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HEALTH CARE STAFF SHORTAGES

REQUIRED COVER PAGE TO BE USED FOR ALL ASSIGNMENTS

Master of Science Program in Health Services Administration

College of Health Sciences

Course Number & Name HSA 668- Health Care Human Resource Management

Semester & Year Summer 2020

Instructor’s Name

Title of Assignment Health Care Staff Shortages

Assignment Date June 23rd, 2020

STATEMENT OF ORIGINALITY:

I CERTIFY THAT I AM THE AUTHOR OF THIS PAPER AND THAT ANY ASSIGNMENT I
RECEIVE IN ITS PREPARATION IS FULLY ACKNOWLEDGED AND DISCLOSED IN THE
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EITHER QUOTED DIRECTLY OR PARAPHRASED. I ALSO CERTIFY THAT THIS PAPER WAS
PREPARED BY ME SPECIFICALLY FOR THIS COURSE.

A paper must be turned in for each student listed below with original signature.

Student Name (Print) Student (Signature) Barry ID Number

Instructor’s Signature

Instructor’s Grade

Instructor’s Comments
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Health Care Staff Shortages

HSA 668 – Health Care Human Resource Management

Barry University
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Background

Staff shortage is a threatening issue that is affecting the human resource management

sector of healthcare. It runs rampant from country to country, and no amount of measures taken

so far have been able to mitigate the demands of a growing population. According to the Third

Global Forum on Human Resources for Health, by 2035, there will be a nursing deficit of 12.9

million (Marc, 2018). Baby boomers who are now coming into retirement need more critical care

and more importantly, long term care. There is an increase need for critical care and yet more

healthcare professionals are experiencing burnout from the demand. The current pandemic is a

prime example of the high stake demands and clear unbalanced ratio of healthcare worker to

patient.

Proper management, foundational development and high retention of healthcare

professionals are key factors in facing the crisis of staff shortage and for creating effective

management of healthcare management and improvement of quality patient care. As of right

now, there are many factors which are affecting the healthcare labor market. These include

changes in patient demographics, changes in the reimbursement methods, aging staff, less than

optimal planning of professional training and career pathways, intensifying working conditions,

and shifts in employee work values and preferences (Winter 2020).

Staffing issues has been found not to be only the result of lack of qualified individuals but

more to the effect of the restrictive and rigid staffing policies that are now in effect. Recent

policy changes have put healthcare organization especially hospitals under a microscope and to

remain accredited and aligned with these polices big money needs to spend. As a result, hospitals

may be putting in place cost containment measures to mitigate these expenses which results in

staff shortage (Winter, 2020). The staff shortage can be most clearly seen in the nursing industry.
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Problems, Issues, Concerns

Major issues with staff shortage result in high turnover rate, employee burnout (the state

of emotional exhaustion in which the individual feels overwhelmed by work to the point of

feeling fatigued , unable to face the demand of the job and unable to engage with others) , and

the time and cost of training and developing new recruits (Bakhamis, 2019). It is estimated that

the number of healthcare jobs in the US will increase by nearly 12% between now and 2028

(U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2018). The growth in demand will result primarily by the Baby

Boomer generation going into retirement which will include 51% of nurses who are also from

that generation. A large sector of the nursing industry is about to go into retirement when they

will be needed the most. It is estimated that 203,700 nurses will be needed each year to meet the

demand and replace the retirees (Lytle, 2020). Yet, in 2015, there was only 158,000 nursing

graduates. Meeting the deficit will be a long and challenging role.

According to the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN), nursing schools

in 2018 denied over 75,000 qualified applicants from baccalaureate and graduate nursing

programs. This is due to simply not enough faculty, clinical sites, classroom space, and clinical

preceptors (AACN, 2018). Along with this, nursing schools also face budget constraints to

provide quality education. Another factor affecting staff shortage is that more nurses are

experiencing unrealistic demands and raising stress levels which in turn affects job satisfaction

and resulting in many nurses leaving the profession for better pay and better-quality work

(AACN, 2018). This goes hand in hand with early retirement from nursing and high turnover

rates which then affect access to quality health care.

The impact of staff shortage of nurses on health care can be directly felt. Many scientific
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studies have proven that there is a direct link between a sufficient level of registered nurse

staffing and safe patient care. A 2014 study showed that by increasing a nurse’s workload by 1

patient increased the likelihood of dying within 30 days of admission by 7%. Moreover, that

every 10% increase in bachelor’s degree nursing hires resulted in a 10% mortality decrease

(AACN, 2018). Another study found that adequate nursing staffing results in fewer deaths, lower

failure to rescue incidents, lower rates of infection and shorter hospital stays (AACN, 2018).

