Nurse Shortage Putting Patients In Danger

Nurses are an incredibly important part of a patient’s care. Nurses generally spend more time with patients than doctors and perform many important medical duties like administering medication. These practitioners are most effective when a certain nurse-to-patient ratio is in place.

The current nurse shortage is putting patients in danger of illness or injury when mistakes become more frequent. This leads to a greater potential for hospital negligence when staff numbers are too low to care for patients adequately. It’s a concern that has been building for many years and results from several factors.

A Growing Problem

The field of nursing has been expanding for some time. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), there will be nearly 450,000 new nursing jobs and more than an estimated one million vacancies by 2024. To make matters worse, the BLS also estimates that more than 700,000 nurses will leave the workforce by 2024.

Coping with vacancies will be difficult for hospitals and other healthcare facilities. Many facilities already have a high nurse-to-patient ratio to help save on their bottom line, so vacancies will continue to compound the problem.

Nurse To Patient Ratios

A nurse-to-patient ratio refers to the number of nurses provided to patients in a given healthcare setting. Nurse-to-patient ratios vary widely based on the specialty of medicine. For example, emergency nurses have very different demands from hospice nurses. While there are industry standards for these ratios in every specialty, hospitals should closely monitor the performance of their nurses to make sure patients are receiving adequate and timely care.

When the nurse-to-patient ratio is too high, it can create a dangerous environment for patients. According to a study published in the Journal of Medical Ethics and History of Medicine, nurses struggling with too many patients make a variety of mistakes. Researchers looked at nurses in a hospital emergency room and discovered nearly 47% made medication errors due to high nurse-to-patient ratios.

Major Factors Leading to the Shortage of Nurses in the U.S.

One of the most impactful events in recent years that led to a shortage of nurses is the fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic. Hospitals were overwhelmed with a huge influx of patients, and many healthcare providers became ill themselves. Some were out of work for only a short while, returning to the onslaught of COVID victims that lasted nearly two years. Others were disabled or died from the disease, further reducing the available number of nurses.

While the pandemic was undeniably detrimental to staffing levels, the current shortage is the result of many factors that will converge in the near future. As the next few years go by, the combination will put significant pressure on hospitals and other facilities to overcome two problems: more patients needing care and more nurses opting out of their profession.

Aging Patient Population

Baby boomers aged 65 and older are getting closer to the end of their lives, entering a time when they will need increased health services. This generation is significantly larger than Gen X, Gen Z, or Gen Alpha, representing nearly 17% (one in six) of the total population. They will face multiple medical conditions as they age but will also likely live longer due to continued improvements in healthcare.

Whether in hospitals or long-term care facilities, nurses will be in more demand to take care of these individuals over the remaining 10 to 30 years of the patients’ lives.

Aging Workforce

Patients are not the only ones getting older and putting stress on the system. Highly experienced and educated nurses are also older and will soon reach the end of their careers. The median age of registered nurses in 2020 was 52, according to the American Nursing Association. When these nurses retire over the next 10 to 15 years, it will coincide with the increase in patient demand from our aging population.

While new students are entering nursing school every year, it’s critical to remember that many of their professors will be older and ready to retire soon. Students may be left with fewer choices for their education if a school cannot continue to offer classes. The quality of these programs will likely decline as a result, meaning those who graduate may get less rigorous training and knowledge than previous generations of nurses.

Job Burnout

The pandemic put exorbitant pressure on an already exhausted nursing workforce. The physical demands of caring for large numbers of patients for ever longer shifts with no days off took a tremendous toll on caregivers. Many nurses stepped in for sick colleagues and doctors or faced the effects of the disease personally when they or their family members fell ill.

After the emotional trauma of witnessing so many patients and loved ones die without hope of recovery or the presence of their families, large numbers of nurses chose to leave the profession. Turnover rates have been higher in recent decades, and between 2020 and 2021, more than 100,000 nurses left their jobs. Many were under the age of 35.

On-the-Job Violence

The nursing field is predominantly filled with women, who face a documented higher risk of violence in all settings. According to the British Medical Journal (BMJ), while violence in U.S. nursing environments does occur to men, 30% or more of women nurses report threats or physical harm at work. Coupled with the pressure to work with ever-increasing nurse-to-patient ratios, many nurses who suffer on-the-job violence experience a large decline in job satisfaction and safety.

Even verbal abuse in the form of swearing, yelling, or insulting nurses can contribute to the feeling of uneasiness that prevents nurses from doing their jobs well. This distraction can lead to mistakes and negligence.

How Hospitals Can Take Responsibility to Address the Nurse Shortage

Regardless of vacancies, hospitals and healthcare facilities are responsible for the well-being of their patients. If a hospital doesn’t employ enough nurses or provide a sufficiently safe environment for them, they may see caregivers leaving their ranks. Administrators must address the specific issues affecting their employees and work to reduce staff reductions and turnover.

When there are not enough nurses due to an unsatisfactory workplace, mistakes will occur that cause illness, injury, and death to patients. This stands in opposition to everything hospitals should provide to their communities, and it is on the shoulders of administrators and directors to maintain appropriate nurse-to-patient ratios.

Too few nurses or inadequately trained ones can lead to medical errors. When this happens, patients can hold the hospital accountable by filing a medical malpractice lawsuit. Determining how, when, and why the negligence occurred requires the knowledge and experience of skilled medical malpractice attorneys to secure the best possible outcome for patients and their families.

Contact Lopez McHugh LLP to Speak with Our Hospital Negligence Lawyers

There is ample amount of clinical evidence to support the benefits of low nurse-to-patient ratios. Despite this, many hospitals employ fewer nurses to increase profits at the risk of harming patients. Patients are negligently put in danger of illnesses, injuries, and deaths that would never have happened if the nursing shortage had been corrected.

If you or a loved one has suffered a medical mistake at a Philadelphia hospital or other medical facility, contact the accomplished hospital negligence lawyers at Lopez McHugh LLP right away. We can obtain your medical records, analyze your situation, and help you pursue the compensation you deserve.

We will manage your case with compassion, integrity, and dedication. Our team will not rest until we have obtained the justice and compensation you deserve when someone has harmed you. We offer free initial consultations to discuss your circumstances and explain your options. Use our convenient online form to set up a meeting with a medical malpractice lawyer today.