Nursing Crisis!

In today’s society the worldwide shortage of nurses continues to increase. Fewer students are being expected into nursing programs due to the lack of requirements needed. This decrease in the amount of nursing students graduating is what leads to what is now known as the nursing crisis. This crisis is continuing to escalate in severity, as the population known as the baby boomers are now in their sixties and are consuming more health care. This shortage is ultimately affecting not only the nurses, but also the patients. Since there are more patients present than nurses available, nurses are taking on more patients than most hospital guidelines recommend and working double shifts or sixteen hours or more. The overwhelming number of patients per nurse increases stress, burnout, and injury. Not only does the shortage put the nurses at risk, but also the patients. When nurses have to provide care for more patients then they can handle, the quality of the care decreases significantly. Therefore, patients are receiving less meaningful care and there is not time available for therapeutic relationships, a very important aspect in caring. Such improper care also affects the nurses, as it is very frustrating going home knowing one didn’t provide the care their patients requires, because of the shortage of nurses.