The Shortage of Nurses in Australia - Research Proposal Example

Running Head: THE SHORTAGE OF NURSES IN AUSTRALIA The Shortage of Nurses in Australia [Name of the Writer] [Name of the Institution] The Shortage of Nurses in Australia Introduction The purpose of this research study is to analyse the reasons behind shortage of nursing in Australia. Being a nurse is open to both females and males although traditionally nursing was considered a predominately female profession. One major problem that health care faces, is the shortage of nurses. There are lots of reasons behind nursing shortage like; lack of autonomy, gender inequality as well as social factors like; shift work, nurses’ priority in life etc. Today, Nurses are identified for their lengthy hours, low salary, and very traumatic jobs. With a declining number of nurses, and a hospital industry that is continually expanding, the need for nurses is speedily growing. When nurses give up work or decide to go to a less demanding job, there is smaller number of qualified even if the hospital is able to recruit and find nurses for these available openings. The cost of turnover is also extremely expensive. The average cost of turnover for one nurse is between 50,000 and 60,000 dollars. The expensive nature of turnover isn't the only problem related to it. Turnover can result in lower productivity because the hospital is trying to find a replacement and when they do find the replacement that person still needs time to learn the system. Secondly, fewer women are becoming nurses since the economy has also now left the door open for women to explore other trades or professions. Nurses typically have to take care of patients in a hospital 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. With most nurses having kids at home, it is not appealing for them to work in a field where they must take care of other people’s needs. Home health care, long-term care, and ambulatory services are easy alternatives for a less stressful and sometimes higher paying job. This also gives nurses more time to balance work and family life. Since increases in Registered Nurses (RN) wages are a major part of any policy proposal for alleviating RN shortages in the Australia or abroad, including the current shortage, the own wage is one of the key variables highlighted. Because various reports regarding the current shortage have recommended policies for increasing the number of men in what traditionally has been a female-dominated occupation. In the short-term, the own wage can have at least two effects on the labour supply of currently trained nurses. Higher wages may cause nurses who are currently out of the labour force to return to nursing. Wage increases may also cause nurses who are currently in the labour force to work more hours. Standard supply and demand analysis demonstrates that the more elastic is the labour supply function with respect to changes in wages, the greater will be the increase in the labour supplied of RNs for a given percentage change in wages. High wage elasticities imply that policies raising wages will be a relatively inexpensive way of increasing the work effort from currently trained RNs. On the other hand, low wage elasticities imply a small response, and large increases in wages are unlikely to entice significant increases in the labour supply of currently trained RNs (Buerhaus, 2001, 318). In the longer term, higher wages are likely to play an instrumental role in alleviating a nurse shortage by attracting additional people to the nursing profession. In order to shed light on this longer term issue, estimates are provided of the effects of RN wages on the number of persons entering the nursing profession in the Australia. Literature Review Buerhaus (2001, 320) has argued that the high hospital vacancy rates, an indicator of a potential nursing shortage, have been the result of dynamic shortages. The original model of dynamic shortages was developed by Arrow and Capron (1999, 293) and the typical scenario is as follows. First, the demand for RNs rises and employers try to hire extra nurses at current market wages. Unfortunately, this is a classic situation of excess demand; and, no additional RNs are available at current wages. The result is reported hospital vacancies. The duration of the shortage is a function of how long it takes employers to raise RN wages in an attempt to obtain additional hours from the nurse workforce. Elasticities of hours with respect to the wage provide information that is important for predicting the duration of a nurse shortage. If employers believe that the nurse labour supply is responsive to changes in wages, they are more likely to raise wages quickly to bring down observed vacancy rates. If employers feel that nurse labour supply is not responsive to higher wages, the opposite will occur since increased wages in such a situation are likely to lead to significant increases in wage costs. The upshot is a prolonged shortage. In summary, estimates of wage elasticities can shed light on two critical questions related to nurse shortages. Healthcare is a high profile issue worldwide; and since nursing personnel are critical as producers and coordinators of patient care in acute and non-acute settings in the healthcare