Developing Organizational Policies and Practices Competing needs arise within any organization as employees seek to meet their targets and leaders seek to meet company goals. As a leader, successful management of these goals requires establishing priorities and allocating resources accordingly.

Pertinent Healthcare Issue: Nurse Shortage

In the healthcare business, nurses perform a critical role. They account for the lion’s share of the world’s total number of healthcare workers. According to the Globe Health Organization’s World Health Statistics Report, 29 million nurses and midwives are working around the globe, with 3.9 million working in the United States (Drennan & Ross, 2019). Nonetheless, in the United States of America, a persistent nursing shortage severely hinders good health. For example, approximately 1.6 million additional nurses would be needed by the end of this year to fill the shortfall (Drennan & Ross, 2019). One of the reasons contributing to the growing need for extra nurses is that a high number of baby boomers have reached retirement age. Nurses over 55 who desire to retire or reduce their clinical work volumes account for 23% of the total (Broome & Marshall, 2020). According to predictions, around 1.1 million baby boomer nursing professionals will retire over the next two decades. Consequently, there is a persistent nursing shortage in the United States, contributing to the country’s current condition of affairs (Fraher and Brandt, 2019). The purpose of this article is to study nurse shortages in-depth, the implications for an organization, and to provide viable solutions.

The Impact of Nurse Shortage on the Organization

Throughout my organization, the nursing shortage is readily apparent. According to the American Nurses Association, approximately 50 nurses have left the field in the last five years. In addition, the facility’s nurse turnover rate exceeds 19 percent on an annual basis. The upshot of this has been a scarcity of nursing personnel. The rate of new nursing employees, on the other hand, is around 10% lower than the national average. Consequently, the nurses at the institution are dealing with an increase in workload. Nurse burnout is on the rise within the nursing sector due to a lack of qualified nurses in the country. Medical errors are a result of burnout, and these mistakes result in patient fatalities and litigation. According to one example, the institution lost almost $55,000 in the previous fiscal year in order to compensate families whose loved ones died or fell sick because of erroneously administered care. The expense of medication has also climbed in tandem with the lengthening of patient stays, which is a worrying trend. Because the patient’s health worsens because of the inconsistent medicines, the patient’s safety scores also drop. A decrease in patient safety has occurred at the institution, as shown by a reduction in the LeapFrog Patient Safety Score from a grade of C to a grade of D. Therefore, there is a compelling need to address this public health issue on a national scale throughout the country.