The healthcare profession already had its share of challenges and obstacles, with doctors and other healthcare professionals working day and night to ensure positive patient outcomes. However, nursing is a sub-filed of the healthcare industry that contains most of these challenges and obstacles.
Nursing is not for the faint-hearted. To succeed as a registered nurse, you need to have a real passion and drive to helping people, no matter what. Some nursing challenges include; workplace violence, burnout, exposure to illness, short staffing, difficulty continuing education, and much more.
Whatever the case may be, nurses are an integral part of the worldwide healthcare workforce. They are frontline warriors who dedicate their entire lives to providing care for sick people. Not to mention, the Covid-19 pandemic has made nurses even more vital than they ever were.
However, before you decide to take the plunge and dive into the nursing profession headfirst, you must know every challenge this profession presents in detail. Doing so will allow you to remain invested and avoid quitting when things get taught.
And trust us, they will! So, without further ado, let us look at why nursing is the most challenging career in the healthcare industry.
1. Difficulty acquiring further education.
In the healthcare industry, all healthcare professionals must remain up-to-date with the latest caregiving techniques and procedures. For the nursing profession, staying updated with the newest care techniques and information is crucial.
To remain competent, nurses need to obtain specialized certifications and invest in further education. Doing so will allow them to perform their duties with the utmost effectiveness and efficiency. Not to mention, a nurse with a higher degree will enjoy better perks and get a higher masters science nursing salarycompared to nurses with just a license.
Nurses follow a strict schedule where they have to clock in and out at particular times. Plus, they have to work night shifts and overtime, which gives them no time to focus on getting an education by enrolling in online master’s degree programs.
2. Short staffing issues.
Understaffing is one of the most prominent issues in the nursing profession. In fact, according to an AMN healthcare survey, seventy-two percent of CNOs stated that there is a moderate to severe lack of nursing staff at their medical facilities, and most of these nursing shortages have worsened over the years.
In addition, according to the BLS, there will be a requirement of 1 billion nurses around 2022 because of replacement, hiring, and occupational growth.
Such staffing issues will affect patient care, safety, and health in the long term. Plus, it can lead to increased work pressure, injury rates, and fatigue.
3. Mandatory overtime.
Due to short-staffing and high employee turnover, overtime is a sad reality that aspiring nursing candidates face when they graduate from medical school. Many nurses worldwide are reporting an increase in mandatory overtime as a tool to overcome staffing issues.
Unfortunately, however, this leads to care inefficiencies and inaccuracies, and medical errors, driving away potential candidates from the nursing profession as a whole.
That said, healthcare leaders must shine a light on staffing issues and encourage individuals to take up nursing as a career choice. In addition, they must share the positives of becoming a nurse, giving the nursing profession the reputation it deserves.
Travel nursing services help to fill in the gaps between supply and demand in the nursing field. There are various travel nurse health insurance options available for them. After all, nurses are the first line of defense for disease prevention, and no medical facility is complete without a hardworking, determined nursing workforce. You will need to know about PACU travelling nurse
4. Harassment and bullying.
Nurses experience harassment and bullying on a day-to-day basis. It is a sad reality that we cannot ignore. Harassment in the nursing profession usually includes persistent attempts at communication, patient stalking, and inappropriate social media interactions.
Plus, bullying and harassment also take place amongst employees. Veteran nurses prevent up-and-coming nurses from taking on more responsibilities. They consider them a threat to their jobs and avoid mentoring them, resulting in new nurses prematurely leaving their jobs and quitting the nursing profession as a whole.
That said, medical institutes and healthcare leaders have taken strict measures to drive out bullying and harassment from the workplace. Even the ANA has launched its #EndNursingAbuse online awareness campaign, ensuring that bullying and harassment don’t go unpunished!
5. Too much attention is given to EHR and paperwork.
Candidates usually choose the nursing profession because it’s interesting, challenging, and allows them to make a difference in people’s lives. However, according to an RNnework survey, most practicing nurses are thinking about leaving their profession altogether.
Around fifteen percent of nurses stated that they spend too much time dealing with paperwork rather than their patients in the survey. At the same time, approximately nineteen percent said that data entry is another reason for quitting.
Healthcare leaders need to consider these issues and incorporate automated data entry into their daily business operations. After all, a nurse’s place is not behind a computer screen. It is besides a patient.
Conclusion.
Recoding the challenges that the nursing profession has is the first step. However, overcoming these challenges is the second and most crucial step of all.
After all, what better way to serve humanity than to become a frontline warrior such as a nurse. In the end, these challenges might be difficult to overcome at first, but when you do, the rewards you’ll reap will be endless.
