Hospitals and healthcare systems are dealing with major challenges. If you work in nursing or the healthcare industry, you know that nursing shortages are one of the key problems. Without every nursing shift filled, hospitals start to see a cascade of challenges that impact patient safety, nurse burnout, and even operational workflows. This shortage means more work for nurses and more risks for patients. Leadership, nurses and patients can all benefit from addressing this issue together.
Understanding the Nurse Shortage
We are currently facing the biggest nursing shortage the United States has ever seen, with the RN nurse vacancy rate at 9.9% and the turnover rate at 18.4%. There are many factors at play here with one of the biggest being the aging workforce. According to the American Association of Colleges of Nursing, the average age of RN’s is 46 years with more than one-quarter indicating intent to retire from nursing or leave the profession altogether over the next five years.
This creates a gap in staffing that is not being filled quickly enough to keep up with increasing demands on the healthcare system. For example, the United States population is aging rapidly thus creating a need for more frequent and longer hospital stays and therefore more nurses. Recognizing the nature of the nursing shortage is crucial, as its implications go beyond staffing levels to affect overall healthcare quality and sustainability.
According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, "There is a projection of 194,500 average annual openings for registered nurses between 2020 and 2030, with employment expected to grow by 9%."
Impact on Hospital Operations
The nursing shortage increases the workload for existing staff. When unplanned and critical shifts are left unfilled, the remaining nurses are forced to take on higher patient loads and work longer hours. As the number of patients assigned to each nurse increases, patient ratios also increase. This causes higher stress levels, leading to fatigue and burnout.
In addition, hospitals may rely on temporary or agency nurses to fill gaps. These nurses are likely not familiar with the unique hospital’s operating systems, which can lead to inconsistencies in patient treatment and communication among staff. Hiring these nurses is costly due to the resources needed to hire, train and onboard them. Bringing in these new team members can disrupt existing dynamics and make it challenging to maintain a cohesive team environment. This affects overall morale and collaboration among staff. When critical shifts are left unfilled, it ultimately interferes with the hospital’s ability to provide cohesive and high-quality care to patients.
“Nurses comprise the largest component of the healthcare workforce, are the primary providers of hospital patient care, and deliver most of the nation's long-term care" according to the American Association of Colleges of Nursing.
Consequences for Patient Care
The consequences of nursing shortages are evident in the deterioration of the quality of care provided in hospitals. Research has demonstrated a clear link between nurse staffing levels and patient outcomes, showing that reduced staffing correlates with increased medical errors and higher readmission rates. According to a study by Dr. Matthew McHugh, the average probability of readmission for heart failure patients in hospitals with an average workload of seven patients per nurse was 0.256, considerably higher than if patients were treated in hospitals with five patients per nurse (0.232) or three patients per nurse (0.209). In all cases, the probability of readmission would be decidedly lower if both the workloads were less and nurses’ work environment was better. With less time to spend with each patient, nurses are struggling to provide personalized attention needed for patient care, leading to decreased patient satisfaction.
These staffing challenges not only lead to higher readmission rates, but increase the probability of poor patient outcomes. With higher patient ratios, nurses have less time to tend to each patient. Time constraints may lead to delayed or missed medicine administration, wound care or monitoring changes in vital signs. In addition, fatigue from overwork can contribute to higher rates of medication errors or even wrong diagnoses. These are all preventable medical mistakes that can be avoided with adequate staffing.
“In March 2023, the International Council of Nurses released a report urging that the global shortage of nurses be recognized as a health emergency." While this urgency has diminished somewhat, there remains a pressing need for nurses worldwide.
Strategic Solutions to Addressing the Shortage
The nursing shortage is tough on everyone involved and healthcare organizations can benefit by taking action. By keeping critical shifts filled, nurses are better equipped to reduce errors that come from being understaffed, which means better safety and higher quality care for our patients. Nurses who work in well-staffed hospitals have the time and resources to more effectively execute the care processes that influence readmissions. They are also better equipped to monitor for complications and adverse events that increase readmission risk.
By using technology to optimize staffing allocation, healthcare organizations can ensure fully staffed units and better patient ratios. Advanced staffing solutions enable hospitals to accurately assess their staffing needs based on real-time data, ensuring that each unit is fully staffed and equipped to handle patient demands. This leads to better nurse-to-patient ratios, which are critical for providing high-quality care and improving patient outcomes.
“The state of Florida saw a greater reduction in nurse turnover and nurse vacancy from 2023 to 2024 compared to the national average due to an investment in staffing strategies,” according to the Florida Hospital Association.
An Automated Solution
At Andgo, we are proudly partnering with healthcare organizations to provide a solution that automates complex staffing processes and fills critical shifts quickly. With our ability to fill shifts in 3 minutes or less, hospitals benefit from having fully staffed units. Employee burden is lessened and patients have better outcomes. Together, we can work toward a sustainable solution for this crisis.