortage and improves healthcare delivery quality.
Involvement
The recommended solution for addressing the nursing shortage includes partnering with the AANP to help advocate for increased nursing education and training programs, increased salaries and incentives for nurses, and improved technological innovations in healthcare. One way I could get involved in the organization’s efforts to address the nursing shortage includes participating in recruitment and mentorship programs and sharing my experience and passion for nursing. Another way includes promoting professional development initiatives through continuing nursing education. Strategies I would use to develop consensus include ensuring open and transparent communication and presenting evidence associated with the nursing shortage.
Conclusion
The nursing shortage significantly impacts the healthcare system and the nursing profession. Factors contributing to the nursing shortage include the increasing demand for healthcare, aging nursing professionals, and limited nursing education resources. Health policies related to this issue include advocating for increased federal and state government funding programs. AANP is among the largest nursing professional organizations that focus on promoting the roles of NPs and advocating for policy changes to address issues like the nursing shortage. Proposed policy-associated options for addressing the nursing shortage include advocating for increased nursing education and training programs, increased salaries and incentives for nurses, and improved technological innovations in healthcare.
References
AACN.org. (n.d.). Nursing shortage fact sheet. American Association of Colleges of Nursing. https://www.aacnnursing.org/news-data/fact-sheets/nursing-shortage
AANP.org. (2023). AANP Practice: Clinical resources, business acumen and opportunities for professional recognition join AANP. American Association of Nurse Practitioners. https://www.aanp.org/practice
Costa, D. K., & Friese, C. R. (2022). Policy strategies for addressing current threats to the U.S. nursing workforce. New England Journal of Medicine, 386(26), 2454–2456. https://doi.org/10.1056/nejmp2202662
Drennan, V. M., & Ross, F. (2019). Global nurse shortages—the facts, the impact and action for change. British Medical Bulletin, 130(1), 25–37. https://doi.org/10.1093/bmb/ldz014
Li, J.-N., Jiang, X.-M., Zheng, Q.-X., Lin, F., Chen, X.-Q., Pan, Y.-Q., Zhu, Y., Liu, R.-L., & Huang, L. (2023). Mediating effect of resilience between social support and compassion fatigue among intern nursing and midwifery students during COVID-19: A cross-sectional study. BMC Nursing, 22(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12912-023-01185-0
Peters, M. (2023). Time to solve persistent, pernicious and widespread nursing workforce shortages. International Nursing Review, 70(2), 247–253. https://doi.org/10.1111/inr.12837
Tamata, A. T., & Mohammadnezhad, M. (2022). A systematic review study on the factors affecting shortage of nursing workforce in the Hospitals. Nursing Open, 10(3), 1247–1257. https://doi.org/10.1002/nop2.1434
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