NURS FPX 4000 Assessment 2

Name

Capella university

NURS-FPX4000 Developing a Nursing Perspective

Prof. Name

Date

Applying Research Skills

The shortage of doctors, nurses, and allied health professionals has escalated into a global crisis, with the United States being particularly affected. The repercussions of this workforce deficiency are profound, leading to increased workloads and burnout among existing healthcare personnel, thereby diminishing the quality of care and inflating healthcare costs. A primary contributing factor is the high turnover rate. Projections indicate that by 2030, the nursing workforce will experience a shortfall of 7.61 million. In the United States, nurse turnover stands at a staggering 26.9% (Ren et al., 2024). Addressing the workforce shortage is imperative for enhancing patient safety and healthcare services. The scarcity of nurses has been linked to a 2.1-3.2% increase in mortality rates (Griffiths et al., 2023). This assessment focuses on constructing an annotated bibliography to deepen understanding of the healthcare workforce crisis, particularly among nurses.

Personal Interest and Professional Experience

My interest in the workforce shortage is of paramount importance, as it profoundly impacts the lives of both healthcare workers and patients. The immense pressure placed on these individuals fosters job dissatisfaction, contributes to the high turnover of healthcare professionals, and leads to poor patient care outcomes. My professional experience in the healthcare field has exposed me to situations where understaffed medical facilities are compelled to have their nurses and doctors shoulder overwhelming patient loads. This results in stress, despair, and a breakdown in productivity. For instance, during my nursing practice, the shortage of staff in my unit required me and my colleagues to attend to more patients than usual. This led to heightened stress, physical fatigue, burnout, and ultimately job dissatisfaction, all of which negatively impacted care quality. This experience underscores how workforce shortages in healthcare settings adversely affect the physical and emotional well-being of remaining staff, leading to dissatisfaction and diminished care standards.

Research and Selection Process

To identify relevant literature on the healthcare workforce shortage, particularly in relation to nurse understaffing, I conducted a search across various online databases, including PubMed, CINAHL, and ProQuest. My research strategy incorporated keywords such as “healthcare workforce shortage,” “nurse and physician shortage,” and “solutions to healthcare staffing crisis.” During the search process, I encountered challenges in finding the most pertinent resources. To refine my search, I utilized Boolean operators “AND” and “OR.” Additional keywords, including “Staffing shortage and patient safety,” “Nurse shortage and burnout,” and “Staff retention and care quality,” were employed. To ensure the reliability and relevance of the articles, I applied filters to include only peer-reviewed articles published within the last five years. After a thorough search, I selected three peer-reviewed articles that examine the staffing shortage and associated mitigation strategies.

Assessing the Credibility and Relevance of Sources

Each article was scrutinized for reliability based on its inclusion in a peer-reviewed journal, the authors’ credentials, and the timeliness of the data presented. To assess the credibility of the sources, I applied the CRAAP test, which evaluates Currency, Relevance, Authority, Accuracy, and Purpose (Muis et al., 2022). The “Currency” criterion ensured that articles were published within the past five years. “Relevance” was defined by the degree to which the content addressed the workforce issues at hand. “Authority” was assessed by verifying the qualifications of the authors and the prestige of the journals. “Accuracy” involved confirming the veracity of the data through evidence-based citations. “Purpose” was considered to determine if the articles provided insights into staffing shortages and potential solutions. The CRAAP framework guided the selection of trustworthy and pertinent resources on the workforce shortage issue.

Annotated Bibliography

Alshahrani, S. H. (2022). Reasons, consequences, and suggested solutions for nursing workforce shortage: A literature review. International Journal of Health Sciences, 6(S5), 1557–1568. https://doi.org/10.53730/ijhs.v6nS5.9004

This peer-reviewed article explores the causes and consequences of workforce shortages on patient care quality and outcomes. The article highlights the strain caused by high nurse-patient ratios, which leads to burnout and turnover. Older nurses are more likely to leave due to low wages and inadequate workplace respect. The study emphasizes that improved staffing is essential for patient safety, revealing a 31.1% variance in patient mortality rates when one nurse cares for eight patients compared to four. The article suggests strategies to enhance retention, such as redefining nursing perceptions, offering career advice, and improving workplace conditions with flexible scheduling, higher salaries, and overtime policies. Despite its valuable insights, the study does not delve into the effects of staff growth initiatives on nurse retention and satisfaction.

