Developing a Shared Vision Nursing shortage continues to affect many healthcare facilities in America and is expected to be more severe given nurses will have to compensate for the shortage by working for long hours. The situation is complicated by the increase in the number of the aging nursing workforce, low unemployment, and the global trend that accounts for the shortages (Catalano, 2015). This paper is a proposal that addresses nursing shortage and poor job satisfaction by exploring how these problems can be tackled through both short term, and long-term measures to incorporate sustained changes, among employees of an ancillary department of a large 500-bed hospital. As the manager of the nursing department, I have decided to take the lead in bringing this to the attention of the staff and suggest solutions to it. This issue has impacted my department tremendously. It has led to poor job satisfaction rates resulting in higher turnover rates. Nursing Shortage Needs Modern healthcare facilities have challenges in meeting adequate supply of nurses, and developing solutions that address critical areas in education, healthcare delivery systems, and policies (Catalano, 2015). The nursing shortage experienced today is different from the one experienced in the past; however, some factors that contribute to the shortages have remained the same with notable differences in the number of modern woman pursuing career choices, age disparities in professional, shortage of support staff, and changes in global trend. Moreover, important changes in patient care environment contributes to decrease length of stay in hospital, improvement in ambulatory and acute care, improvement in home care, availability of skilled staff, and experts (Catalano, 2015). Economists view the shortage in Nursing as driven more by the balance between the demand and supply forces which is a complex situation likely to worsen in the near future given more nurses will retire from work. Previous efforts relied on temporary measures to retain staff such as awarding of bonuses and attractive premiums, which have not been successful, and mainly concentrate on redistributing the supply of nurses without addressing increase in nursing professionals. While the solutions continue to gain popularity as seen in newspaper advertisements, they are faulted for not being radical, and have failed to address past shortages and long-term issues (Couig & Kelley, 2012). I remember when there were more nurses graduating then could be placed in Minnesota. Friends were moving out of the state to find positions. That caused a reduction of students going into the field. Now we are seeing the opposite. The same is holding true for teachers. We are now facing a teacher shortage in some areas. It is indeed a cycle that works with demand and supply. ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… Solutions Motivation needs must reconsider valuing workers and should incorporate initiatives at the local level that provides for adequate compensation and conducive working environment (Catalano, 2015) Process theories are applicable in motivating nurses with low morale, and follow endogenous theories that mediate variables such as expectancies and attitudes, which can be modified to suit workers’ needs. Relevant for the manager is to apply the four endogenous theories that promote greater outputs and boost morale. First concerns the need to concentrate on internal processes to be mediated, which affects workers’ conditions and performances. Second involves meeting people’s expectations, which entail efforts that reward good performance, and value outcomes. This is closely related to equity theory that provides for fair conditions and commensurate inputs from both the employer and the employee (Catalano, 2015). Last, managers should seek to promote intentional goals, and base it on performance when determining employees’ commitment to goals (Catalano, 2015). Conclusion Managers should understand that behaviors in the organizations are learned, and depends on the perception, attitudes and goals. Consequently, this affects emotional reactions and skills that can be reinforced through practice. Last, nursing shortages can be addressed through collaborative management, which increases the functions of teams by eliminating hierarchy. The arrangement allows workers autonomy to work in teams that are supervised by the manager. As a manager, I think this proposal is the road map to resolving the problem of nursing shortage.
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