Introduction
The nursing workforce is facing a lot of challenges in terms of meeting the right percentage of nurse-to-patient. The shortage of the nurse is the leading cause of this decrease in the ratio. The deficit is rising every year and employers need more nurses than that did in the past years. Although the employers are actively looking for qualified nurses, the students joining nursing have reduced. Employers want nurses who will do most of the work in the hospital. This is the reasons why the number of nurses is decreasing. The nurses do not get an opportunity to express their expertise in to practice. Instead, the employers need people who will fill the void with dealing with the extra work, ( Joel 2006). This causes dissatisfaction among the nurses as they feel overregulated and overworked. Employers are asking for a qualified nurse who will do all the duties of a nurse, but do not get the payment a certified nurse deserves to receive.
Trends in the marketplace
A key factor in the market place is the age of the nurses who are currently practicing. The nurses in the United States of America are mostly older nurses. The cause of this situation is the high population of older people than the younger generation. The elderly nurses’ work for a few hours in a day compared to the young nurses. Majority of the nurses who are currently working is at the age of 45 years. The retirement age for these nurses is 65. This meaning that the market will face an even higher shortage of nurses than it is currently facing.
The employers are also looking for nurses who can launch programs. An experienced nurse will not go and work under the wing of someone else. The change in attitude is the desire to work in a free environment where no one pushes one around. Nurses are focusing their attention on the different nursing practices. In this policy, the nurses decide on the working hours, their place of work and the number of income they are going to get. This means that the market place is offering the nurses a chance to create their own fate. They have a chance to determine under which conditions they will operate.
The market place allows the nurse to set up a business. The business allows the nurse to be in control of his or her work. The nurse will be in charge of the enterprise. He or she will develop the policy to use in the day to operations. The policies will be convenient for the nurse making him or her produce maximum output. This is because the nurse will work independently, and no one is there to overload him or her, (Deloughery 1998).
The factors influencing the nursing market place include the salaries given to the nurses. Most of the nurses express dissatisfaction with their earnings. They complain that they do a lot of work yet they get underpaid. This has led to a change in the attitude of the young people who were aspiring to be nurses in the future. The current nurses discourage their children and any other person who expresses the desire to join them. They blame the poor, working conditions and the work load. The complaints have also increased the shortage of nurses in the market. Many countries resolved to import nurses. They put out advertisements searching for qualified nurses. Most of the qualified nurses from the developing countries rushed to the developed countries to occupy the vacancies.
Lack of laws to guide the nursing supply development contributes to the shortage of nurses. There are no laws to protect nurses in terms of their duties, working conditions and payment. The result of this situation is hiring of nurses with the aim of filing the gap, and not hiring them because if their expertise. The situation is particularly common in departments like the intensive care unit and the midwifery section. The two departments require highly qualified nurses who can take care of the patents professionally. However, due to the prevailing situation, the numbers of nurses in this department are decreasing. This leads to a reduction in the quality of services in the department.
The other prevailing market situation is the number of young people who study nursing. Research shows that the number of young people enrolling in the universities and nursing schools is low in the developed countries. These countries include the United States of America and Australia. However, in the developing countries the number is high but does not meet the required threshold due to the exportation of the nurses to the develop countries. The total number of undergraduate nurses required in the U.S.A. in the year 2002 was126, 000, (Deloughery 1998).
Nursing homes for the elderly and other organizations are also in search nurses. This is because most of the population in the U.S. A is aging. The people in this age are acutely vulnerable and require extra medical attention. However, the number of nurses available to tend to this population is sparse. Therefore, one will find a lot of advertisements in the newspapers and local magazines looking for qualified nurses who can work either full time or part time in such organizations. Hospitals are also in high demand of nurses and advertise these vacancies through the RPNs or the emergency department.
Qualified nurses want alternative employment opportunities in medical-related fields. More nurses are shifting from working in hospitals and going to work in firms that require their services. The most popular firms where nurses are opting to work are the insurance companies, research institutions and medicine manufacturing companies, (Wittmann-Price2011). The current trend in the employment of nurses in such places has made the situation worse in the hospitals.
The few nurses who are currently working in hospitals and those who work in other institutions have a lot of challenges in their work. This is because they have to work extra hours to ensure that they complete the duty of the health care system. A survey shows that in the United States a nurse work half of the year overtime. The survey shows the strain that the nurses go through in an effort to assist patients. The other reason for this increase in the working hours is the pay. A nurse will work overtime in order to increase the salary at the end of the month.
The other problem faced by nurses is the number of work they have to do. A nurse has a lot of duties in the hospital such that he or she has little or no time to relax. The nurse has to look after the patient, does the paper work and many other duties around the hospital. The situation is worsening due to the number of nurses in each institution.
