Nursing Shortage as a Serious Problem in Canada: Critical Essay

The Canadian Nurses Association (CNA) has highlighted an impending shortage of nurses who have the skills and knowledge to meet the healthcare needs of the Canadian population, a lack, according to the CNA, that has been unequaled in past decades (McDonald, C. and McIntyre, M., 2019, p.317). Economic analysts and political analysts have voiced a lot of views and opinions on the reasons for this issue. From a financial perspective, the shortage is mostly driven more by the supply. McIntyre and McDonald (2010) write that “the global nursing shortage has been termed a ‘global crisis’” (p.307). This state of shortage affects both developed and developing countries around the world. In this essay, the current issue I will be focusing on is the shortage of nurses. I will use three types of media to examine and explore different options on this issue.

The health in both short- and long-term care systems in Canada depends heavily on the services provided by nurses. Nurses make up the most significant proportion of health workers in Canada. I believe these days nurses are under so much pressure at work because of the current experience of shortages. Several factors have been supposed to come into play: an aging workforce that is fast approaching retirement, job dissatisfaction, fewer applicants, and new graduates (McIntyre and McDonald, 2010, p.309). According to the CNA, the average age of a registered nurse employed in 2009 was 45 years old. The effect has been a large ratio of nurses to the population. The Canadian Nurses Association indicated that the rate to the community in 2009 was 1:127. I think this is an enormous number that only leads to an overworked and overstressed nursing workforce.

The first media form is an online version of Maclean's magazine, posted on May 14, 2008. The article, entitled 'Overworked Nurses Mess Up Patient’s Meds: A Nurse Responds to Stats Can Report', was written by Kate Lunau. Kate is an assistant editor at Maclean’s magazine, where she covers a range of topics that include health, science, and justice. Her credentials are that she has studied journalism. She writes the article as an observer of the current nursing shortage situation. In the article, Kate brings awareness to the current shortages of nursing and its implications. She writes: “Increased over time, inadequate resources, lack of support from co-workers, and low security – all hallmarks of a nurse's shortage” (para. 3). She goes on to mention the average age of nurses and the inadequacy of recruits. Kate writes: “Today the average nurse in Canada is 45 years old, with scores of them set to retire and a lack of young recruits” (para. 6). In the article, Kate discusses what the data she was presenting was coming from statistics Canada, although she does not cite precisely where she found the information. I think it is hard to support claims when readers cannot visit the primary source of information. I agree with the author's claim about the nursing shortage. Although the author does not explore and explain the background of the deficiencies, she manages to state the implications of the situation. Kate writes about a few of the common causes of the shortages but fails to mention a social or cultural analysis of the reasons. As a journalist, I think she should have written on the impact of how media affects the shortages, that is, how people perceive the profession and how media can help make the job look more desirable. I think it is not as simple as how she states it. The author does not have a history or experience in the field of health or nursing. I believe this, in a way, discredits her article.

The second article is from a nursing website called allnurses.com. It is a website where people can voice and post their opinions while the rest of the audience is discussing the topics. The article was written on May 5, 2007. It was written by an individual who goes by the name 'Sheri257'. The article's title is ‘Proof There Are No Nursing Shortages: Show RNs the Money'. The author's credentials are not stated, although I believe she writes from a nurse's point of view, as she indicates that she was looking for a nursing job. In the article, the author tries to put on a case to show that the nursing shortage is just a myth. Sheri257 writes: “The shortage, for the most part, disappears. The real solution to the nursing shortage is paying RNs more money” (para 1). Sheri257 believes that if you pay more money to the nurses, they are willing to work more, lowering the vacancy rate. In the article, she gives examples of two California facilities that were facing shortages, but when they increased their pay grades, they saw a 3000 application forms waiting list. Sheri257 supports her claims through the experience she has had in trying to land a job. Although Sheri257 provides examples of two hospitals that managed to be well-staffed and even have nurses on the waiting list, I do not agree with her opinion. I think that ultimately people are going to be swayed to places where there are better pay and better benefits. With this incentive, you will see nurses moving from one location to another because of the pay increase, not because nurses became more all of a sudden. This shift of nurses to areas that pay better will only cause a severe shortage in other areas that cannot afford to spend as much and that are less desirable.

