REVIEW OF CURRENT HEALTHCARE ISSUES ESSAY

REVIEW OF CURRENT HEALTHCARE ISSUES ESSAY

REVIEW OF CURRENT HEALTHCARE ISSUES ESSAY

National Healthcare Issue

Patients and populations deserve high-quality, safe, and accessible healthcare services. Unfortunately, multiple organizational, community or national issues hamper clinicians’ ability to provide optimal care. One of the national healthcare issues that profoundly impact health outcomes is the nursing shortage. Its causes vary, including an aging population, high turnover rates, and a retiring nursing population (Hamlin, 2023). Different states experience the shortage problem differently. A nursing shortage has detrimental effects in the work setting, such as burnout, patient dissatisfaction with care, and high morbidity and mortality rates. Nurse burnout stems from an increased workload due to nurse turnover and increased patient visits due to chronic diseases (Hamlin, 2023; Holman et al., 2020). A multidimensional approach is crucial to address the nursing shortage due to its complex nature.

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Social determinants of health correlate with the nursing shortage. Socioeconomic status, education, and access to healthcare services affect people’s lifestyles and their need for healthcare services. In a study of these connections, Vennu et al. (2020) found that education, employment, and people’s annual income determine their odds of chronic diseases, including heart attack, cancer, arthritis, and diabetes. The odds are higher among populations experiencing higher unemployment rates and low education and income. Increased susceptibility to these conditions increases the demand for patient care hence increasing hospital visits. Consequently, increased patient visits increase the nurse-patient ratio hence a shortage.

Organizations apply different strategies to cope with the nursing shortage. My work setting recognizes the need for a resilient and motivated workforce to enhance job satisfaction and prevent nurse burnout. As a result, it invests in support programs for new nurses and the current workforce to foster resilience, motivation, and focus. Effective changes include continuous leadership support and nurse residency programs. As the organization continues redesigning patient care processes, team-based care should be promoted since it aligns with the principles of value-based care and the quadruple aim (Park et al., 2018). Importantly, nurses can be supported with self-care opportunities to ensure they are mentally, physically, and emotionally optimal to prevent possible nurse burnout stemming from the nursing shortage.

References

Hamlin, K. (2023). Why is there a nursing shortage? NurseJournal. https://nursejournal.org/articles/why-is-there-a-nursing-shortage/

Holman, H. R. (2020). The relation of the chronic disease epidemic to the health care crisis. ACR Open Rheumatology, 2(3), 167–173. https://doi.org/10.1002/acr2.11114

Park, B., Gold, S. B., Bazemore, A., & Liaw, W. (2018). How evolving United States payment models influence primary care and its impact on the quadruple aim. The Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine, 31(4), 588-604. http://www.jabfm.org/

Vennu, V., Abdulrahman, T. A., Alenazi, A. M., & Bindawas, S. M. (2020). Associations between social determinants and the presence of chronic diseases: Data from the osteoarthritis Initiative. BMC Public Health, 20, 1-7. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-020-09451-5

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If you were to ask 10 people what they believe to be the most significant issue facing healthcare today, you might get 10 different answers. Escalating costs? Regulation? Technology disruption? Social Determinants such as environment/community, education, access/quality to healthcare?

These and many other topics are worthy of discussion. Not surprisingly, much has been said in the research, within the profession, and in the news about these topics. Whether they are issues of finance, quality, workload, or outcomes, there is no shortage of changes to be addressed.

In this Discussion, you examine a national healthcare issue and consider how that issue may impact your work setting. You also analyze how your organization has responded to this issue.

Post a description of the national healthcare issue/stressor you selected for analysis, and explain how the healthcare issue/stressor may impact your work setting. Which social determinant(s) most affects this health issue? Then, describe how your health system work setting has responded to the healthcare issue/stressor, including a description of what changes may have been implemented. Be specific and provide examples.