Nursing: High Risk, Demanding Job
There is no doubt nursing is a difficult, demanding profession, and COVID-19 has added to the demands placed on nurses every day. The issues they face have a direct impact on patient safety, medical errors, and medical and nursing malpractice.
Here are 4 of the biggest issues nurses grapple with today:
1) Too much paperwork: Nurses want to make patient care their priority but find they often need to spend more time caring for the chart even though electronic medical records promised to reduce paperwork and handwritten records.
2) Nursing Shortage: Nursing shortages continue to affect staffing. This is pronounced in several southern and western U.S. states. A growing and aging population combined with low numbers of nurses entering the job market is most pronounced in Florida, Georgia, Texas, and California. The nursing shortage continues to impact rural hospitals that lack the proximity to a nursing school, the ability to pay higher wages and provide greater job opportunities for spouses. Cite: (https://www.moodys.com/research/Moodys-Nursing-shortage-will-persist-until-2025-weakening-US-NFP–PR_380467)
3) Increased workload: Every attorney involved in medical malpractice cases hears of nurses who are burned out. In a 2018 RN Network survey, 62% of the nurses felt regularly burned out in their jobs and 44% believed that burnout affected their work performance especially those working in high stress areas such as critical care and emergency room, where the experienced nurse makes a huge contribution.
4) Workplace safety: Needlestick injuries that expose nurses to hepatitis and HIV viruses, assault by patients, and bullying and harassment are a few safety hazards nurses face on the job. A recent survey revealed that nearly 40% of nurses reported being bullied or harassed during the previous year. Other nurses (30%) were responsible for the abuse, 25% came from patients, 23% came from physicians and 22% from administrators.
Cite: (https://rnnetwork.com/blog/rnnetwork-2018-portrait-of-a-modern-nurse-survey/)
These safety issues can affect productivity, turnover, and morale, not to mention the impact on patient safety and clinical outcomes. From a systems perspective, healthcare institutions must:
- be attentive to the demands on nurses
- listen to their suggestions for streamlining the processes of care
- provide adequate breaks
- respect the labor laws
- govern the staff in a way that leads to job satisfaction rather than turnover and poor morale.
Our nursing experts are skilled in understanding the standard of care as well as the facility based issues which impact nursing care and patient outcomes. If your case requires a nursing expert witness, give us a call at OnPoint LNC.
For additional services provided by OnPoint LNC, feel free to contact:
Kimm Ebersole, MHA, BSN, RN
Business Development
Kimm@OnPointLNC.com
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