Alternative Solutions

Some efforts to assist with staff shortage include statewide proposals, nursing school

expansions, the development of NursingCAS, and campaigns to promote careers in nursing. In

terms of statewide proposals, some universities and the Federal government are announcing

multimillion-dollar initiatives which will grant loan forgiveness to registered nurses and those

nurses who also become faculty members (AACN, 2018). Also, more and more nursing

programs are partnering with the private sector to increase the number of clinical sites. The

development of Nursing CAS which is the nation’s centralized application service for

undergraduate and graduate nursing programs, was created to close the gap of applicants who

were turned away due to space and budget constraints (AACN, 2018). Finally, companies like

Johnson and Johnson have been promoting careers in nursing by using television ads as well as

offering scholarships.

Other methods used to mitigate the nursing shortage is by raising pay when possible but

also offering a more flexible schedule and training opportunities (Lytle, 2020). Another initiative

that might lower the turnover rate is to offer more temporary work, job sharing and part time

shift opportunities instead of full time. In addition, a company that embraces technology and are

willing to train staff on new technologies were more willing to stay (Lytle, 2020). The culture of
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the hospital can also elicit a staying power. Hospitals that encouraged employees to report issues

without repercussions were more likely to stay due to different issues and behaviors being

communicated and then a solution to be worked out (Lytle, 2020).

Conclusion

In conclusion, staff shortage is felt everywhere and will continue to be a challenge faced

in the healthcare industry. There are many factors affecting shortage in the nursing industry

which include the Baby boomer generation, high demand and low supply, not enough nursing

school graduates, and insufficient faculty to student ratio. Moreover, the quality of work that

nurses are experiencing is leading to high turnover rate due to unsatisfaction with jobs, long

hours, and not enough pay. More and more health care professionals including nurses are

experiences burnout and are moving from the clinical to the administrative world of healthcare.

Some solutions to the issue include pay raises where possible, training with new

technology, scholarship and loan programs campaigning to entice new nursing recruits and

improving the quality of the work environment such as having a more flexible work schedule.

The staff shortage will continue to be a struggle and has a long challenging road ahead of it.
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References

 Fica, T. (2019). 4 Big Challenges Facing HR Professionals in the Healthcare Industry.

Retrieved from https://www.bamboohr.com/blog/challenges-facing-hr-professionals-

healthcare-industry/

 Lytle, T. (2020). The Health Care Industry's Top HR Challenges. Retrieved from

https://www.shrm.org/hr-today/news/hr-magazine/spring2020/pages/health-care-industry-

top-hr-challenges.aspx

 Hart, N. (2020). 5 Challenges Facing HR Professionals in the Healthcare Industry. Retrieved

from https://www.accesscorp.com/blog/5-challenges-hr-healthcare/

 American Association of Colleges of Nursing. (2018). Nursing Shortage Fact Sheet.

Retrieved from https://www.aacnnursing.org/Portals/42/News/Factsheets/Nursing-Shortage-

Factsheet.pdf

 Intermountain Healthcare. (2017). Finding a Cure for Healthcare's Staffing Shortage.

Retrieved from https://intermountainhealthcare.org/blogs/topics/transforming-

healthcare/2017/12/finding-a-cure-for-healthcares-staffing-shortage/

 PlumX Metrics (2018). The U.S. Nursing Workforce in 2018 and Beyond. Retrieved from

https://www.journalofnursingregulation.com/article/S21558256(18)30015-2/fulltext

 Marc, M., Bartosiewicz, A., et al (2018). A Nursing Shortage – A Prospect of Global and

Local Policies. Retrieved from https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/inr.12473

 Winter, V. Schreyogg, J., and Thiel, A. (2020). Hospital staff shortages: Environmental and

organizational determinants and implications for patient satisfaction. Retrieved from

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0168851020300038

 Bakhamis, L, David, P. Smith, H., Coustasse, A. (2019). Still an Epidemic the Burnout
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Syndrome in Hospital Registered Nurses. Retrieved from

https://journals.lww.com/healthcaremanagerjournal/Fulltext/2019/01000/Still_an_Epidemic_

_The_Burnout_Syndrome_in.2.aspx