Ethics Issue in Nursing- Staffing Shortage

Ethical Issue in Nursing – Staffing Shortage
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Abstract
The dilemma in augmenting nurse staffing can be conceptualized via the merits and demerits of achieving optimal staffing levels. The current nurse staffing systems are typically inflexible and antiquated. The report reiterated the significance of optimal staffing in ensuring professional nursing practice and value. The most significant concern related to achieving optimal nurse-patient ratios is anchored on cost. The path to achieving optimal nurse staffing levels imposes substantial hospitals and discredits their contribution to staffing decisions. According to the utilitarianism decision-making model, achieving optimal nurse staffing thresholds is increasingly beneficial and optimizes all the stakeholders’ happiness. The nursing role as a change agent in addressing the ethical dilemma is anchored on advocating for optimal staffing levels in the practice context. This requires implementing the principles of participation, appropriate timing, change resistance, self-understanding, and flexibility toward achieving optimal nurse-patient ratios. In demonstrating service to humanity and God, the nurse should address the ethical issue while considering the key ethical principles in healthcare practice.
Ethical Issue in Nursing – Staffing Shortage
Introduction
With the healthcare organizations downsizing, nursing shortage, and budget cuts in the United States (U.S.), it is not surprising that the American Nurses Association research established that 54 percent of their nurse subjects did not have enough time to attend to each patient’s needs. The previous decades have been characterized by understaffing and overcrowding, resulting in longer working hours and increasingly stressful nurse shifts. As a result, nursing professionals have recorded higher burnout thresholds and reduced retention rates. However, there are ethical concerns in making decisions related to increasing or decreasing nurse-patient staffing ratios. The path towards optimal staffing levels is constrained by the benefits and detriments such decisions could pose. This paper evaluates the ethical dilemma related to nursing staff shortage, explains the dilemma as per the utilitarianism decision-making framework, the role of the nurse as a change agent in addressing the ethical problem, as well as their role in serving humanity and God while addressing the identified ethical issue.
The Dilemma in Addressing Nursing Shortage
The dilemma of concern is anchored on instituting measures geared towards addressing the nursing shortage. In light of the view that health is an important determinant of sustainable development, attention has been directed to improving various facets of healthcare to achieve desired outcomes. The solution-seeking discussions have focused on different areas, especially how to address the shortage of nursing staff. The bottom line is that the nurse-patient ratio is problematic yet determines health outcomes. Although the federal mandates for staffing are lacking, it is recommended that healthcare facilities be staffed so that there is one nurse for every fo...