by Sita

Created on: April 15, 2010   Last Updated: April 16, 2010

In order to truly begin to address the problem of nursing shortage, we first have to reprioritize the role of nursing staff in relation to work environment, job satisfaction, and budget issues. Many a hospital has felt the crunch lately from insurance company reimbursements and general decreases in operating budget. While quality of care indicators become even more important, and the public has a higher expectation than ever for the quality of care they receive, the people responsible for providing that care- doctors, nurses, aides, etc., are forced to operate under conditions that ultimately relate to finances, not the best interests of the patient.

Recruiting more young nurses is often seen as a solution to the staffing crisis that is only expected to get worse over the next 20 years. However, instead of looking at recruiting more new nurses, perhaps we should look at what might be an even bigger issue- why our nurses are leaving the profession in the first place. It's rarely money, though higher salaries are often sited as a "plus" of going into the profession, and salary is often addressed as a solution to encourage nursing growth or retention. In truth, though, do we really want nurses who come to work only for the paycheck? And is money really the reason why new college graduates with student loans and other debt leave the profession in astonishingly high rates over the first year, or nurses working in the profession for many years suddenly choose to leave and possibly start a different career path all over again?

Healthcare is a field with one of the highest rates of personal injury, and reasons for nurses leaving the profession are often sited as being work conditions, including physical and emotional stress. Lately, it has become common to supplement licensed nursing staff with unlicenced assistive personnel- nurse's aides, CNAs, etc. While one cannot deny the importance of the role that these assistants play in healthcare, we also must look at their role in relation to the nurse. Ultimately, all aspects of care to a patient are the responsibility of the nurse. Even if something is within the scope of an aide's practice, the task has to be overseen by the nurse and she is responsible for ensuring that it be done, and done properly. With the introduction of assistant personnel, nursing assignments have increased in the number of patients, even as patient acuity has also increased. Insurance companies don't want to pay for extra days of

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