Nurses Understaffed and Stressed

An online poll, conducted by the American Nurses Association, reveals that 72% of all nurses feel that the staffing at their facility is inadequate, Modern Healthcare reports. Perhaps more alarmingly, nearly half of the 15,000 nurses responding to the survey stated that they would not feel comfortable about a friend or family member being treated in their employer's facility.

The survey also measured other factors such as job satisfaction, and quality of care, according to the article. Over half of the nurses surveyed also expressed that they were seeking a new job due to the staffing and quality issues they face.

What is the answer to this critical nursing situation? According to the Modern Healthcare piece, Congress is working on a bill that would require facilities to work with nurses to devise more suitable nurse staffing plans. However, the current bill in process is the fourth one to attempt to do so. And what good is a nurse staffing plan if there are not enough nurses available to make the plan a reality?

More on nursing careers:

• Nurse career profile
• Top 3 Nursing Careers
• Modern Healthcare article (registration required)