3 Ways to Get Ahead of the Growing Nurse Shortage

Nurses are burning out at a shocking rate and the lack of available nurses is a definite contributor. Learn what tech your facility can employ to address the growing shortage.

The current nursing shortage is only one symptom of a larger problem the healthcare space has: maintaining a workforce that isn’t mentally and physically burning out at rapid rates and becoming disillusioned with their profession.

And this is unfortunate because healthcare is first and foremost a personal endeavor, one that runs on providers’ innate desire to help and heal those in need. So, what underlying causes are inspiring nurses to leave the healthcare profession they trained so vigorously for?

The Causes

Aging Population

The US population as a whole is aging at a pretty rapid rate. 2029 will see the last of the boomer generation age into retirement, meaning a 73% jump in the number of Americans aged 65 and older.

And with the increase in the population’s average age, we’ll also see an increase in the dependence on health services. Older citizens will need more intensive care for their increasing number of conditions, placing considerable strain on the nursing workforce.

Burnout

Nurses face morale crushing circumstances from all directions on a regular basis. Add to that the fact that nurses now have to deal with a needier, older population and a large cut in their workforce, and it’s not surprising to hear that 63% of hospital nurses report experiencing burnout, often resulting in early retirements or career changes.

Retirement

Across several industries, a majority of the available workforce is also aging into retirement. According to a survey by Health Workforce Studies, between now and 2030, somewhere around 1 million nurses will retire.

What makes the nursing shortage a special case is that this drop in quantity also means a drop in quality. With so many nurses retiring, less experienced nurses stick around long enough to onboard new hires. This results in those new nurses burning out as they’re left to learn more on their own, resulting in more retirement, resulting in more burnout. It’s a vicious cycle, but one we can combat with these 3 tools.

1.) Scheduling Applications

One common cause of burnout across many different industries is poor work-life balance. This holds doubly true for nurses who typically work 10-12 hour shifts if they’re lucky and don’t need to cover a second shift.

Scheduling apps developed with healthcare facilities in mind can help immensely in this regard. Using the app, a nurse can provide their ideal schedule, one that allows them to care for their families and handle their non-work related responsibilities. From there, the application can create an optimized schedule using that data.

2.) Authentication Solutions

What nurses spend hours a day archiving notes and logging into faulty EHR systems. Spending that much time a day performing menial tasks is more than emotionally taxing, it’s mind numbing and promotes the emotions and actions that really lead to burnout.

Healthcare single sign on solutions can remove the need for multiple logins while also providing enhanced security by authenticating user identity. On the hardware side of things, having your medical computer systems customized with authentication hardware can make the login process simpler. RFID scanners, for example, can make the process as simple as swiping a badge.

3.) Portable Monitors

Nurses are already run ragged without having to consider the heavy powered carts they transport across the halls. A battery powered medical computer can remove the need for a heavy powered cart setup.

Better yet, an antimicrobial computer with hot swappable batteries can eliminate the need for slow recharges. Instead of spending hours charging the cart’s battery, backup batteries for the monitor can be charged on standby and quickly swapped out for dying ones.

Planning Ahead for the Nursing Shortage

There’s no helping the fact that a large portion of the workforce will soon be too old to work. In the face of this, the smartest thing facilities can do is address burnout. To learn what tech is necessary to address both burnout and the nursing shortage, contact an expert from Cybernet today.