Effects of global nursing shortage on health policy
Nurses constitute half of the global health personnel, yet we are currently experiencing an unprecedented nursing shortage (Anderson, 2019). The shortage of nurses is very critical for the health system since nurses provide the highest percentage of patient care, that is, both preventive and curative care. The causes of the shortage of nurses are varied, multifaceted, and far-reaching; however, it primarily due to demand and supply. The effect of the shortage is decreased healthcare delivery, poor quality healthcare, and increased mortalities.
The impact of the shortage of nurses on the UN’s Millennium Development Goals
Anderson (2019) states that nurses are an integral component of the healthcare system; hence the shortage has an acute negative effect on various aspects of life and wellbeing, including the millennial development goals stipulated by the United Nations. Conferring to Abbott, Sapsford & Binagwaho (2017), the goals of the UN specify that the ration between patients and nurses should be favorable to both parties in that the nurses are not overburdened the number of patients, and the patients are not properly attended due to a small number of nurses. The failure to bridge the ration between nurses and patients implies that the nurses would be unable to provide the required quality of care that may endanger patients. Besides, nurses would also suffer from fatigue and strain when delivering care.
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How ideas, values, and beliefs in nursing affect policy agenda
According to the American Nurses Association, nurses have a strict code of values, ideas, and beliefs that guide their practice (Arabi et al. 2015). For nurses to adhere to these objectives, existing policies need to define and incorporate suitable standards for the provision of care. A value required to be upheld by nurses is to dispense medical care to their uppermost ability; by putting the concerns of the patient before their own. Nurses are also required to be impartial and defend human dignity while practicing. Hence, such beliefs and values can influence health policy agenda, for instance, for a nurse to deliver quality healthcare to patients, the welfare of the nurse has to be put into consideration (Arabi et al. 2015). Policies on remunerations, working conditions, staffing may be formulated from these values and beliefs to ensure nurses dispense quality care.
When can a policy determine treatment choices?
According to Jeff (2019), a policy may influence treatment options in various ways. For example, a patient may have a preferred way of treatment against the typically required one probably because of race, religion, or belief even though the preferred option may be medically futile. For a nurse to deal with such patients, a nurse may refer to policy guidelines that define such scenarios, for example, the policy of informed consent or informed refusal.
Reference
Abbott, P., Sapsford, R., & Binagwaho, A. (2017). Learning from success: how Rwanda achieved the millennium development goals for health. World development , 92 , 103-116.
Anderson, B. A. (2019). Facing the nursing workforce shortage: policies and initiatives to promote a resilient healthcare system. In Caring for the Vulnerable (p. 363). Jones and Bartlett Learning, Burlington, MA.
Arabi, A., Rafii, F., Cheraghi, M. A., & Ghiyasvandian, S. (2015). Nurses’ policy influence: A concept analysis. Iranian journal of nursing and midwifery research , 19 (3), 315.
Jeff. (2019, September 2). Know When and How Your Patient Can Legally Refuse Care. Retrieved from https://www.jems.com/2015/03/25/know-when-and-how-your-patient-can-legal/
