select one current nursing issue and discuss the impact of the issue on the increasing number of advanced practice nurses

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Solution

Nursing Shortages

According to the US Census Bureau, the number of Americans above 65 will increase significantly, reaching at least 80 million by 2040(US Census Bureau, 2020). From the turn of the millennium to 2040, the number of adults above 85 years is also expected to quadruple (US Census Bureau, 2020). This represents a significant proportion of the population who are susceptible to chronic conditions and who have a high demand for basic health care services. The increasing demand for health care services in the US as the population ages has therefore not been met with a corresponding increase in the nursing workforce.

One of the main current nursing issues in the US is nursing shortages. Numerous surveys conducted in recent years have therefore indicated that at least 72% of clinical practitioners acknowledge moderate, significant, or severe nursing shortages in the healthcare organizations they practice(Rosseter, 2020). Moreover, most healthcare practitioners also believe that nursing shortages will get worse in the next decade as the population ages and the demand for healthcare services keeps increasing (Rosseter, 2020). The demand for nurses has therefore kept increasing while the supply has been significantly diminished.

Nursing shortages are associated with numerous negative outcomes among both nurses and healthcare facilities.  Nursing shortages lead to understaffing, which can cause fatigue, stress, and burnout. Understaffed facilities, therefore, allocate more duties to nurses and heavy workloads, which increases the chances for medical errors and adverse outcomes among patients (Rosseter, 2020). As a result, nursing shortages contribute significantly to poor health outcomes among patients and a generally lower quality of care in health care facilities.

One solution to the challenge of the nursing shortage in the US has been the training and development of health care practitioners to meet the growing demand for healthcare services as the population ages. Professional committees such as the IOM have recommended increasing the level of training and education for nurses and motivating nurses to pursue higher levels of education as one of the most effective ways to meet the rising demand for healthcare services in the US as the population ages (Palatnik, 2016).

In contemporary times nurses have many chances to advance their education and qualifications and to be able to take on more roles and duties in healthcare facilities.  The availability of chances and resources to pursue higher levels of education in nursing has contributed to the increased number of advanced practice nurses. In addition, the challenge of nursing shortages has encouraged more nurses to pursue higher education or qualifications such as the advanced practice registered nurse qualifications to be able to meet the growing demand for health care services. Advanced practice nurses play a significant role in meeting the rising demand for health care services across the US population due to the ability to practice independently with limited physician supervision. As a result of having a higher level of autonomy, advanced practice nurses will increase access to health care services in poorly served and marginalized communities. Therefore, advanced practice nurses can play a significant role in promoting access to health care services across the US presently and in the future. Advanced practice nurses will also play a significant role in addressing the challenge of nursing shortages, while the challenge of nursing shortages will keep motivating nurses to pursue advanced practice roles leading to an increase in the number of advanced practice nurses in the future.

References

Palatnik, A. (2016). The future of nursing. Nursing Critical Care, 11(3), 4. https://doi.org/10.1097/01.ccn.0000482518.50906.58

Rosseter, R. (2020, September). AACN Fact Sheet – Nursing Shortage. Aacnnursing.Org. https://www.aacnnursing.org/news-information/fact-sheets/nursing-shortage

US Census Bureau. (2020, February 20). 2017 National Population Projections Datasets. The United States Census Bureau. https://www.census.gov/data/datasets/2017/demo/popproj/2017-popproj.html