Nursing shortage, strategy, and future implication

According to the National Sample Survey of Registered Nurse 2001, the United States is experiencing a nursing shortage. With changing population demographics and rising health care expenditures, it is critical to examine the nursing shortage and its impact on health care system in the United States. In this analysis we investigate the roots and current factors contributing to this shortage and some of the current proposed solutions to the problem. We suggest a model based on a literary review of stakeholder analyses and domestic and international examples which are used as a conceptual base for understanding the issue.

Our model focuses on three variables: technology and communication, organizational staff and management, and nursing education reform. Technology incorporates electronic devices that aid nurses in collecting and monitoring patients' progress and facilitating communication between nurses, physicians, and staff members. Organizational and management restructuring reallocates responsibilities and empowers nurses to take active leadership roles. Nurse education reform requires changing the criteria for nurse educators and integrating online learning.

We apply our model to data obtained from the National Sample Survey of Registered Nurses 2004 and evaluate the feasibility of closing the nursing shortage gap by 2020. We use multiple linear regression analysis to investigate each proposed variable individually and combined. The results of this study have policy implications regarding health care expenditures and the delivery of care in the United States health system.