Use the practice problem and two qualitative, peer-reviewed research article you identified in the Topic 1 assignment to complete this assignment

Background

            As noted above, nursing shortage is a critical issue that affects the safety and quality of care given to patients (Bittner & Bechtel, 2017). Nursing shortage is an issue that affects most of the healthcare organizations in America in the modern world. The American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) reports that the shortage of nurses in the US is anticipated to rise in the next decade due to the aging of the Baby Boomers. The aging of the Baby Boomers will also imply the increased need for care demands, hence, overburdening the already burden healthcare system due to nursing shortage (Marć et al., 2019). Shortage of nurses in the US is also attributed to the low capacity of nursing schools that do not produce new nurses to meet the increasing demands (Sokhanvar et al., 2018).

Authors have explored the issue of shortage of nurses in their studies. One of the studies that examined the issue of nursing shortage is the one conducted by (Halter, Boiko, et al., 2017). Halter et al., (2017) identified in their study that nursing turnover is a critical factor contributing to the shortage of nurses being experienced in America today. As a result, the aim of their research was to investigate the determinants as well as consequences of staff turnover among adult nurses. The research question that guided their investigation was; what are the determinants and consequences of adult nursing staff turnover? Halter, Pelone et al., (2017) conducted another study to examine evidence-based interventions that can be used to address the issue of nursing shortage by reducing adult nursing turnover. The authors recognized the fact that nursing shortage is preventable by implementing practical interventions that aim at its contributing factors. Therefore, the research question that guided the authors was; what interventions can be embraced to reduce adult nursing turnover?

How do these two articles support the nurse practice issue you chose?

            The articles by Halter, Pelone, et al. (2017) and Halter, Boiko, et al. (2017) answers the PICOT question for my project in a number of ways. Firstly, the article by Halter, Boiko, et al., (2017) answers the PICOT question by providing insights into the determinants of factors that contribute to shortage of nurses and its consequences. The information obtained from the article provides information about the severity and magnitude of the problem of nursing shortage, hence, increasing the need for the exploration of interventions to address the problem. The article by Halter, Pelone, et al., (2017) answers the PICOT question by providing evidence-based interventions that can be adopted to address the issue of nursing shortage. The article examines broad interventions that are applicable to health organizations in addressing the issue of nursing shortage. The article by Halter, Pelone, et al., (2017) provided interventions that are similar to those proposed in my PICOT question. The interventions include the adoption of teamwork approaches in nursing, effective leadership styles, preceptor-based programs, needs-based orientation programs, use of residency programs and expanding the training capacity of nursing education institutions. The two articles used previous studies with a mix of comparison groups comprising of nurses, nursing students, and healthcare leaders and managers. As a result, the comparison groups vary from those in my PICOT question.

Method of Study:       

            The studies by Halter, Pelone, et al., (2017) and Halter, Boiko, et al., (2017) were quantitative systematic reviews. The authors reviewed evidences from previous quantitative studies that examined the factors contributing to nursing shortage, including turnover by adult nurses. The quantitative systematic reviews that the authors performed are associated with a number of benefits as well as limitations. The benefits include the fact that they provide highly reliable and accurate data, addresses specific questions or hypothesis, and guides the identification of best practices in nursing. The method is however associated with limitations such as the lack of use of human subjects, using studies with bias, and presenting findings that may not be generalizable to a larger population.

Results of Study

            The study Halter, Boiko, et al., (2017) found that the determinants of turnover in adult nursing that contribute to nursing shortage include nurse stress and job dissatisfaction, managerial style, and factors that relate to the supervision methods that organizations utilize. The study further showed that that the consequences of nursing turnover and shortage include significant economic costs incurred by health organizations and patients alongside the decline in safety and quality of care. The study by Halter, Pelone, et al., (2017) showed that a number of interventions can be embraced in practice to increase retention of adult nurses as a way of addressing the issue of nursing shortage. The authors found that some of the effective interventions that can be embraced include the adoption of effective leadership styles, teamwork approaches, transformational nursing models, preceptor programs, and residency and new gradate internship programs, and establishment of need-based programs for the nurses.

The findings presented in the selected articles have considerable implications to nursing practice. The findings translate into the need for health organizations to identify effective practices that can be adopted to minimize turnover among nurses. The findings also translate into the need for the adoption of effective leadership styles that promote the development of the employees. The findings in the articles also raise the need for the creation of effective organizational cultures. The organizational culture should strengthen teamwork, use of effective leadership styles and the recognition of the diverse needs of the staffs in the organization. Overall, the findings increase the need for the adoption of transformational practices in nursing practice to promote the needs of nurses, hence, reducing nursing turnover and shortage.

Outcomes Comparison

            One of the anticipated outcomes of my PICOT question is the identification of factors that contribute to nursing shortage in the US. It is anticipated that through the analysis of the various sources of data and intervention outcomes, nurses will be able to identify and understand the factors that contribute to shortage of nurses in the state. The other anticipated outcome of the PICOT question is the determination of the effectiveness of the intervention in addressing the issue of nursing shortage. The intervention will be examined to determine whether it minimized the factors contributing to nursing shortage or not. The outcomes of the selected articles compare to my anticipated outcomes. Firstly, the outcomes of the selected articles identified individual and organizational determinants of nursing shortage and turnover that may relate to the anticipated outcomes of the PICOT question. Secondly, the outcomes of the chosen articles showed that transformation of organizational processes contribute to improved retention of nurses, hence, reduction of nursing shortage. The anticipated outcome of the project is to increase the retention of nurses in health organizations, hence, the similarity with the outcomes of the selected articles.

Conclusion

Overall, nursing shortage is a critical issue that threatens the safety and quality of nursing care. Nursing shortage is attributed to a number of factors such as high rate of adult nurses’ turnover, limited training capacity of nursing institutions, and elderly nurses that are retiring. Nurse leaders and managers have a role to play in addressing the issue of nursing shortage in the US. Therefore, the consideration of evidence-based interventions is recommended to promote the effective management of the issue in practice.

References

Bittner, N. P., & Bechtel, C. F. (2017). Identifying and Describing Nurse Faculty Workload Issues: A Looming Faculty Shortage. Nursing Education Perspectives, 38(4), 171–176. https://doi.org/10.1097/01.NEP.0000000000000178

Halter, M., Boiko, O., Pelone, F., Beighton, C., Harris, R., Gale, J., Gourlay, S., & Drennan, V. (2017). The determinants and consequences of adult nursing staff turnover: A systematic review of systematic reviews. BMC Health Services Research, 17. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-017-2707-0

Halter, M., Pelone, F., Boiko, O., Beighton, C., Harris, R., Gale, J., Gourlay, S., & Drennan, V. (2017). Interventions to Reduce Adult Nursing Turnover: A Systematic Review of Systematic Reviews. The Open Nursing Journal, 11, 108–123. https://doi.org/10.2174/1874434601711010108

Marć, M., Bartosiewicz, A., Burzyńska, J., Chmiel, Z., & Januszewicz, P. (2019). A nursing shortage – a prospect of global and local policies. International Nursing Review, 66(1), 9–16. https://doi.org/10.1111/inr.12473

Sokhanvar, M., Kakemam, E., Chegini, Z., & Sarbakhsh, P. (2018). Hospital nurses’ job security and turnover intention and factors contributing to their turnover intention: A cross-Sectional study. Nursing and Midwifery Studies, 7(3), 133. https://doi.org/10.4103/2322-1488.235640

Assessment Description

Attachments

NRS-433V-RS2-ResearchCritiqueGuid

Rough Draft Qualitative Research Critique and Ethical Considerations – Rubric