Topic #1: Workplace Diversity
Background
While the workplaces around the country are becoming widely diverse, the workforce in the United States nursing setting has historically been, and remained, predominantly white and female (Villarruel et al., 2015). Researchers advocating improved environments in the nursing setting call for more racial, ethnic, and gender diversity among nurses as one of the tools to facilitate care quality improvement and reduce disparities (Togioka et al., 2022). Even though growth is positive, its rate is not enough to reach the needed diversity indicators.
Significance
The problem of the lack of diversity in the nursing profession is significant because the general population has diversified immensely. While the proportion of nurses from racial and ethnic minority groups has increased in the recent two to three decades, the growth has been only from 15% to 20%, while the percentage of men increased from 8.7% to 10.7% (Villarruel et al., 2015). In nursing, diversity is critical because of the opportunity to build close relationships between nurses and patients within the sensitive context of care being provided (Maryville University, 2022). A nursing workforce that reflects the general population strengthens healthcare through the provision of culturally competent and quality healthcare.
Approach
The topic is likely to be approached from the perspective of barriers that prevent individuals from diverse backgrounds from entering the nursing workforce and becoming successful professionals in the field. It is necessary to determine whether the limitations in access to nursing education and training, as well as discriminatory environments, result in the absence of diversity in the nursing workforce. Besides, solutions to the problem will be provided; for example, the development of diversity initiatives to engage more diverse practitioners in the nursing field.
Topic #2: Mental Health Among Nurses Since COVID-19
Background
The COVID-19 pandemic has put a significant burden on healthcare providers who care for patients on a daily basis. Nurses have experienced negative consequences from the pandemic in the form of increased daily workloads, negative patient outcomes associated with the disease, as well as decreased access to social support systems (Riedel et al., 2021). Research has shown that the mental health of nurses has deteriorated significantly since the pandemic, with professionals reporting developing anxiety, depression, PTSD, as well as other mental health disorders (Riedel et al., 2021). The issue requires addressing because adverse mental health among nurses affects the quality of care and, subsequently, patient outcomes.
Significance
The significance of the issue to the nursing profession is linked to the fact that such mental health problems as PTSS, PTSD, and other mental health disorders make nurses less effective in completing their daily tasks within the care setting. As a result of COVID-19, nurses have reported having an increase prevalence of anxiety (23%), depression (28%), and insomnia (39%) (Pappa et al., 2021). Poor conditions of work in which nurses have found themselves during the pandemic and exposure to the disease on a daily basis have had a clear negative impact on providers’ mental health.
Approach
The topic will be approached from the perspective of finding solutions and recommending best practices to alleviate the burden of mental health challenges among nurses. Besides, it is important to look at preventive measures that could have reduced the adverse mental health effects during strenuous practice situations such as the pandemic. More considerations of mentally preparing nurses for emergencies such as pandemics and endemics are necessary, such as training and education for equipping professionals with more resources on handling stressful situations.
Topic #3: Implications of the Nursing Shortage
Background
The nursing profession continues to face shortages because of the lack of potential educators, high rates of turnover, as well as inequitable distribution of the workforce. The lack of nurses at facilities has been linked to such factors as the aging population, which requires more care, the aging workforce, nurses’ burnout, the lack of career growth, issues with the work-life balance, as well as violence in the healthcare setting (Haddad et al., 2022). The implications of shortages of nurses include a greater number of care errors, as well as higher rates of patient morbidity and mortality.
Significance
The issue bears significance to the nursing profession because, in settings with high patient-to-nurse ratios, professionals experience burnout, work dissatisfaction, and have higher failure-to-rescue rates compared to well-staffed settings (Haddad et al., 2022). The effects of the shortage of nursing professionals lead to long-term outcomes, such as the overall decrease in patient care quality, the need to pay “crisis” payments to nurses that work during understaffed shifts, and higher rates of mortality.
Approach
The topic will be approached from the perspective of recommending solutions to the problem of nurse shortages at healthcare facilities, in addition to discovering the implications of understaffing for nurses and the population for which they care. It is essential to develop a framework of solutions that could help address the challenge so that the quality of care improves and the general population does not face persistent public health challenges due to understaffing.
References
Haddad, L. M, Annamaraju, P., & Toney-Butler, T. J. (2022) Nursing shortage. StatPearls Publishing. Web.
Maryville University. (2022). Importance of diversity in nursing. Web.
Pappa, S., Ntella, V., Giannakas, T., Giannakoulis, V. G., Papoutsi, E., & Katsaounou, P. (2021). Corrigendum to “Prevalence of depression, anxiety, and insomnia among healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic: A systematic review and meta-analysis.” Brain, Behavior, and Immunity, 92, 247.
Riedel, B., Horen, S. R., Reynolds, A., & Jahromi, A. H. (2021). Mental health disorders in nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic: Implications and coping strategies.Frontiers in Public Health. Web.
Togioka, B.M., Duvivier, D., & Young, E. (2022) Diversity and discrimination in healthcare. StatPearls. Web.
Villarruel, A., Washington, D., Lecher, W., & Carver, N. (2015). A more diverse nursing workforce. American Journal of Nursing, 115(5), 57-62.