Nurses Week is an annual celebration of the incredible work that the nursing profession performs every day. It’s also a time to acknowledge the many demands of their occupation. One significant example of how nurses have to cope with often unexpected challenges is the pandemic. Nurses had to learn new protocols for infection prevention, triage patients with COVID-19 symptoms, worry about virus exposure and manage the emotional toll of caring for patients who were dying alone due to visitor restrictions. And while COVID certainly put these issues in the spotlight, healthcare professionals still face many difficulties even though the worst of the pandemic is over. In this blog, FirstLantic Healthcare recognizes the adversity nurses handle daily and salutes them for their remarkable resilience, compassion, and patient dedication. Outlined below are six significant challenges that the nursing profession faces.

 

  1. Many healthcare facilities are struggling with staffing shortages. Since 2020 alone, 18 percent of healthcare workers have quit their jobs, with many surveys indicating 20-50 percent of physicians and nurses stating they’re ready to quit in the next year. There is also a shortage of faculty and educators within nursing, leading to 80,407 eligible applicants being rejected from baccalaureate and graduate nursing programs, mainly due to inadequate faculty.
  2. Staffing shortages lead to burnout among nurses, who often work long hours and face high-stress levels. Fatigue and overwork can lead to physical and mental health problems and reduced job satisfaction and productivity.
  3. Nurses are often the target of workplace violence, including physical assaults, verbal abuse, and harassment leading to physical injuries and emotional trauma. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), “between 8 and 38% of nurses suffer from healthcare violence at some point in their career”.
  4. The healthcare industry constantly evolves, with new technologies, regulations, and treatment methods continuously introduced. Nurses must stay current and regularly adapt to new practices and protocols.
  5. As our population ages, patients in hospitals today are often sicker and have more complexity to their illness, requiring more intensive care and longer treatment.
  6. Healthcare organizations are under increasing financial pressure to provide high-quality care at a lower cost which again leads to staffing shortages, reduced resources, and other challenges for nurses.

 

These are just a few of the difficulties that nurses face in their profession today. Despite that, they continue to provide high-quality care and make a significant difference in the lives of their patients. To all the nurses out there who work tirelessly despite adversity, thank you for your incredible work and dedication. Your efforts have not gone unnoticed, and FirstLantic is grateful for all you do.

 

If you or someone you know is interested in home healthcare services in South Florida, FirstLantic can help. We are locally owned and operated, providing our patients with the highest quality in-home care and placement services in Fort Lauderdale (Broward County) and Delray Beach (Palm Beach County) since 2000.

 

Click here to contact us.

 

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