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Effects and issues in the nursing field
By: Allure Williams
Across the nation nurses suffer similar issues which includes low wages, understaffed work environments and long hours. These issues then lead to lower quality of care and neglect of patients. Patients especially those that are in desperate need of assistance are often treated wrongly by the over worked nurses and staff that work in an understaffed environment. Many do not realize that nurses are key to quality medical care and save lives on a regular basis.
Now of days nurses are often looked down on as being a doctors’ assistant with little amount of obligation. This is a result of believed stereotypes and misconceptions that are nowhere close to being true or were never true. Yes, “some work that nurses do helps doctors, but the majority of nursing work is independent and just as vital (or more) to patient care as doctors’ work.” says brain scape. Every day patients are treated and or diagnosed by nurses, along with administering test and giving care. Nurses have an ethical responsibility to do what is best for their patients so labeling them as assistants or even thinking of them on a lower level than what they are given credit for is inaccurate.
In the eye of many people nursing is a job for those that couldn’t make it as a doctor or that isn’t “smart” enough for a high-level medical degree. This is simply untrue. Almost all nurses purposefully chose nursing as a career and went through a rigorous degree program to qualify. Many employers often require a bachelor’s in science of nursing and at the least an associate in science or some certificate relating to nursing. To be able to practice nursing students must pass a board exam. Nurses perform research, diagnose patients, participate in surgeries, treat illnesses, administer medication, and much more every day so their value is just the same as doctors.
Despite what may be shown in the media more and more of such tasks are being done by assistants and technicians with lower degrees of training such as CNA’s. Nursing requires accomplishing many complex activities during a shift. Nursing is a challenging career at times because of the complicated, highly skilled work they must carry out in a high-pressure environment where lives can be on the line.
With stories about nursing shortages in the news and the misconception that nurses are just a type of medical helper, many people get the wrong impression that just about anyone with minimal training can get a job as a nurse.
When it comes to such an important profession it is a shame that so many negative misconceptions about nurses cloud the way we see them and the issues within the field.
As mentioned, one of the most prominent issues in this field is the nurses being over worked because of understaffed conditions. Healthline magazine says “A 2014 survey of more than 3,300 nurses found that they were stressed, overworked, underappreciated, and underutilized…64 percent said they rarely get seven to eight hours of sleep per night. Another 31 percent said they get enough sleep just two to three nights a week.” Being understaffed means the same few nurses are working around the clock. “They may also have long shifts and on call availability that make them more likely to pull 24- or 36-hour shifts.” says Health line. Anne Schwamberger a former pediatric nurse that quit said “Most nights on the job, I felt unable to provide my patients the high-quality care that they deserved because of being short-staffed…”
Underfunded hospitals and low wages are another significant burden for nurses. In the “Nurses: overworked and understaffed on the front lines” by health line it says, “Only 16 percent of the nurses surveyed said they are fairly paid”. Many people are stressed on the job, but poor working conditions and sparse budgets for nurses can impact patient care. A study in 2013 by the Journal of Patient Safety estimates that between 210,000 and 440,000 patients die at hospitals each year as a result of medical errors. Those can happen when a nurse is exhausted or not given the authority to make critical decisions. Nearly a fourth of hospital and nursing home nurses aren’t satisfied with their jobs, according to one study published by the US National Library of Medicine, and more than a third feel burned out. “Burnout is an occupational hazard in nursing,” says Jeanne Geiger-Brown, dean at Stevenson University's School of Nursing and Health Professions. “It is hard to generate a lot of care about other people, because you are so depleted yourself.”
Burnout, of course, is caused by overwork, but what causes overwork is more complicated and reveals how the cost-cutting priorities of hospitals force their nurses to pay an emotional tax.
In addition to be being overworked nurses face inadequate staffing. Two additional studies released in March 2011 further highlighted the importance of higher nursing staff levels to patient outcomes, and both studies present evidence that higher nurse staffing levels improve patient outcomes, often saving lives. While insufficient nurse staffing has been linked to poorer patient outcomes, lengthened hospital stays and increased chance of patient death.
Works cited
Fischer, Kristen “Nurses: Overworked and Understaffed on the Front Lines” health line 27, Sept. 2016 https://www.healthline.com/health-news/nurses-overworked-understaffed-070714#4
Goodrich, Kaitlyn “Common Misconceptions About Nurses” Brain scape 16, June. 2016 https://www.brainscape.com/blog/2015/06/common-misconceptions-about-nurses/
“Nurses’ Widespread Job Dissatisfaction, Burnout, And Frustration With Health Benefits Signal Problems For Patient Care” NCBI 1, Feb. 2012
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3201822/
Knowles, Megan “Study: Overworked nurses may be linked to 40% increase in risk of patient death” Becker’s 4, May. 2018
https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/quality/study-overworked-nurses-may-be-linked-to-40-increase-in-risk-of-patient-death.html
By: Allure Williams
Across the nation nurses suffer similar issues which includes low wages, understaffed work environments and long hours. These issues then lead to lower quality of care and neglect of patients. Patients especially those that are in desperate need of assistance are often treated wrongly by the over worked nurses and staff that work in an understaffed environment. Many do not realize that nurses are key to quality medical care and save lives on a regular basis.