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The third article is a scholarly paper written by Nevidjon. B and Erickson J. I. The paper is entitled ‘The Nursing Shortage: Solutions for the Short and Long Term’. Brenda Nevidjon is a registered nurse who also possesses a master’s degree. She serves on different local and national boards. She has published two books and numerous book chapters and articles. Jeanette Ives Erickson is also a registered nurse who serves as the vice president for patient care and chief nurse at Massachusetts General Hospital. Jeanette Ives Erickson has also authored several articles and book chapters and is involved in several community boards. In the paper, the authors discuss the history, current situation, and future of the issue of nursing shortages. They support their writing by using numerous different sources that include journals, books, and websites. The paper describes the implications of the scarcity and also suggests short- and long-term solutions. The authors write: “Bonuses relocation coverage or new premium packages will have a limited and temporary effect because they simply redistribute the supply of nurses, not increase it”. I agree with the two authors on their stance on the shortage of nurses. I also agree that the problem is not only a matter of adding incentives but also a matter of increasing the amount of staff. The Canadian Nurses Association reported that in 2007 Canada was short 11,000 full-time nurses. The association also goes on to mention that if the health care needs mount following the past trend, Canada will be short 60,000 full-time registered nurses by 2022. Nevidjon and Erickson (2001) suggest multiple solutions for resolving the situation, which include changing the public image of what people generally think of nurses, recruiting students, retention of nurses adjusting models of care, and also making changes in the regulatory and policy issues. The authors manage to write different perspectives on how shortages happen at different levels in the health system. They explore and exhaust some of the ways that can help tackle some of the nurse's deficiencies.

The shortage of nurses is a dynamic issue that cannot be resolved overnight, and that needs much attention. I believe nurses who do not enjoy their job are the main contributors to shortages. When people do not enjoy their careers, they only spread to other people about how dissatisfied they are, and eventually through word of mouth, making the profession an undesirable one. According to a survey conducted by the American Nurses Association, 54.8 percent of registered and licensed practical nurses would not recommend the nursing profession as a career for their children. A recent Federation of Nurses and Health Professionals (FNHP) survey found that half of the currently employed registered nurses who were surveyed had considered leaving the patient care field. Twenty-eight percent of registered nurses responding to a 1999 survey by the Nursing Executive Center described themselves as being somewhat or very dissatisfied with their jobs, and about fifty-one percent were less satisfied with their jobs than they were the previous two years. Where I currently work, we still face staffing shortages; there is a case where some employees have to work double shifts because of the deficiency.

Regarding Sheri257, even if there was a pay increase, we could be well-staffed, but this would be just a shift of staff from one area to the next and would not increase staff. McIntyre and McDonald (2010) write: “Do not mention the effects of hospitals taking advantage of nurses’ presumed versatility on nursing practice” (p.306). They go on to mention that it is unheard of to hear pharmacists and physicians assume other roles that are assigned to others.

Health care has been identified as Canadian's number one public priority, and nurses play a central role in delivering health care. However, there has been mounting evidence that suggests an increasing shortage in the health industry. I believe different approaches have to be done to tackle this tissue. The issue of nursing shortages is a dynamic one that cannot be viewed simply as a problem of numbers, but also as a problem of working conditions and work satisfaction.

References

1. American Nurses Association. (2001). Analysis of the American Nurses Association Staffing Survey. Warwick, R.I
2. Canadian Nurses Association. (2009). Retrieved on October 10, 2011, at http://www.cna-aiic.ca/CNA/documents/pdf/publications/RN_Highlights_e.pdf
3. Federation of Nurses and Health Professionals. (2001). The Nurses Shortage: Perspectives from Current Direct Care Nurses and Former Direct Care Nurses. Washington, DC.
4. http://allnurses.com/general-nursing-discussion/proof-there-s-222317.html
5. McDonald, C. & McIntyre, M. (2019). Realities of Canadian Nursing: Professional, Practice and Power Issues. Philadelphia, PA: Wolters Kluwer.
6. McIntyre, M & McDonald, C. (2010). Realities of Canadian Nursing: Professional, Practice and Power Issues. Philadelphia, PA: Wolters Kluwer; Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.
7. Nevidjon, B., Erickson, J. (2001). 'The Nursing Shortage: Solutions for the Short and Long Term'. Online Journal of Issues in Nursing. Vol. 6 No. 1, Manuscript 4.
8. The Nursing Executive Center. (2000). Retrieved from http://www.scribd.com/doc/7812171/The-Nurse-Perspective-Drivers-of-Nurse-Job-Satisfaction-and-Turnover-2000