NURSING SHORTAGE AND NURSE TURNOVER

A “nursing shortage” occurs when there is a greater need than supply for skilled nursing practitioners, such as registered nurses, in a specific area. On the other side, nurse turnover explains why nursing staff employees tend to quit their positions voluntarily and involuntarily (Cox, Willis, & Coustasse, 2014). It is important to underline how the nurse shortage and turnover negatively impact nursing. The disruptions and subpar patient care caused by turnover are expensive for healthcare businesses (Cox, Willis & Coustasse, 2014). For nursing managers and leaders, the need for more nurses and employee turnover are significant issues. Therefore, a comparative analysis of the strategies nurse leaders and managers would use to handle the nurse shortage and nurse turnover concerns would be crucial in the current topic.

It is critical to understand that nurse turnover can be “good” or “bad,”, especially for any business. Negative turnover happens when a wanted, well-behaved nurse decides to leave work, and positive turnover happens when management fires an employee. The problem of nurse turnover consequently has a direct influence on the productivity and profitability of healthcare organizations. First, although “management” and “leadership” are sometimes used synonymously, they have distinct connotations when referring to the nursing profession. Huber argues that nursing leaders are seldom competent managers and that only certain nurse managers exhibit the qualities of a practical nurse leader (2013). Notably, a nurse manager actively participates in decision-making and has a distinct position within the organizational structure.

A leader, however, might not hold official organizational positions or authority (Huber, 2013). A leader’s ability to persuade people through interpersonal contact is frequently used to characterize them. As a result, nurses exhibit leadership abilities at all experience levels and professional phases.