industry, it comes as no surprise that a shortage of RNs captures the attention of producers and consumers of healthcare as well as politicians and policy-makers. The importance of RNs is further highlighted by the fact that nurses comprise the largest professional occupation in the healthcare industry in most countries. The issue of shortages and surpluses of RNs goes back decades (Yett, 2005, 2). One shortage peaked in the 1970s, and abated in the early 1980s, only to reappear in 1985 and become severe by late 1986 as a result of an excess demand for RNs. The shortage of the late 1980s was resolved by the early 1990s due to the fact that wages had risen making RNs more expensive to hire, and also, employers had reduced costs in anticipation of healthcare reform and in response to the recession (Brewer, 1996, 345). Those factors, in turn, caused the demand for RNs to decrease. There are differences between the current shortage of the early 21st century and those of the past. One difference is strictly demographic in nature and reflects aging of the populations in developed countries. Since the elderly are most likely to have more serious illnesses and/or conditions, this aging trend will lead to increases in the demand for healthcare, and thus, for RNs. Demographics, however, are not only working on the demand side of the equation, but also on the supply side since the world's RNs are also aging. The reduction in the number of young RNs is partly due to demographics: the size of the generation following the baby boom generation is simply smaller. Coupling the reduction in the cohort of young women, the traditional source for new nurses, with improved job opportunities for women in developed countries in all sectors of their economies, helps to highlight the future challenge facing the nursing profession. Another major difference between the current shortage and past shortages is that the current one is not limited to one country: it is international in scope. Examples of countries reporting nurse shortages include: Australia, Canada, England, Scotland, Ireland, Ghana, and South Africa (McKee, 1998, 1176). Past shortages of nurses in the Australia have been alleviated by using foreign graduates. The current shortage is no different since employers in the Australia and abroad has sought out foreign graduates to fill vacancies (Coffman, 1999, 390). RNs in different countries subject to very different healthcare systems report similar problems regarding their work environment and the quality of care provided. Methodology Research Design The research design that is selected for the study is an exploratory research design, in order to understanding the things deeply. As explained by Zechmeister et al., (1997, 18) survey research represents a general approach to be used when the research design is implemented. Primary data are that information that is collected for the first time. The primary data can be collected by conducting field research that involves face to face interviews, surveys, questionnaires and focused group interviews. Primary research involves the usage of primary data for the collection of data. The primary research will be especially useful since it will provide a guideline to the most current data available on this topic. This will help to give an idea about what challenges nurses face and why there is a serious issue of nursing shortage exist. There are many advantages that have been identified in the use of the survey method. According to Babbie (2001, 11), these advantages include: 1. One can collect a large amount of adapt in a fairly short time. 2. Surveys are easier and less expensive than other forms of data collection. 3. Questionnaire can be used to research almost any aspect of human perceptions regarding the variables under study. 4. They can be easily used on field settings. Participants and Instrument The population of interest for this study includes selected nurses who are working in different hospitals in Australia. It is projected that the sample will consist of 150 participants. For the purpose of study a form of non-probability sampling used. As explained by Trochim (2001, 23), in purposive sampling, the researcher samples with a purpose in mind from one or more specific and predefined groups, believed to be representative of the larger population of interest. Trochim noted that one of the benefits of purposive sampling is that it can be very useful for situations in which the researcher wants to reach a targeted group that otherwise might not be readily available. In accordance with the research philosophy, the study will refer to a research design using a primary research method of questionnaire which will be developed with questions to be given to a sample group of 150 nurses. A well design questionnaire is critical for achieving the purposes of survey research. A five point Likert scale for measure will be used in the questions, Likert scale is widely used in questionnaires, and it is most used in survey research. If there are Likert questionnaire item in the questionnaires, then the respondents state their level of agreement with the statement. For the questionnaire there will be five point Likert scale will be used; 1 = Strongly Disagree to 5 = Strongly Agree. Data Collection