The nursing shortage is a danger to healthcare on multiple levels; to the future of safe patient care delivery and professional practice, in addition to nursing workforce issues. The numbers vary weekly, but have been noted to be over one million nurses short to provide care in the next one to two decades. Aging baby boomers increase the risk and the numbers. States across the country are bringing more politicians into the nursing practice with laws created that decide practice issues. These laws cover multiple workforce situations that are being decided by politicians, from safe patient handling to the publics right to know, and various other issues effecting our practice, including staffing ratios. Now, one thing that lead me to this path is a firm belief that the bedside nurses, who GIVE their hearts and souls 24/7 providing skillful and knowledgeable care comfort and compassion SHOULD NOT have to worry about what kind of situation they are driving into, when coming to work. The legislators deciding these issues are often basing their decisions on very limited knowledge of nurses and how they practice or experiences they have had in the past with nurses, or worse yet, what they know about nurses is based on stereotypes (like TV shows like Scrubs and ER) and very little reality. Not being involved in the politics of nursing can leave the decisions of how we practice up to people with little knowledge of nursing issues and the situations surrounding the workforce today.
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