Identifying a Local Healthcare Economic Issue
Examines nurse burnout as a critical local healthcare economic issue, linking staff shortages and rising workloads to decreased care quality and increased medical errors.
Alice Edwards
Contributor
4.7
39
2 months ago
Preview (3 of 7)
Sign in to access the full document!
Local Healthcare Economic Issue 1
Identifying a Local Healthcare Economic Issue
Elisa McGinnis
Capella University: NHS-FPX6008
Dr. Shannon Fogg
May 20, 2025
Identifying a Local Healthcare Economic Issue
Elisa McGinnis
Capella University: NHS-FPX6008
Dr. Shannon Fogg
May 20, 2025
Local Healthcare Economic Issue 2
Introduction
All around there is one thing that every healthcare facility is facing, nurse burnout.
Nurses are the ones that patients will have the most face-to-face time with as they receive
quality care. Yet, nurses also tend to be the ones that are often overlooked as well. There is a
nurse to patient ratio that requires a certain amount of nurses to be on duty at any given time.
With a shortage of nurses that means that when additional tasks are needed to be done the
nurses start to get overloaded and burnout follows (Werezak, 2023). When burnout happens
the amount of mistakes will increase. Burnout remains to be the leading cause of the nation's
nurse shortage. This is due to them being underpaid and overworked, the ratio of patients to
a nurse is increasing. This will eventually lead to them leaving the medical field. Those
nurses that are left will feel the increase of pressure will cause the nurses to remain
overworked and the amount of mistakes will continue to rise while the quality of care
received will decrease.
Contributing Factors
The shortage of nurses has created a critical impact on not only the general population
but also on the nurses who are currently working in the hospitals. The nurses have already
been feeling exhaustion and frustration due to the population that they are providing care to.
When nurses start to feel the repercussions of extended shifts, low pay, and frequent call outs
the healthcare facilities will not be able to operate at regular capacity (Carbajal & Bean,
2025). The burnout has been caused by a multitude of factors such as stress, anxiety, medical
injuries, and unidentified deaths that have in return led to a variety of mental health issues.
Aside from burnout the shortage of nurses has led to financial issues and a lack of
commitment that has caused dissatisfaction in the workplace. The Bureau of Labor Statistics'
Employment Projections has anticipated an increase of RN's in the workplace by more than
6% in the 6 years. They are projecting that by 2031, there should be around 3.3 million RN's,
Introduction
All around there is one thing that every healthcare facility is facing, nurse burnout.
Nurses are the ones that patients will have the most face-to-face time with as they receive
quality care. Yet, nurses also tend to be the ones that are often overlooked as well. There is a
nurse to patient ratio that requires a certain amount of nurses to be on duty at any given time.
With a shortage of nurses that means that when additional tasks are needed to be done the
nurses start to get overloaded and burnout follows (Werezak, 2023). When burnout happens
the amount of mistakes will increase. Burnout remains to be the leading cause of the nation's
nurse shortage. This is due to them being underpaid and overworked, the ratio of patients to
a nurse is increasing. This will eventually lead to them leaving the medical field. Those
nurses that are left will feel the increase of pressure will cause the nurses to remain
overworked and the amount of mistakes will continue to rise while the quality of care
received will decrease.
Contributing Factors
The shortage of nurses has created a critical impact on not only the general population
but also on the nurses who are currently working in the hospitals. The nurses have already
been feeling exhaustion and frustration due to the population that they are providing care to.
When nurses start to feel the repercussions of extended shifts, low pay, and frequent call outs
the healthcare facilities will not be able to operate at regular capacity (Carbajal & Bean,
2025). The burnout has been caused by a multitude of factors such as stress, anxiety, medical
injuries, and unidentified deaths that have in return led to a variety of mental health issues.
Aside from burnout the shortage of nurses has led to financial issues and a lack of
commitment that has caused dissatisfaction in the workplace. The Bureau of Labor Statistics'
Employment Projections has anticipated an increase of RN's in the workplace by more than
6% in the 6 years. They are projecting that by 2031, there should be around 3.3 million RN's,
Local Healthcare Economic Issue 3
which is up from the 3.1 RN's we had in 2021 (AACN, 2023). With nurse retirement taken
into consideration alongside regular workforce exits being taken into account the Bureau has
estimated that there will be around 203,200 RN spots that will need to be filled each year
between now and 2031(AACN, 2023).
The Rationale
At the Monroe Carell Children's Hospital @ Vanderbilt (MCJCHV) located in
Nashville, TN, the lack of nurses is one of the primary factors that is currently contributing
to the care that is being given to children in a timely manner. During my time at MCJCHV, I
have experienced extended wait times both in the emergency department waiting room as
well as in the patient rooms due to the lack of nurses. During my one visit we waited for
nearly 4 hours in the waiting room. We witnessed multiple people leave disgruntled due to
the wait times. The following day one of my tasks was to call the left without being seens to
see if they were able to get cared for elsewhere or if they still needed some medical attention.
Part of the nurse shortage was due to the decision to cut back on traveling nurses (Falcone,
2024). The nurses were given first choice as to whether or not they would like to sign a
contract with MCJCHV or continue travelling. Although many opted to stay in Nashville,
many chose to go to the next location, so the nursing shortage was not fulfilled. The number
of registered nurses needed around the world has risen to 5.9 million, as reported by the
World Health Organization and the State of the World's Nursing 2020 report (WHO, 2020).
At MCJCHV, I was not a nurse but I did work in the case management department
which meant that I helped the nurses with some of their admin work as well as ensuring that
when children left the hospital that they had everything they needed to be successful and
hopefully not have to come back. I witnessed the nurses get burned out due to the case loads
they were given, and their shifts being increased. Another thing that has affected the burnout
and ultimately a nurse shortage is the increase in behavioral health and mentally ill children
which is up from the 3.1 RN's we had in 2021 (AACN, 2023). With nurse retirement taken
into consideration alongside regular workforce exits being taken into account the Bureau has
estimated that there will be around 203,200 RN spots that will need to be filled each year
between now and 2031(AACN, 2023).
The Rationale
At the Monroe Carell Children's Hospital @ Vanderbilt (MCJCHV) located in
Nashville, TN, the lack of nurses is one of the primary factors that is currently contributing
to the care that is being given to children in a timely manner. During my time at MCJCHV, I
have experienced extended wait times both in the emergency department waiting room as
well as in the patient rooms due to the lack of nurses. During my one visit we waited for
nearly 4 hours in the waiting room. We witnessed multiple people leave disgruntled due to
the wait times. The following day one of my tasks was to call the left without being seens to
see if they were able to get cared for elsewhere or if they still needed some medical attention.
Part of the nurse shortage was due to the decision to cut back on traveling nurses (Falcone,
2024). The nurses were given first choice as to whether or not they would like to sign a
contract with MCJCHV or continue travelling. Although many opted to stay in Nashville,
many chose to go to the next location, so the nursing shortage was not fulfilled. The number
of registered nurses needed around the world has risen to 5.9 million, as reported by the
World Health Organization and the State of the World's Nursing 2020 report (WHO, 2020).
At MCJCHV, I was not a nurse but I did work in the case management department
which meant that I helped the nurses with some of their admin work as well as ensuring that
when children left the hospital that they had everything they needed to be successful and
hopefully not have to come back. I witnessed the nurses get burned out due to the case loads
they were given, and their shifts being increased. Another thing that has affected the burnout
and ultimately a nurse shortage is the increase in behavioral health and mentally ill children
Preview Mode
Sign in to access the full document!
100%