As part of the impacts associated with the "Baby Boomer Exiting," an increasing shortage of Registered Nurses (RN) will be experienced as the healthcare industry grows. According to reports by the Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN), enrollment into baccalaureate programs has increasingly fallen short of meeting the projected demands for nursing services across the United States. Several factors have contributed to this nursing shortage such as lower rates of job satisfaction, a lower rate of enrolment into nursing training institutions, and higher rates of turnover among others (Glasper, 2018). As such, it is necessary to develop a strategy that identifies the specific strategies to address the concern of the nursing shortage by enhancing nursing retention.
Identification of Strategy
In addressing the nursing shortage that is likely to be occasioned by the impact of the "Baby Boomer Exiting," the identification and implementation of more robust specific strategies will be necessary. One such specific strategies involve the enhancement of nursing education and training. This particular strategy would involve nurses furthering their education to enhance the quality of care given to patients as well as pursue more opportunities in advancing their careers. Universities, colleges, and other learning institutions charged with the responsibility of training nurses should also support the retention of nurses by considering preparing for various specialties as well as roles in management. The proposal by Buchan and Aiken (2018) indicates that the shortage of nurses could be effectively resolved by considering the design and development of new models of education that are capable of fitting the global needs of healthcare. It is also important to consider using common databases across various stakeholders and organizations in the healthcare sector to facilitate the tracking of nurse training needs.
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Another specific strategic consideration that will be necessary for supporting the general healthcare strategy to address the nursing shortage involves the creation of a positive environment of work and practice for the nurses. May, Bazzoli, and Gerland (2016) observe that the availability of a positive working environment for nurses and other healthcare workers would play a critical role in increasing their levels of job satisfaction, thereby improving retention. Given the nursing shortage around the globe, enhancement of the work environment for nurses has increasingly become an issue of global concern. In the United States, the role and responsibility of enhancing the working environment for nurses rest fundamentally with healthcare organizations and medical facilities. Studies have previously linked the provision of quality healthcare and positive outcomes among patients with positive work environments as well as higher levels of job satisfaction for workers.
According to Cooper (2017), providing nurses with opportunities for a wide range of professional development would be a vital consideration in dealing with the issue of the nursing shortage. This particular strategy would involve providing nurses with tuition reimbursement to assist them in furthering their training and education, thereby opening up and enhancing their chances of accessing career opportunities. Besides, increasing opportunities for professional development for nurses will make the nursing profession more attractive to young people, thereby increasing the number of indecent enrolling for nursing courses in various healthcare training institutions. The findings by Richmann (2013) led to the observation that it was necessary to increase the number of bachelor's nursing holders in the workforce to about 80 percent by the end of 2020. This will help healthcare facilities to improve the quality of care delivered by nurses.
Healthcare organizations and facilities should work towards establishing and implementing a strategy to support deliberate efforts in reducing overtime and overworking of nurses. Friss (2015) argues that overworking of nurses is the leading cause of burnout with significantly contributes most nurses quitting their professions, thereby occasioning a shortage of nurses in the healthcare sector. In this way, hospitals are capable of responding by supporting the creation of fundamental changes to the culture of overtime to increase the rate of retention of nurses. If hospitals consider the implementation of measures aimed at reducing workweek length and shift for nurses as well as setting clear guidelines for what is regarded as an acceptable amount of working time, the rate of burnout will significantly be lowered. Buchan and Aiken (2018) observe that overworking nurses increases burnout among them, leaving them with the option of quitting their profession due to low levels of job satisfaction. Close to 90% of nurses in various healthcare facilities usually consider leaving their profession for other jobs due to poor work/life balance occasioned by being overworked.
Adoption of a nurse redundancy program will be another specific strategy for healthcare organizations and hospitals to consider in reducing the shortage of nurses. Glasper (2018) opines that several hospitals have managed to show higher rates of success in nursing retention by ensuring that nursing graduates are enlisted in redundancy programs. In this way, experienced nurses working in these facilities will experience less frustration, thereby creating higher rates of job satisfaction and retention among nurses. Another strategic consideration in achieving a higher rate of retention and reducing the shortage of nurses is the introduction of systems and frameworks that support the rewarding of excellence and longevity. Studies have shown that hospitals are capable of a voluntary rate of turnover of close to one percent through the creation of a culture that promotes work among nurses owing to the rewards offered to them.
