Last week, AMN Healthcare released the results of their 2017 survey, Worsening Shortages and Growing Consequences: CNO Survey on Nurse Supply and Demand.  The survey was sent out to nurse executives in July of 2017, and when the results were compiled, they showed a grim outlook for hospital staffing.

Main Takeaways

• • More than 70% of CNOs currently see a nurse shortage
  • This shortage will grow even worse over the next 5 years
  • More than 80% of CNOs already have difficulty recruiting nurses
  • 34% of CNOs say this shortage has a considerable negative impact on patient care¹ 

A recent study that looked at the impact of missed nursing care on post-operative mortality found:

“Missed nursing care, which is highly related to nurse staffing, is associated with increased odds of patients dying in hospital following common surgical procedures. The analyses support the hypothesis that missed nursing care mediates the relationship between registered nurse staffing and risk of patient mortality.²”

Responding to the report, David M. Theobald, RN, MS, concluded:

“When hospitals and healthcare organizations do not have quality nurses at the bedside, it negatively impacts care and patient outcomes.  Having quality nurses improves patient safety, reduces patients’ length of stay, and improves the hospital’s bottom line. 

We need more nursing educators to help train and mentor new nurses coming into the profession.  To keep a steady pipeline of quality nurses, we have to start with academia.

There’s a disparity between what they pay nursing educators and what nurses can make at the bedside.

We have to educate the future of healthcare.”

References

1. AMN Healthcare. (2018). Worsening Shortages and Growing Consequences: CNO Survey on Nurse Supply and Demand. Retrieved from https://www.amnhealthcare.com/cno-survey-on-supply-demand/

2. Ball J.E., Bruyneel L., Aiken L.H., Sermeus W., Sloane D.M., Rafferty A.M., Lindqvist R., (...), RN4Cast Consortium (2018). Post-operative mortality, missed care and nurse staffing in nine countries: A cross-sectional study. International Journal of Nursing Studies,  78 , pp. 10-15