The survey method will be used as the means by which data is collecting within the study. Prior to initiating the data collection phase of the study, permission to conduct the survey, will be obtained from appropriate managerial people. Data collection will commence once approval granted. Questionnaires and the cover letter explaining the purpose of the survey and anonymity associated with participation in the survey will be distributed to participants and collected from them upon completion of the questionnaire. The data collection will involve gathering the information from both interview and questionnaires and then analysing the results to find out what insight can be gained from them. Data Analysis Qualitative data will be analysed to identify theories and trends and in order to process and organize the quantitative data; a database will be created by using a computer data base software program, (i.e., SPSS). The questionnaire selected may have a scale response format, which will allow for a number to be assigned for which response given for each item. For each respondent, the numerical response provided for each item as well as descriptive data obtained during survey, then entered into the database during the data-coding phase of the study. Within the study following the recommendations of Torchim (2001) statistical analysis are conducted through a progression or series of analysis using the SPSS. During the initial phase descriptive statistics is use to describe and summarize the data obtain within the study. The second phase of analysis is focused on the use of multivariate analysis to determine the relationship between specific items. This is conducted through the use of cross tabulation of nominal data between selected variables in the study. The Chi-square statistics is used to examine the significant effect of one variable on another. Statistical significance is to be set at an alpha level of 0.05. Limitations There might be few limitations when we will find the result of this study, firstly as we are going to analyse the views of nurses from a particular area i.e. Australia, so there may be change in outcomes if we will analyse nurses from different areas. Ethical Considerations While conducting research there will be some ethical considerations. Before conducting the research the permission will be taken from the appropriate management. Researcher’s personal biases and opinions should not get in the way of the research. Research should be conducted under the assumption that researchers will keep research findings anonymous in any case. During research process, it should be made sure that researchers will not take advantage of participants who are easily accessible; participants should be chosen according to their availability. Participants can be with draw any time if they want to quit. The results of the experiment will be kept confidential and researchers will use results with participants’ permission for research purposes. Participants should feel free to ask any question about the research and they will be provided with the outcome. References Babbie, E. R. (2001). Survey Research Methods. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Pub. Co., 11-16 Brewer C., The roller coaster supply of registered nurses: lessons from the eighties. Research in Nursing and Health 19 (1996), pp. 345–357. Spurgeon D., Canada faces nurse shortage. British Medical Journal 320 (2000), p. 1030. Yett D.. An economic analysis of the nurse shortage , Lexington Books, Lexington, MA (2005). Coffman F. and Spetz J., Maintaining an adequate supply of RNs in California. Journal of Nursing Scholarship 31 i4 (1999), pp. 389–393. Arrow K. and Capron W., Dynamic shortages and price rises: the scientist-engineer case. The Quarterly Journal of Economics (1999), pp. 292–308. McKee L., Nurse Shortage threatens UK care. British Medical Journal 317 (1998), p. 1176. Buerhaus P., Dynamic shortages of registered nurses. Nursing Economics 9 September/October (2001), pp. 317–328. Trochim, W. (2001). The research methods knowledge base, 1st edition. OH: Atomic Dog Publishing, 23-25. Zechmeister, E. B. (1997). A practical introduction to research methods in psychology (3rd Ed.) Mc Graw Hill, 18-20. Questionnaire The following questions are about the degree of satisfaction. Answer each item as accurately as you can by encircling the appropriate number for you. 1. Strongly Disagree 2. Disagree 3. Neither Agree Nor Disagree (Neutral) 4. Agree 5. Strongly Agree There is an equal employment opportunities for male and female in nursing. Strongly Disagree 1 2 3 4 5 Strongly Agree There is a major issue of salary in nursing. Strongly Disagree 1 2 3 4 5 Strongly Agree Long working hours may cause the people to avoid this profession. Strongly Disagree 1 2 3 4 5 Strongly Agree Proper management in hospitals can help in retaining the nurses. Strongly Disagree 1 2 3 4 5 Strongly Agree Nursing is a very stressful job. Strongly Disagree 1 2 3 4 5 Strongly Agree Ongoing training is a useful strategy of retaining the nurses. Strongly Disagree 1 2 3 4 5 Strongly Agree Please use the box below to include statement/comments about any further thoughts on Nursing Shortage in Australia, you may have. Thank you very much for your participation. Read More