• Aging population, Nursing shortage and pandemic flu
• How do you think each will affect your practice as an RN in the future?
• How will clients be affected by the trends?
• What role can nursing organizations play in the advancement of nursing related to these trends?

 

Nursing Practice

The Registered Nurse (RN) works in a constantly changing environment since health and medicine are dynamic. Most of the issues that affect the field of nursing are intertwined and interdependent. This means that trends in the health care industry affect both the registered nurse and the patient or client as well. This paper exposes three trends, including nursing shortage, aging population, and the pandemic.

Nursing shortage

The causes of nursing shortage are multiple and complex. A combination of all these issues occurs when a huge number of nurses are entering retirement. The effect of the nursing shortage can be felt in various ways. One of the most significant concerns of nursing shortage is patient mortality. According to research conducted by Tourangeau et al. (2006), a rich RN staff was found to be one of the essential factors in low patient mortality. Patient mortality is likely to increase because RNs are overworked, hence neglecting and overlooking some patients. When they are forced to work for long hours, coupled with stressful conditions, RNs tend to experience injury, fatigue, job dissatisfaction, and overall burnout. These conditions make them vulnerable to making medical errors and mistakes on the job. Others may also suffer from depression.

Aging population

Baby boomers have left a mark on the United States. They will also leave their impact on the future of nursing practice as they approach retirement age. By 2030, this group will have members of 70 years and above. As this population segment ages, it will continually utilize more medical care, something that will directly impact nursing practice. A majority of the elderly population suffers from at least one chronic illness that requires constant medical attention and treatment. It is also worth noting that more people as a whole are reaching old age. Generally, a growing aging population will result in increased use of medical services. Illnesses that were once terminal will soon be survivable in the long run. This places a lot of strain on the nursing workforce.

An increasingly aging population may cause two distinct groups – the older people and the rest of the population. As seen above, the more aging population contains a significant portion of individuals with at least one chronic illness and consequently needs more attention and resources. The result may be that more focus may be directed toward one group at the expense of another, affecting other patients.

Pandemic flu

Nurses have been on the frontline in the battle against the COVID-19 pandemic. This means that they have constantly been exposed to harsh and dangerous conditions themselves as they try to bring relief to the infected and affected populations. Some of them have been infected by the Coronavirus and fortunately recovered. However, others have sadly succumbed to the very disease they tried to fight. The pandemic has affected nurses in more ways than their physical health. Some have had to deal with losing so many patients all at once while trying to give hope to both the patients and their families. When they see many patients lose their lives in hospital beds, it lowers their confidence and self-esteem. Others even committed suicide when they could no longer take the emotional burden of death (Rahman & Plummer, 2020).

In a way, some of the effects of the pandemic can be tied back to the nursing shortage. Since the outbreak of the Coronavirus, hospitals have been receiving tons of patients in need of critical care. Although the patient population was rapidly increasing, the nursing population did not advance to match the increase. This meant that most nurses worked overtime with little to no rest (Rahman & Plummer, 2020).

In other parts of the world, such as third world countries, hospitals and health facilities were running out of vital resources. This means that other patients in need of intensive care services would have lower chances of admission since the hospital beds were already filled up (Alhalaseh et al., 2021).

Conclusion

Nursing organizations play an important role in these trends. They need to encourage more students to choose nursing careers and also ensure that they do not drop out halfway. They should also remove all barriers preventing nursing students from practicing and hence solve the nursing shortage. The benefits of solving the nursing shortage problem will trickle down to other areas, such as dealing with an increasingly aging population and battling against global pandemics. Additionally, nursing organizations should ensure that training is up-to-date to equip nurses with knowledge of the changing demographics.

OUTLINE

Nursing Practice

Thesis Statement: Trends in the health care industry affect both the registered nurse and the patient or client as well. This paper exposes three trends including nursing shortage, aging population, and the pandemic.

1. Introduction
2. Nursing shortage
3. Aging population
4. Pandemic flu
5. Conclusion