Marufu, T. C., Collins, A., Vargas, L., Gillespie, L., & Almghairbi, D. (2021). Factors influencing retention among hospital nurses: Systematic review. British Journal of Nursing, 30(5), 302-308. https://doi.org/10.12968/bjon.2021.30.5.302

NURS FPX 4000 Assessment 2

This systematic review examines the factors affecting nurse retention, contributing to staffing shortages. It identifies professional challenges, such as high workload, mental fatigue, and job dissatisfaction, as key factors driving turnover. Additionally, poor management, limited professional development, negative workplace culture, and inadequate communication are contributing elements. The review advocates for fostering motivating work environments and providing professional growth opportunities to enhance retention and alleviate staffing shortages. However, the study primarily addresses hospital nurses, leaving the impact on nurses in other medical settings unclear.

Noya, F., Carr, S., Freeman, K., Thompson, S., Clifford, R., & Playford, D. (2021). Strategies to facilitate improved recruitment, development, and retention of the rural and remote medical workforce: A scoping review. International Journal of Health Policy and Management, 11(10), 2022. https://doi.org/10.34172/ijhpm.2021.160

This scoping review focuses on strategies to address staffing shortages in rural areas by improving recruitment and retention of healthcare professionals. The study suggests educational interventions, such as rural training programs, and policies like mandatory rural practice and competitive pay to encourage staff to work in remote regions. It also highlights the importance of career growth opportunities and enhanced infrastructure in boosting retention and improving care quality. While the study provides valuable recommendations, further research is needed to evaluate the feasibility of these strategies in diverse settings, particularly in developing countries.

Summary of the Learnings

Creating annotated bibliographies has significantly enhanced my research skills by sharpening my ability to critically analyze sources and assess their credibility. This process has deepened my understanding of the healthcare issue of understaffing and equipped me for future coursework and professional endeavors. It involved identifying, summarizing, and evaluating resources, promoting critical thinking, and developing the ability to discern trustworthy data. The CRAAP test played a crucial role in evaluating peer-reviewed articles on workforce shortages, ensuring that the selected resources were relevant and credible. This research has revealed factors such as an aging population, excessive workloads, limited professional growth opportunities, negative work cultures, and poor teamwork as primary contributors to the issue (Marufu et al., 2021). It also highlighted potential solutions, including strategies to improve the nursing profession’s image, flexible scheduling, higher salaries, and overtime policies (Alshahrani, 2022).

The annotated bibliography has also provided valuable insights into strategies to improve retention in rural areas, with Noya et al. (2022) offering recommendations such as rural-focused curricula, mandatory rural service, higher salaries, and improved infrastructure. Synthesizing these sources has deepened my understanding of the factors contributing to workforce shortages and the need to address understaffing to improve patient care through better nursing satisfaction and practices.

References

Alshahrani, S. H. (2022). Reasons, consequences, and suggested solutions for nursing workforce shortage: A review of literature. International Journal of Health Sciences, 6(S5), 1557–1568. https://doi.org/10.53730/ijhs.v6nS5.9004

Griffiths, P., Saville, C., Ball, J., Dall’Ora, C., Meredith, P., Turner, L., & Jones, J. (2023). Costs and cost-effectiveness of improved nurse staffing levels and skill mix in acute hospitals: A systematic review. International Journal of Nursing Studies, 147, 104601–104601. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijnurstu.2023.104601

Muis, R., Denton, C., & Dubé, A. (2022). Identifying CRAAP on the internet: A source evaluation intervention. Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal, 9(7), 239-265. http://dx.doi.org/10.14738/assrj.97.12670

NURS FPX 4000 Assessment 2

Ren, H., Li, P., Xue, Y., Xin, W., Yin, X., & Li, H. (2024). Global prevalence of nurse turnover rates: A meta‐analysis of 21 studies from 14 countries. Journal of Nursing Management, 2024(1), 5063998. https://doi.org/10.1155/2024/5063998

NURS FPX 4000 Assessment 2

NURS FPX 4000 Assessment 2

Applying Research Skills

Personal Interest and Professional Experience

Research and Selection Process

Assessing the Credibility and Relevance of Sources

Annotated Bibliography

NURS FPX 4000 Assessment 2

Summary of the Learnings

References

NURS FPX 4000 Assessment 2

NURS FPX 4000 Assessment 1

NURS FPX 4000 Assessment 3

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