Instructions:

Please read and respond to at least two of your peers’ initial postings. You may want to consider the following questions in your responses to your peers:

Do you feel this is an issue in your workplace? Why or why not?

How could some of the solutions proposed in the literature be applied in your workplace?

Compare and contrast your initial posting with those of your peers.

How are they similar or how are they different?

What information can you add that would help support the responses of your peers?

Ask your peers a question for clarification about their post.

What most interests you about their responses? Adult Health Nursing

Please be sure to validate your opinions and ideas with citations and references in APA format.

MY POST

Nurses play a vital role in the Healthcare system as they provide public health services, patient care, and advocacy. However, nurses face numerous challenges that affect their productivity in the workplace. Some of these challenges are being addressed, while others have fallen to the waste side. It is essential to cater to these challenges in order to ensure the smooth running of the Healthcare system.

Some key challenges facing nurses today include workforce shortage, technological advancements, increased legal and ethical responsibilities, and diversity and cultural competency. With the increasing demand for healthcare services, there are fewer nurses to cater to all the cases, leading to overworking. The healthcare system has continually integrated new technology, such as electronic health records and artificial intelligence, to help smooth operations. These new advancements are complex for the nurses as they lack sufficient training to operate them (Alsadaan et al., 2021). Workplace stress and burnout are other significant challenges nurses face today. They are involuntarily forced to work long shifts to cater to the high patient-to-nurse ratios, leading to low job performance.

As healthcare evolves, nurses must acquire new skills and competence to keep up with the trends. These essential skills include interdisciplinary collaboration, leadership and decision-making skills, technological proficiency, global health awareness, resilience and adaptability, and expanding clinical knowledge to cater to new developing cases (National Academies of Sciences, 2021). These future implications will help place nurses in a better position in the changing medical world.

Everyone needs to be on board as the medical world continues to evolve. My contribution to the nursing future and its key issues and challenges include learning and supporting technological integration to health in smooth operations, a significant issue affecting nurses (Booth et al., 2021). I will also advocate for favorable working hours to reduce burnout. Integrating these contributions will help nurses in the long run. Adult Health Nursing

References

Alsadaan, N., Jones, L. K., Kimpton, A., & DaCosta, C. (2021). Challenges Facing the Nursing Profession in Saudi Arabia: An Integrative Review. Nursing Reports, 11(2), 395–403.

Booth, R. G., Strudwick, G., McBride, S., O’Connor, S., & Solano López, A. L. (2021). How the nursing profession should adapt for a digital future. BMJ, 373(1190).

National Academies of Sciences. (2021). The Future of Nursing 2020-2030: Charting a Path to Achieve Health Equity. In nap.nationalacademies.org. National Academy of Medicine.

REPLY 1

LISSA

One of the biggest challenges and barriers that health care is facing is the nursing shortage. The nursing shortage is at a crisis level across the nation. (Harnois-Church et al., 2024) The issue is multifactorial and caused by an aging population, an increasing need for health care, increased number of nurses retiring and fewer students enrolling in nursing programs. This shortage was further exacerbated by COVID 19 Pandemic (Udod, 2023)) Adult Health Nursing

The problem is cyclic. Frequent shortage of nursing in a healthcare system to provide services may lead to stress and burnout, which will affect nurse’s performance and increase the chances of medical errors. (Tamata & Mohammadnezhad, 2022) Therefore it is reasonable to assume that as the shortage worsens, the burnout rate of current nurses will increase and lead to a cyclic affect. Facilities must implement policies that protect the nurse from being overutilized. This may mean turning patients away or diverting to another facility which of course would impact the bottom line. However studies show that “The inadequate supply of nurses has notably created many negative impacts on the patient’s health‐related outcome as well as challenges to fight diseases and improving health, which causes increased workload and stress levels on nurses and later results in decreasing the quality of nursing care, threatening the safety of patient and increasing the patient’s mortality rate”(Tamata & Mohammadnezhad, 2022) Policies and regulations that ensure a safe nurse-patient ratio are crucial in preventing nurses from becoming overwhelmed and leaving the profession.

