HOW LEADERSHIP HAS RESPONDED TO NURSING SHORTAGE

One of the changes implemented at the Women’s Center was to require 2-year contracts for new nurses coming on board as well as 3-month contracts during the Summer season for nurses to earn an extra $700 bonus if they sign up for four 12-hour shifts a week, instead of the usual three 12-hour shifts . This is putting the onus on the nurses to make a choice and not feel compelled by management or guilt-tripped into working or staying long hours. They have also increased and broadened their tuition reimbursement program At the Behavioral health center, management have decided to employ more mental health Assistants (MHAs) to the various units, so that nurses can feel safe. They also now recruit students who choose to do their practicums at the hospitals as MHA so they can then transition to being staff nurses after graduation. I must say that so far, these changes have not seen significant change in the nursing shortage and more strategies are needed to curtail this healthcare strain. Nonetheless, Caldwell (2019) reported that Georgia hospitals are being proactive by collaborating with local schools in an effort to combat this nursing shortage by recruiting students before they graduate as well as organizing social media outreaches (Caldwell, 2019). References Caldwell, M. (2019, May 28). How are Georgia hospitals addressing the nursing shortage? Retrieved from https://www.ajc.com/lifestyles/health-med-fit/how-are-georgia-hospitals-addressing-the-nursing-shortage/d35DYC3YpmkqNjfgGPNddO/ Marshall, E. S., & Broome, M. (2017). Transformational leadership in nursing: From expert clinician to influential leader. New York, NY: Springer Publishing Company. Salary Comparison, Salary Survey, Search Wages. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.payscale.com/ Stimpfel, A. W., Sloane, D. M., & Aiken, L. H. (2012). The longer the shifts for hospital nurses, the higher the levels of burnout and patient dissatisfaction. Health affairs (Project Hope), 31(11), 2501–2509. doi:10.1377/hlthaff.2011.1377