NR395 Week 6 Assignment: Hot Topic
This NR395 Week 6 Assignment prompts you to identify and discuss current trends in professional nursing. You must search the Internet for one “hot topic” that relates to ethics or professional issues in nursing, and describe this according to the rubric below.
CO 1: Consider the role of the professional nurse in relation to the concepts of integrity and ethical accountability within nursing practice. (PO 4, 6)
CO 2: Explore the impact of contemporary health care issues on the role of the professional nurse. (PO 7)
Directions;NR395 Week 6 Assignment
Review the types of topics that are covered in this course (i.e., professional, ethical, and legal issues).
Make sure you review the grading criteria in the rubric.
Selection of a Hot Topic:
Search the Internet for a current story related to one of the course topics. Topics may be ethical, legal, political, or professional in nature. The story must be no older than 1 year. Do not use wikis, Wikipedia, Facebook, or other social media. Instead, look for stories that may be found in, but not limited to, online news sites, professional organizations’ issues pages, or journal editorials.
Explain in excellent detail how the topic is related to the course. State the date when the story appeared (no more than 1 year old).
Provide the location of the story on the internet:
Identify the name of the site you selected
Provide a working URL/web address
Summarize the story in detail:
Write two to three well-developed paragraphs that summarize the main points of the story.
Determine what nursing issue is reflected in the story and key people involved
Share your viewpoint about the story as it relates to nurses and the nursing profession.
Mechanics and organization of good scholarly writing: See rubric for detail.
NR395 Week 6 Assignment Answer
NR395 Week 6 Assignment: Tackling the Nursing Shortage Dilemma
The focus of this week’s assignment is a pressing issue: the critical shortage of nurses in the state of Washington. This crisis is detailed in an article based on the results of a comprehensive survey conducted by the Washington State Hospital Association. This survey involved the participation of 80 hospitals, collectively accounting for a substantial 85% of the state’s total hospital bed capacity (Arden, 2021). The survey’s findings were sobering, revealing an alarming deficit of over 6,000 vacant positions for registered nurses across these hospitals (Arden, 2021). To address this acute shortage, many of the hospitals have resorted to enlisting the services of travel nurses, with approximately 3,000 of them currently working within the state’s healthcare facilities (Arden, 2021).
However, the reliance on travel nurses presents its own set of challenges, primarily due to the significant cost associated with hiring them, which far exceeds that of permanent staff. As elucidated by Arden (2021), hospitals are now compelled to explore strategies for enhancing their financial stability, and one such avenue is to engage in negotiations with insurance companies to secure more favorable compensation rates. NR395 Week 6 Assignment
Yet, it is essential to recognize that while these measures are important, they merely offer a temporary respite to an enduring issue. To ensure the long-term health of healthcare services, the most sustainable solution remains the recruitment and retention of permanent nursing staff (Arden, 2021).
References:
Arden, P. (2021). Nursing Shortage in Washington: 6,000 vacancies, but hospital beds are filling up. KUOW Public Radio. https://www.kuow.org/stories/nursing-shortage-in-washington-6-000-vacancies-but-hospital-beds-are-filling-up
