Effective Leadership and Management in Nursing Shortage
Amita Pradhan
Grand Canyon University: NRS 451V-O101
September 29, 2013

Health professionals demand is on the rise due to nation's 78 millions aging baby boomers. Nursing profession is in the midst of a cyclical and worsening shortage. Economists estimate 285,000 registered nurses shortage between 2015 and 2020 while 95% of patient care is provided by nursing in hospital setting (Creasia & Friberg, 2011). Nursing shortage and the nurse - turnover has become an important issue in health care industry. This paper focuses on important role of nursing leadership and management to approach the situation and the student's personal …show more content…

Nurses were mostly baccalaureate prepared and nurses with clinical specialist added the valuable resources to the nurses. Nurses from temporary agency was avoided. Huber (2010) relates insufficient staffing and highest nurse patient ratio with the feelings of burnout, emotional exhaustion, and job dissatisfaction that cause nurses to leave the nursing profession. Evident shortage of nursing as well as cost cutting in health care environment puts the nurses in the unsafe clinical environment such as higher nurse patient ratio. Additionally the health care environment is very uncertain, it cannot be predicted by the consumer or the provider. However the application of Scientific management theory focusing on ways to increase the productivity of the staff such as keeping the tight nurse patient ratio has been seen more evidently by the student. Different means of incentives are given such as bonus or overtime pay to cover the uncertainty. This can cause burnout and exhaustion creating unsafe patient care. Safe and favorable workload with adequate number of staff is preferred in contrast to incentives, bonus, uncertainty and unsafe patient care. Nursing leader and manager can provide valuable contribution in retention of staff by maintaining manageable workloads, control over work, rewards for contribution, fair treatment, a sense of community and congruence between personal and organizational values (Laschinger, 2012). Professional Development: Magnet