An analysis published in the latest issue of Health Affairs indicates that stakeholders' views on the nurse shortage's implications for hospital patient care vary widely, potentially posing barriers to the adoption of long-term solutions. To compare multiple perspectives on the nurse shortage, researchers from Vanderbilt University Medical Center and Massachusetts General Hospital examined the results of three surveys conducted by Harris Interactive in 2004 and 2005. Researchers found that the majority of survey respondents who reported observing a nurse shortage at their facility said they perceived the problem as very or somewhat serious.
The majority of R.N.s and chief nursing officers (CNOs) expressed considerable concern about the shortage's impact on nurses' ability to ensure patient safety and promptly detect patient complications. Most physicians and chief executive officers (CEOs), however, did not share similar views. In addition, physicians and nurses were more likely than CEOs and CNOs to report that most of the Institute of Medicine's six aims for improving health care—which include increasing time for team collaboration, nurses' time with patients and the quality of nurses' work life—have been negatively affected by the nurse shortage.
Furthermore, 91 percent of R.N.s said the shortage would prompt nurses to leave the profession, compared with 79 percent of hospital CEOs. In addition, 94 percent of CEOs said the shortage would result in higher nurse pay, compared with only 48 percent of R.N.s. In light of the findings, researchers suggest that hospital CEOs are not fully aware of the role that nurses play in patient safety, a "disconnect [that] is troubling" and warrants further consideration. Researchers add that the variation in perceptions reinforces the importance of strengthening communication and collaboration among hospital staff members, particularly in promoting positive nurse-physician teamwork to improve patient safety. They conclude that, although future nurse shortages may occur, "improvements in interdisciplinary teamwork…could mitigate their harmful impacts."
(Buerhaus et al., Health Affairs, May/June 2007)
