NR552 Week 1 Discussion, Nurses Supply and Demand

Nurses’ Supply and Demand NAME Chamberlain College of Nursing NR 552: Economics of Healthcare Policy Professor’s Name DATE Nurses are a limited health care resource. What is the current supply and demand for professional nurses in your local area or state? What alternatives or interventions are being proposed to equalize the supply and demand of professional nurses? Today, the nursing profession is one of the highly demanded professions (N, 2017). A variety of occupational and social factors has contributed to the scarcity of nurses. The growing and aging U.S. population, availability of health workforce, general economic conditions, population growth, increased coverage by health insurance, and changing healthcare delivery models all have contributed to the steady growth in demand for nursing services (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2017). The number of states projecting a shortage in the supply of nurses is very low and Ohio is one of such states (N, 2017). Ohio had 139,677 registered nurses with practicing licenses as at October 2017 (Ohio Board of Nursing, 2017). Of this, 21% are aged above 55 years while 71% are between 18 and 55 years. 93% of the nurses aged between 18 and 55 years and 29% of nurses aged over 55 years are currently employed in nursing. Female nurses account for 91% while the males account for only 9% (Ohio Board of Nursing, 2017). A report released by the National Center for Health Workforce analysis reveals that the number of nurses in Ohio will grow from 122,800, in 2014, to 181,900 through 2030 against a demand of 132,800 in 2030, denoting a surplus of 49,100 nurses by 2030 (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2017). To address the disparity between demand and supply for nurses, the Federal government has come up with programs such as Medicare and jointly finances Medicaid programs with state governments. It has also enacted the Affordable Care Act (ACA) health program to ensure universal health access (Obama, 2016). The ACA increases financial resources to allow for greater enrollment and program completion by nurses. Indirectly, the ACA also influences the demand for healthcare services and how care is delivered, and thus the demand for nurses. One goal of the ACA is to increase the number of nurses by addressing bottlenecks in nursing education through a combination of grants, loans, and loan repayment programs. To conclude, the current gap between demand and supply for nurses is insignificant. It is however projected that there will be a surplus of nurses in Ohio by 2030. States like California are projected to have a shortage of nurses by the same year (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2017). Interventions like Medicare, Medicaid, and the ACA have been formulated to address this disparity. References N. (2017, December 22). Nursing demand by state: 2018 projections. Retrieved from Obama, B. (2016). The United States health care reform: progress to date and next steps. Jama, 316(5), 525-532. Ohio Board of Nursing. (2017, October). Ohio workforce data summary report October 2017. Retrieved from U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration, National Center for Health Workforce Analysis. (2017, July 21). National and Regional Supply and Demand Projections of the Nursing Workforce: . Rockville, Maryland. PROFESSOR RESPONSE TO PEER POST: The aging population that may be more pronounced in some states rather than others may certainly impact those needs. Dr. Poirier and Linda, An aging population and the rising incidence of chronic disease present concerning implications for patients and health-care providers alike and are a driving demand for nurses. It’s truly terrifying to think the supply of nurses needed to provide healthcare will become insufficient to provide care to an aging population. Its true people are living longer, which typically increases instances of chronic conditions and other diseases that require care. The baby boomer generation also has higher rates of hypertension, high cholesterol, obesity, and diabetes, which exacerbate this challenge. The aging baby boomer population is increasing the demand for qualified healthcare professionals. The issues surrounding the shortage of nurses are complex, thus the solutions must be multifaceted. Solutions will require advocacy, leadership, and a sustained political and financial commitment by all involved stakeholders. The fact remains that strengthening the nursing workforce will contribute to improved health status for older adults. PEER POST: There is a great demand for nurses at every hospital in the state. I live in the state of Georgia and the supply of nurses is limited due to the rapidly increasing population throughout the state (Kanne, 2017). The supply of nurses is limited because of the limited amount of nursing instructors for nursing students. This issue limits the number of nursing students that can be accepted into the