Nursing is often portrayed as a glamorous job and a career that many aspire to pursue. Like any other profession, a career in nursing has rewards and challenges. Nurses have the opportunity every day to make a difference in people’s lives, to connect on a personal level with another human being, and to be part of a profession that has stood the test of time throughout the ages. Nursing is currently facing a crisis of a shortage of trained nurses. Hospitals and medical facilities must address the issues of nurse retention and increasing job satisfaction in order to overcome this crisis.Challenges of Nursing And Health Care Essay
Many professions claim to make a difference in people’s lives. However, there is no guarantee what extent that difference will be. The opportunity to truly make a difference in someone’s life is one of the many rewards of nursing. A typical day of a nurse is filled with long hours of physical, mental, and emotional work. The role of a nurse varies from providing wellness education to healthy individuals to caring for sick or hurt individuals to caring for clients at the end of their lives. A nurse must constantly be at the top of their game intellectually, ready to meet the challenges of client care and make life and death decisions in a split second. This is not an easy job and can leave one exhausted and drained at the end of the day. One nurse stated, “It feels great to go home so tired but knowing you’ve made a true difference in someone else’s life” (“Nursing’s top”, 2000, p. 42). Through long hours of hard work, nurses are able to go home at the end of the day knowing that their caring touch and compassionate service truly impacted the clients with whom they interacted.Challenges of Nursing And Health Care Essay
Nursing is a hands-on profession, and the ability to relate to and connect with another human being on a personal, intimate level is rewarding. It is a sign of trust and respect from the clients being cared for. Clients are vulnerable and often in situations that are uncomfortable and awkward. In order to provide quality client care, nurses must interact and connect with their clients on a personal level and show they truly care for their well-being. According to Riley (2008), caring is essential for an effective nurse-client relationship and guides the way for developing a level of hope and trust between the nurse and client. Nurses show they care not only by tending to physical needs but by spending time with the client and taking time to understand their needs and the wishes and desires of the client and their family. For many nurses “this human connection” (“Nursing’s top”, 2000, p. 42) is the main reason they have chosen a career in nursing.Challenges of Nursing And Health Care Essay
From Florence Nightingale to the battlefield nurses of World War II, the profession of nursing has stood the test of time and will continue to do so as long as there is pain and suffering in the world. This everlasting nature of the service nurses provide is rewarding to those who continue the legacy of providing compassionate care and nurturing through pain and suffering (“Nursing’s top”, 2000). There is no end in sight for the need of additional nurses. Zurmehly’s research (2008) projects a 29% increase in the demand for nurses between 2000 and 2020. As the population continues to grow and the number of senior adults continues to rise, so does the need for more nurses (Buerhaus, Staiger, & Auerbach, 2003). The profession of nursing has changed throughout the years to meet the needs of the culture and the increasing demand for new nurses continues to carve out the legacy of the future of nursing.Challenges of Nursing And Health Care Essay
In any rewarding career, there are also challenges to overcome. Nursing is no exception. The 21st century is facing a nursing crisis that is not new to the profession: a shortage of qualified nurses. The current nursing shortage has roots in the late 1990s (Buerhaus et al., 2003). Much research has been directed at identifying the cause of the nursing shortage and how to fix the problem. As the general population continues to age, so does the population of nurses. In 2002, it was estimated that nearly one-third of working nurses were over the age of 50 (Atencio, Cohen, & Gorenberg, 2003). This trend continues today and is a major contributor to the nursing shortage as more nurses are retiring and fewer nurses are entering the workforce. Factors such as job-related stress, physical demands, administrative responsibilities taking away from client care, high nurse-to-client ratios, insufficient monetary compensation, and lack of continuing education are making it harder to kee
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