A crisis in nursing

 The crisis is about burnout, shortages, disrespect, and lack of support. Obviously, the pandemic is responsible for much of the burnout. Unsafe levels of staffing, a continuing lack of personal protective equipment, and an overwhelming number of patient deaths are the reasons some nurses are quitting their jobs. Many felt that hospital administrators didn’t care whether they lived or died.

A recent survey revealed that nearly 80 percent of nurses said their "key challenge" in providing quality care was a shortage of nurses. Covid I.C.U.s have reported nurse-to-patient ratios as high as one to four, rather than the recommended one to one or two. As one I.C.U nurse reported, “people are not getting the best care because we’re overloaded.” The severe shortage of nurses is occurring just as the need for nurses is growing significantly. To ameliorate the shortage, an average of nearly 176,000 registered nurse positions will need to be filled every year through 2029.  Nursing schools don’t have enough faculty members to expand the nursing work force.

As to hospital management, the bulk of the failure to support nurses in the US comes down to money. Even though nurses are the largest labor group in hospitals, they don’t bring in revenue the way physicians do. For this reason, hospitals wanting to cut costs fire them. Thirty-six of America’s 60 largest hospital chains have either laid off, furloughed, or cut the pay of nursing staff during the pandemic, despite having received government bailout funds. Tenet Healthcare, a hospital chain, furloughed about 11,000 workers during the pandemic, but made nearly $399 million in profit.

For good reason, nurses feel disrespected and unsupported. One doctor reported that he had no idea what nurses do all day. A nurse reports, “Nobody ever says to the staff, ‘How are you doing? Nobody cares. The illusion that the institutions that employ us ever cared about us is shattered.” Another nurse adds, “Knowing that the system cared more about money than patients ruined nursing for me.”

For an introduction to this blog, see I Just Say No; for a list of blog topics, click the Topics tab.