Measures are being taken to address the shortage, but this going to take more than just a quick fix. Improved salaries, better health care benefits and more flexibility to accommodate the demands of working parents, including onsite daycares could help with retention. Other long-term solutions must include improving the education and training systems for nurses and making nursing more appealing as a career choice. At an individual level I can impact this by speaking positively about my career and all the choices it offers. Not only does the supply of new nurses need to be addressed but nursing burnout needs to be acknowledged and addressed. I think this is where nurses as individuals can have the greatest impact. We need to focus on self-care and not the constant sacrifices that we are accustomed to as a nurse. We need to take our breaks; work the hours we agreed upon and not feel obligated to do more for less. We need to insist on strict adherence to nurse-patient ratios and speak up against poor or unsafe working conditions. As a seasoned nurse I need to focus on mentorship and being a positive role model to new nurses and students that may be considering nursing. Continuing education is also crucial along with active involvement in professional organizations, such as the American Nurses Association (ANA), which can provide you with resources and support in advocating for better working conditions for all nurses.

Within my organization there are some steps being taken to encourage continuing education. Nursing CEUs and nurse licensure is reimbursed along with full tuition in certain college programs such as this one. Schedule flexibility is also being explored. They recently began offering five days a week or the option of working four 10 hours shifts. Paid time off for well health visits is also now offered. The ability to work from home and leadership support when time off is needed is also helping with burnout. I feel they could improve by looking at the demands and expectations and possibly decreasing the workload to be more manageable in a 40 hour week. We are constantly being asked to do more in the same number of hours a day and this has been something I have experienced throughout my career. According to a systemic review by Tamata and Mohammadnezhad, “There are factors that significantly contributed to the nursing shortage worldwide such as barriers in policy and planning, training and enrolment and staff turnover due to workload and job dissatisfaction.” (Tamata & Mohammadnezhad, 2022) Until all these factors are addressed at an organizational level and a national level the nursing shortage will continue. Adult Health Nursing

References

Harnois-Church, P. A., Horsley, L., Wilhoit, K. W., & Wei, H. (2024). Addressing the nursing shortage. Nurse Leader, 22(3), 317–321.

Tamata, A., & Mohammadnezhad, M. (2022). A systematic review study on the factors affecting shortage of nursing workforce in the hospitals. Nursing Open, 10(3), 1247–1257.

Udod, S. (2023). A call for urgent action: Innovations for nurse retention in addressing the nursing shortage. Nursing Reports, 13(1), 145–147. Adult Health Nursing

REPLY 2

KEELY

One significant barrier in the nursing profession within the hospital setting is the lack of full autonomy for RNs to make certain decisions, particularly in relation to care plans and interventions. While RNs have the education and training to assess and manage patient care, there are often institutional or procedural limitations that require constant physician approval for tasks that nurses are well-equipped to handle independently. These barriers prevent RNs from practicing to the full extent of their knowledge and skills. Adult Health Nursing

As an RN in the hospital, I can make an impact by advocating for greater autonomy in areas where nurses are qualified to act independently, such as administering certain medications, managing chronic conditions, or implementing care plans for stable patients. I could also promote a collaborative approach to care, where RNs are recognized as key decision-makers alongside physicians and other healthcare professionals.

In a review discussing ICU nurses’ autonomy, it was found that there are limited studies on ICU nurses’ professional autonomy. Therefore, Yoshiyasu, Shota, Yayoi, and Kishimoto performed a scoping review. In this review, “The evidence suggests that the ability of ICU nurses to exercise professional autonomy can improve patient outcomes by enhancing effective nurse-physician collaboration” (Yoshiyasu, Shota, Yayoi, & Kishimoto, 2024).

According to the literature, many healthcare organizations are making strides to remove practice limitations for RNs. There has been a growing trend in some hospitals to empower nurses by allowing them more responsibility in decision-making, particularly in patient care coordination and management. Additionally, national organizations such as the American Nurses Association (ANA) continue to advocate for removing barriers that prevent RNs from practicing to the full extent of their education. The American Nurse Association is exploring factors that promote nurses and their ability to practice to their full extent. It has created a panel for nurses to use where they may be able to identify barriers. (Kathy Baker & Tracy E. Williams, 2016)

references:

Kathy Baker, P. R.-B., & Tracy E. Williams, D. R. (2016, September 30). Overview and Summary: Elimination of Barriers to RN Scope of Practice: Opportunities and Challenges. Retrieved from The Online Journal of Issues in Nursing:

Yoshiyasu, I., Shota, S., Yayoi, F., & Kishimoto, H. (2024). Intensive Care Unit Nurses’ Professional Autonomy: A Scoping Review. Retrieved from Cureus: