How Government Can Address The Nursing Shortage

The government can address the nursing shortage by funding nursing schools and supporting students. Nursing shortage negatively influences the health of millions of people, costs billions of dollars in lost revenue, and causes thousands of deaths each year. Nurses provide essential patient care in hospitals and other settings, but many people want to avoid entering this field due to long hours and difficult work environments.

This article will discuss several ways our government can address the nursing shortage, such as by reducing burdensome regulations, improving the work environment for nurses, increasing access to healthcare services, and supporting the financial burdens of nursing students.

What’s In The Article?

• Decrease Burdensome Regulations

• Increase Access To Healthcare

• Support Nursing Students' Financial Burdens

• Improve The Work Environment

• Encourage Research And Development Of Nursing Tools

• Expand Training In Community Colleges And Vocational Schools

• Final Thoughts

Decrease Burdensome Regulations

One way the government can address the nursing shortage is to reduce regulations that make it difficult for nurses to work. It includes making it easier for nurses to obtain the necessary education and training to become licensed and employed in their field of expertise. The government should also consider increasing pay rates for nurses who provide critical services when there are shortages of qualified professionals.

Focus on decreasing burdensome regulations. These can strain nurses and hospitals, resulting in higher patient costs. If some of these regulations were reduced or eliminated, more nurses would enter the workforce and help alleviate our nursing crisis.

Increase Access To Healthcare

The government can improve access to healthcare by giving underprivileged people better access to healthcare. This could include opening more rural clinics and ensuring that uninsured or underinsured people have access to care through programs such as Medicaid and Medicare.

Support Nursing Students' Financial Burdens

The government can address the nursing shortage by directly funding nursing schools. They can also provide scholarships and grants to help students pay for tuition, books, and supplies. The government can also offer low-interest loans to help nursing students pay for school expenses so that they do not incur too much debt during their education. School funding also increases training opportunities for future nurses while allowing current nurses to continue their education and earn higher degrees. 

Government agencies can also fund specialized training for nurses interested in working in gerontology or palliative care. It will enable them to develop the skills required to deal with our aging population while assisting those suffering from chronic illnesses to live longer and more productive lives.

Improve The Work Environment

The government can address the nursing shortage by dealing with the workforce issues that contribute to the nursing shortage. Increased training and support for nurses is one way to accomplish this. It will provide opportunities for professional development and growth. The more knowledgeable and confident they are, the better equipped they will be to work on difficult situations.

Nurses are more likely to leave if they don't like the management. Improving the work environment can result in better patient outcomes, lower costs, and lower nursing staff turnover.  Government can also improve the working conditions of nurses who already work in healthcare facilities by ensuring they have adequate supplies, such as gloves when working with patients.

The nursing industry needs to be more diverse. Nurses of color are underrepresented in the workforce and face discrimination, which may lead them to leave the profession. This issue can negatively impact both patient care and the healthcare field. It may also raise hospital costs, which can train new nurses every time an existing one leaves. Government should strictly implement policies to protect nurses and other healthcare professionals from these discriminations and improper treatment. Improved working conditions boost job satisfaction, which leads to higher retention rates and lower turnover.

Encourage Research And Development Of Nursing Tools

The government can encourage research and development of nursing tools by funding studies to improve them. It will help nurses have access to the best patient and hospital equipment. It also makes it easier for people interested in becoming nurses to obtain training in these new technologies.

Expand Training In Community Colleges And Vocational Schools

Another way the government can address the nursing shortage is to increase nursing education in community colleges and vocational schools. These schools are a good place to get an education since they are less expensive than universities, have flexible schedules that accommodate full-time students, and provide training for specific professions such as nursing.

Community colleges are nonprofit institutions that offer two-year degrees at a lower cost than most four-year universities. Students at these schools pay less in tuition because they do not have benefits such as health insurance or housing stipends, though some states do.

Vocational schools focus on teaching specific skills rather than general education courses like history or English composition. Curricula at vocational schools are typically shorter than those at traditional universities. This means that students graduate faster, and there is usually no standardized testing required before admission into these programs, though some may require applicants to take entrance exams.

Final Thoughts

Healthcare is a massive part of the American economy. According to a report,  healthcare spending in the United States reached 18% of the country’s GDP in 2021. However, there are many open nursing positions across the country right now. As a result, hospitals are having difficulty finding qualified candidates at all levels of education and experience.

The government is responsible for ensuring that the country has enough nurses. They should take action on multiple fronts to address the nursing shortage. Funding and policy decisions can have an impact on the nursing shortage. In addition, government policy should remove barriers to nurse training and education, allowing more people to enter the field while improving retention rates among current employees.