Now of days nurses are often looked down on as being a doctors’ assistant with little amount of obligation. This is a result of believed stereotypes and misconceptions that are nowhere close to being true or were never true. Yes, “some work that nurses do helps doctors, but the majority of nursing work is independent and just as vital (or more) to patient care as doctors’ work.” says brain scape. Every day patients are treated and or diagnosed by nurses, along with administering test and giving care. Nurses have an ethical responsibility to do what is best for their patients so labeling them as assistants or even thinking of them on a lower level than what they are given credit for is inaccurate.
In the eye of many people nursing is a job for those that couldn’t make it as a doctor or that isn’t “smart” enough for a high-level medical degree. This is simply untrue. Almost all nurses purposefully chose nursing as a career and went through a rigorous degree program to qualify. Many employers often require a bachelor’s in science of nursing and at the least an associate in science or some certificate relating to nursing. To be able to practice nursing students must pass a board exam. Nurses perform research, diagnose patients, participate in surgeries, treat illnesses, administer medication, and much more every day so their value is just the same as doctors.
Despite what may be shown in the media more and more of such tasks are being done by assistants and technicians with lower degrees of training such as CNA’s. Nursing requires accomplishing many complex activities during a shift. Nursing is a challenging career at times because of the complicated, highly skilled work they must carry out in a high-pressure environment where lives can be on the line.
With stories about nursing shortages in the news and the misconception that nurses are just a type of medical helper, many people get the wrong impression that just about anyone with minimal training can get a job as a nurse.
When it comes to such an important profession it is a shame that so many negative misconceptions about nurses cloud the way we see them and the issues within the field.
As mentioned, one of the most prominent issues in this field is the nurses being over worked because of understaffed conditions. Healthline magazine says “A 2014 survey of more than 3,300 nurses found that they were stressed, overworked, underappreciated, and underutilized…64 percent said they rarely get seven to eight hours of sleep per night. Another 31 percent said they get enough sleep just two to three nights a week.” Being understaffed means the same few nurses are working around the clock. “They may also have long shifts and on call availability that make them more likely to pull 24- or 36-hour shifts.” says Health line. Anne Schwamberger a former pediatric nurse that quit said “Most nights on the job, I felt unable to provide my patients the high-quality care that they deserved because of being short-staffed…”
Underfunded hospitals and low wages are another significant burden for nurses. In the “Nurses: overworked and understaffed on the front lines” by health line it says, “Only 16 percent of the nurses surveyed said they are fairly paid”. Many people are stressed on the job, but poor working conditions and sparse budgets for nurses can impact patient care. A study in 2013 by the Journal of Patient Safety estimates that between 210,000 and 440,000 patients die at hospitals each year as a result of medical errors. Those can happen when a nurse is exhausted or not given the authority to make critical decisions. Nearly a fourth of hospital and nursing home nurses aren’t satisfied with their jobs, according to one study published by the US National Library of Medicine, and more than a third feel burned out. “Burnout is an occupational hazard in nursing,” says Jeanne Geiger-Brown, dean at Stevenson University's School of Nursing and Health Professions. “It is hard to generate a lot of care about other people, because you are so depleted yourself.”
Burnout, of course, is caused by overwork, but what causes overwork is more complicated and reveals how the cost-cutting priorities of hospitals force their nurses to pay an emotional tax.
In addition to be being overworked nurses face inadequate staffing. Two additional studies released in March 2011 further highlighted the importance of higher nursing staff levels to patient outcomes, and both studies present evidence that higher nurse staffing levels improve patient outcomes, often saving lives. While insufficient nurse staffing has been linked to poorer patient outcomes, lengthened hospital stays and increased chance of patient death.
Works cited
Fischer, Kristen “Nurses: Overworked and Understaffed on the Front Lines” health line 27, Sept. 2016 https://www.healthline.com/health-news/nurses-overworked-understaffed-070714#4
Goodrich, Kaitlyn “Common Misconceptions About Nurses” Brain scape 16, June. 2016 https://www.brainscape.com/blog/2015/06/common-misconceptions-about-nurses/
“Nurses’ Widespread Job Dissatisfaction, Burnout, And Frustration With Health Benefits Signal Problems For Patient Care” NCBI 1, Feb. 2012
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3201822/
Knowles, Megan “Study: Overworked nurses may be linked to 40% increase in risk of patient death” Becker’s 4, May. 2018
https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/quality/study-overworked-nurses-may-be-linked-to-40-increase-in-risk-of-patient-death.html