In some healthcare facilities, the issue of shortage of nurses has considerably been addressed by ensuring that nurses are rewarded to an equivalent of close to five days of work when the hospitals meet their targets and objectives. Other hospitals have succeeded in coming with incentive programs that make it possible for nurses to receive as much as $1,500 for various accomplishments such as engaging in presentations at conferences, receiving notes of appreciations from patients, or completing fellowship programs (Cooper, 2017). Nurses who have worked in a healthcare facility for a specified duration automatically qualify to receive additional days off during their vacation as part of a reward retention strategy.
Working with the Organization to Implement the Strategy
Working with the healthcare organization under consideration to ensure the implementation of nurse retention strategy discussed above would require the creation of an implementation structure or framework. In this respect, it would be necessary to assist the healthcare organization in identifying appropriate programs and measures that can support the effective implementation of these specific nurse retention strategies (May, Bazzoli & Gerland, 2016). Besides, the objective of these programs will involve trying to considerably contribute to efforts to curb the shortage of nurses around the globe. In the implementation of the strategy involving the enhancement of nursing education and training, it would be necessary to help this particular healthcare organization designing measures and establishing guidelines.
The measures and guidelines will be necessary for identifying nurses whose qualifications are suitable for further training. In this respect, the guidelines will also specify some of the objectives that require to be met by nurses involved in furthering their education and pursuing more career opportunities. Another way of working with the healthcare organization to support the strategic implementation of specific strategies aimed at reducing the shortage of nurses will involve championing for the assessment of the existing working environments and conditions for nurses. The outcomes of this particular assessment will help the management of the healthcare organization in identifying areas that require changes and adjustments to boost the safety of nurses and increase their level of job satisfaction (Richmann, 2013).
In order to assist this healthcare organization to implement the strategy to reduce the overworking of nurses, it would be necessary to come up with guidelines that ensure that nurses are only working for as long as they can remain productive. Moreover, it would be important for the healthcare organization to consider the recruitment of more nurses to ensure that nurses have less and more manageable working hours (Glasper, 2018). If this healthcare organization achieves a successful implementation of measures aimed at reducing workweek length and shift for nurses and setting clear guidelines for appropriate working hours, the rate of retention will significantly be increased.
Challenges in Implementing the Strategy
Several challenges are likely to be experienced during the implementation of the specific strategies meant to address the issue of shortage of nurses in the healthcare sector. One of these challenges is the inadequacy of funds and financial resources that would enable most healthcare facilities to enhance their capacity in employing nurses. The observation by Friss (2015) indicates that most nurses are not adequately remunerated, thus making it challenging for them to fund or finance their ambitions to pursue enhanced nursing education and training. As such, it becomes difficult for nurses to further their education to enhance their levels of job satisfaction.
It is important to note that the provision of a more secure and improved working condition for nurses for this healthcare organization is likely to experience challenges tanging for lack of sufficient financial resources to lack of more appropriate expertise. Besides, opportunities available for nurses to pursue a wide range of professional development may not be realized due to challenges such as lack of appropriate structures and the necessary policy framework to offer guidelines to nurses (Buchan & Aiken, 2018). Most hospitals are not properly equipped or facilitated to offer nurse redundancy program, thus making it more challenging for them to significantly contribute to improved rates of nurse retention. In such cases, it also becomes difficult for hospitals to address the issue of burnout among nurses.
Measurement in Identifying if the Strategy is Successful
Some of the measurements that would be put in place to determine whether the proposed strategy is effective and successful in addressing the issue of nursing shortage include the rate at which nurses are being absorbed into the healthcare sector upon completing their training. Another measurement will involve determining the ratio of nurses to patients in the healthcare facilities under consideration (Richmann, 2013). It will also be necessary to ascertain the number of working hours spent by nurses as they go about discharging their duties and responsibility in the healthcare facility under consideration for the implementation of the proposed nursing retention strategy.
Conclusion
In conclusion, it is noteworthy that the proposal and implementation of a strategy that identifies the specific strategies are important in addressing the nursing shortage concern by enhancing nursing retention. The shortage of nurses could be more effectively resolved by considering the design and development of new models of education that are capable of fitting the global needs of healthcare. The role and duty of enhancing the working environment for nurses rest fundamentally with healthcare organizations and medical facilities. It is necessary to provide nurses with financial reimbursement to assist them in furthering their training and education, thereby opening up and enhancing their chances of accessing career opportunities. If healthcare organizations consider the implementation of measures aimed at reducing working hours and shift for nurses as well as setting clear guidelines for what is regarded as an acceptable amount of working time, the rate of burnout will significantly be lowered.
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