The Problem of High Rates of Nurse Turnover

Subject: Nursing
Pages: 3
Words: 587
Reading time:
3 min
Study level: Bachelor

In the present post, the author addresses the problem of high rates of nurse turnover. The critical reasons for this are the unbalanced patient ratio and small salaries. In other words, nurses are overloaded and underpaid, face emotional burnout, and lack communication with most hospitals administration. The investigation conducted by the organization called RegisteredNursing.org (2021), more than 30 percent of new nurses leave their resign within the first two years of their employment. This data vividly shows the topicality of the nursing shortage problem and indicates that not only hospitals administration but also local and federal governments should be more concerned with solving this issue. The author of the discussed post claims that the solution to a nursing shortage could be reduced by increasing salaries, adopting a better schedule, and minimizing the number of patients whom nurses should take care of during this shift. In addition to that, it is essential to establish an open dialogue between the managerial personnel of a hospital and nurses because the latter should feel free to express their concerns, thoughts, and ideas related to the working process. Furthermore, Marc et al. (2019) argue that the problem of high turnover of nurses could be mitigated through the provision of nurses with learning opportunities. This way, nurses could constantly develop new skills, deepen knowledge, and improve their performance.To conclude, I agree with the ideas expressed by my colleague in the post. Nurses should not be treated as machines that do not have their feelings, wants, and emotions. One of the critical ways to mitigate the previously outlined problem is establishing a working environment in which nurses would feel valued, heard, and protected. The nursing shortage strongly affects the quality of care provided to the patients. Therefore, any hospital should do as much as possible to create conditions in which nurses would be pleased to work.In the given post, the author discusses the importance of health promotion, especially among the patients who should be discharged soon. Nurses are responsible for educating patients on common resources, healthy lifestyles, rules of taking some medications, and managing conditions like hypertension. There is a widespread opinion that nurses who are fit, active, and do not have bad habits, are more effective in the promotion of health and wellness. However, Kelly, Wills, and Sykes (2017) debunk this myth. The quantitative analysis conducted by these scholars depicts the absence of correlation between weight, the level of daily physical activity, alcohol use, and the success of their health promotion practices (Kelly et al., 2017).Nonetheless, the role of nurses in educating discharging patients on how to improve health is vitally important. Even though nurses are not obliged to be fit and have no bad habits, they should be “caring, non-judgemental, trustworthy, inspiring and motivating, self-caring, knowledgeable and self-confident, innovative, professional and having a deep sense of self” (Darch, Baillie & Gillison, 2017, p. 982). In other words, nurses should know how to persuade a patient to stick to a healthier lifestyle and pay enough attention to health. It is also essential to notice that health promotion is important because it is easier to prevent the disease than cure it. More precisely, if nurses explain to a patient that he or she has a risk of heart disease or diabetes and should measure blood pressure or blood sugar level regularly, eat healthy food, and be active, this could significantly improve this persons life quality. What is more, it could reduce the risk that such a person will have a heart attack or diabetes.

References

Darch, J., Baillie, L., & Gillison, F. (2017). Nurses as role models in health promotion: a concept analysis. British Journal of Nursing, 26(17), 982-988.

Kelly, M., Wills, J., & Sykes, S. (2017). Do nurses’ personal health behaviours impact on their health promotion practice? A systematic review. International journal of Nursing studies, 76, 62-77.

Marc, M., Bartosiewicz, A., Burzynska, J., Chmiel, Z., & Januszewicz, P. (2019). A nursing shortage–a prospect of global and local policies. International nursing review, 66(1), 9-16.

RegisteredNursing.org (2021). The (not so) great escape: Why new nurses are leaving the profession.