program. Many people are migrating to all parts of Georgia especially from Florida because of the frequent hurricanes that cause them to lose everything that they own. One intervention that is becoming more and more popular is hiring temporary contract nurses in an attempt to combat the demand and increase the supply of nurses. RESPONSE TO PEER POST: Rosalinda, You mentioned that one intervention to increase the supply of nurses is to hire temporary contract nurses or travel nurses. I want to further extend that solution by suggesting using foreign nurses to alleviate the burgeoning shortage. The United States has the largest professional nurse workforce of any country in the world, consisting of over 4 million RNs and 922,196 LPNs/VNs in 2017 (NCSBN, 2017). Increased use of foreign-educated nurses in U.S. hospitals could possibly alleviate the shortage and adequately ensure patient safety. Foreign nurses possess a variety of knowledge, skills, and experience acquired through the completion of tertiary education and work experience that partially meet the requirements for becoming a member of the US healthcare system (Lurie, 2016). Offering foreign nurses, the opportunity to work in the United States could be an additional benefit for individuals looking for an opportunity for an improved quality of life in a developed county. However, changes in immigration policy may have an impact on nurse immigration. Reference Lurie, L. (2016). Strategic planning for future delivery of care: Onboarding foreign-educated nurses. Nurse Leader, 14(6), 427-432. doi:10.1016/.2016.08.014 National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN). (2017). The National Nursing Database: A profile of nursing licensure in the US. Retrieved from PROFESSOR RESPONSE TO POST ABOUT FEN’s: Thank you Carole. Many other countries also are facing a nursing shortage. Is it ethical to recruit from those areas? How can we ensure education and experience are comparable to US educated nurses? RESPONSE TO PROFESSOR: Dr. Poirier, Thank you for response and somehow I had a feeling you would ask me a question like that. Despite a global shortage of nurses, I think it’s possible to have ethical recruitment of foreign-educated nurses (FEN). Responding ethically to the imbalance in the supply and demand for nurses at the institutional level requires each system and facility to ensure that its FENs are clinically and culturally competent and able to provide safe, high-quality care. Healthcare organizations and nursing executives, regardless of the clinical setting, can contribute either positively or negatively to international nurse recruitment trends based on how they choose to recruit foreign nurses to their organizations. Furthermore, FENs will continue to migrate to the United States and other developed countries in search of a better life for themselves and their families regardless of recruitment. The International Council of Nurses (ICN) is a federation of more than 130 national nurses’ associations representing the millions of nurses worldwide. The ICN acknowledges “the right of individual nurses to migrate and confirms the potential beneficial outcomes of multicultural practice and learning opportunities supported by migration” (2007). The ICN Position Statement on Ethical Nurse Recruitment identifies thirteen key principles to be recognized when undertaking ethical recruitment of nurses from other countries. This statement provides a useful tool with which a healthcare organization can either assess its current institutional process for recruitment of foreign nurses or develop such a process. The ICN statement highlights areas such as good faith contracting, equal pay for work of equal value, freedom from discrimination, access to full employment, and effective orientation/mentoring/supervision. Healthcare organizations should provide FENs orientation to cultural differences in values and clinical practice if they are to succeed in the communities where they find employment. Nurses in developing countries want to provide safe, effective, evidence-based health care the same as nurses educated in the U.S. Foreign-educated nurses wishing to migrate to the U.S. and practice nursing must provide evidence they meet educational standards set by the states nurse practice act before being granted approval to take the NCLEX-RN and provide language assessment if English was not the primary language (Sherwood & Franklin, 2014). FENs must complete the requirements in a given state for passing the NCLEX-RN to be credentialed for practice (Sherwood & Franklin, 2014). Nursing leadership must ensure policies, procedures, and programs are in place to encourage FENs to achieve their potential with resources to promote successful career paths. Reference International Council of Nurses. (2007). Ethical nurse recruitment. Retrieved on July 13, 2018, from Sherwood, G.D. & Shaffer, F.A. (2014). The role of internationally educated nurses in a quality, safe workforce. Nursing Outlook, 62, 46-52.