Why Good Nurses Leave the Profession

Nursing is always depicted as an attractive career that many people desire to pursue. Just like other professions, the nursing profession is challenging and rewarding. The work of nurses is to make a difference in the lives of people and connect with them on a personal level. Nurses should be involved in the profession stands the test of time through ages. The nursing profession is facing a crisis as nurses leave the bedside and eventually their profession.

According to Johnson (2015), in his article “Why Good Nurses Leave the Profession”, there are various reasons why nurses leave the bedside and eventually the Nursing profession.

One of the major reason is poor management. Poor management always lead to job dissatisfaction. From a discussion with nurses ,the writer demonstrates that many nurses who are dissatisfied with their jobs are choosing to leave the client care or the entire profession. Management taking little or no consideration to the nurses working at the bedsides play a major role to the increased dissatisfaction. when the management does not actively engage the well-educated nurses in developing the health facility strategies and policies, leads them to have a negative attitude towards the management team.

According to the National academic press (2011), involving nurses in the management creates unity as well as motivation hence job satisfaction and retention. The Nursing career is demanding. It requires one to have an advanced higher degree to advance from the bedside tasks. Most nurses and other health practitioners who go some extra miles to get an advanced agree are getting frustrated with the lack of upward mobility in the industry. They tend to compare themselves with their friends working in other industries who have received promotions and salary increase. The Nurses feel their profession is like being a hamster on a wheel. The burnout the nurse’s experience makes them leave the nursing profession as they feel they cannot do the bedside nursing forever.The article adds that nurses who are overworked are underpaid. This a fact that support why the nurses leave the profession.

The over reported shortage of nurse in many countries should be equally accompanied by the sticky salaries the nurses receive. The intense and complex task of bedside nurses is normally underpaid. Keeping in mind that the nurses deal with life and death situations, sustenance of human life as well as providing care and guidance for patients with chronic illness. Most of these nurses are dissatisfied with their salaries. The nursing job drains them both physically and emotionally. They work for long hours, extra shifts and even sacrifice to go for holidays and vacation. With this working conditions, they always feel their hourly working rate should be essentially doubled to help in mitigating the feeling of stagnation.

The other common reasons why nurses leave the profession according to Jonson is short staffing. The continuous short staffing of nurses drives them from the bedside and eventually drives them from the profession. Management tries to cut cost through short staffing. Short staffing is a disadvantage to the nurses because they have to pick up the slack of other nurses. They do a job of many people which is very stressful resulting them to leave the profession. However, reducing the nurse to patient ratio is advantageous to the management. The lesser the nurses the better the quality of care leading to decreased turnover.

In conclusion, the nursing profession is emotionally and physically challenging. The profession requires a lot of hard work. Therefore, Nurses should be appreciated by the management and their role recognized. To overcome the crisis of nursing leaving bedsides and ultimately the profession, the medical facility must increase the rate of pay to retain the nurses in the nursing profession.

References

Johnson, N. (2015).? Why Good Nurses Leave the Profession | Minority Nurse.? Minoritynurse.com. Retrieved 17 September 2017, from http://minoritynurse.com/why-good-nurses-leave-the-profession/ The National Academic press. (2011). 5 Transforming Leadership | The Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health | The National Academies Press.? Nap.edu. Retrieved 17 September 2017, from https://www.nap.edu/read/12956/chapter/10

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