However, the current shortage of nurses has led to an improvement of the working conditions and payment. The change in attitude towards the nurses is due to their shortage in the market. The nurses are now enjoying better payment and better working conditions than they did before. This aims at increasing the number of young people joining nursing schools. In the recent years, nurses get scholarship awards to go back to school and continue with their education. The shortage has given the nurses a chance to assert their own working conditions. They have a chance of determining the hours they will be working in a day. They can also negotiate the amount of salary he or she will be earning.
Leadership traits
A leader has to demonstrate his skills. I had the chance of leading a local project. We tried to identify ways of improve the environment educating people on the proper disposal of waste materials. We were also explaining the need keep the area clean. This was the time i considered myself an effective leader. The job demanded that I organize the group members to work together. I had to remain objective and treat the members with dignity. I had to give the members the chance to put in the best for the project. The importance of objectivity in the project was that everyone had the chance to do things they way they like. This way the members did not feel inferior but felt as equals in the project. The only role I played was to plan where the activities of the day were going to take place, and the time we were going to meet, (Wittmann-Price2011).
During the project, I was in total control of my emotions. I had an inner strength and believed that the project will be a success. To do this effectively, I had an open mind to listen and encourage them to make suggestions. This way we were able to work as a team. This way we were able to complete the project and ended up doing a marvelous work. The prime issues were that I consider and treat others with dignity, and maintain a healthy relationship. This helped me a lot in knowing that, as a leader, I had believed in the members in order to make them put in their full potential.
I also realized that I was using a lot of energy in coordinating the group and making sure that the members did their work. I had to delegate some of the duties to the other members. The importance of delegating the duties was to ensure that the members worked efficiently with minimal supervision from me. This helped me save the energy to use in other duties like planning. As an effective leader, I always asked for help when I noticed that i could not accomplish everything on my own. This was when I had to compile the report of the work e were doing. I had to ask help from some of the members to assist me in drafting the report.
As a leader, I had to motivate others to work hard. Motivation is essential in doing the work. By motivating the members of the group, I was able to meet the deadline for the job and ensure that the work was of high quality. To motivate others I had to set targets for myself, and looked for things that motivate me.
The leader has to communicate with the people under him. This is what I also applied during my short term as a leader. Communication helps the leader and the members share ideas and views. These made the work were doing easy. It helped us develop a positive work relationship, (Swansburg 1996). The leader should make the initiative, and let the others follow.
I want to be a nurse with a difference, a nurse whose priority is the patients’ well being. I want to be a nurse who will enjoy the work I am doing, and work to the best of my abilities. By doing this, I will make a change in this career, and changes the attitude that people have of nursing as a fulfilling career.
Career plans
Goals
My desire as an up coming nurse is to pass my 255 exams. After that, I want to do the national exam and do well. After completing my studies at this level, I will work in surgical treatment. I had a vision of working in a surgery wing, and help the patient recover from the surgery. My goals as a nurse are to serve the patients well I the surgery recovery. The next goal is to join the American Nursing association. I will also enroll in part time classes in order to get a degree in nursing. However, the only thing that I will consider as the ultimate goal is changing the operations in the nursing department. My aim is to improve the view of the people concerning nursing as a career.
Action steps
The first thing that I will do in order to achieve my goals is to evaluate the potential challenges that I might encounter in my career. After that, I will go into the fields and visit service providers to inquire about this area of nursing. To make sure that I am ready for the challenges out there, I have been going for internship and working in the surgery department. During the time, i will be in the surgery division I want to put the welfare of the patients first. This way I will not be complaining about overworking or underpayment. This is because I will be drawing my inspiration from attending to the patients. I will be utilizing the free times I get to go back to school to get a degree.
Resources
The resources in this profession are the patients. Therefore, my duty as a nurse is to ensure that patients get the best care of by attending to their needs. I will work hard to ensure that I never let down my career.
Timelines
I will finish my 255 exams and make sure that, in the next two years; I have completed the national examinations. After that, I will work in the hospital for two years. Then I will start the degree program for the next four years.
Indicators of success
Passing my exams is the first measure of success in life. Working in the surgery department is another thing that will prove that I am on the point. Getting the degree and joining the association is also crucial in proving my success. However, the most significant guideline is the contentment of the patients and society at large.
References
Deloughery, G. L. (1998). Issues and trends in nursing. Michigan: Mosby.
Joel, L. A. (2006).The nursing experience: trends, challenges, and transitions. Carolina: McGraw Hill Professional.
Swansburg, R., C. (1996). Management and leadership for nurse managers. New York: Jones & Bartlett Learning.
Wittmann-Price, R., A. (2011) Fast Facts for Developing a Nursing Academic Portfolio: What You Really Need to Know in a Nutshell. California: Springer Publishing Company.