Capstone Project Topic Selection and Approval

Capstone Project Topic Selection and Approval

Nurses are essential members of the healthcare system. They work with other healthcare providers to ensure patient-centered care is achieved. They are actively involved in patient monitoring, educating patients and family members, ensuring patients take their medications as prescribed, and taking medication information. Nurses uphold a holistic care approach that involves fulfilling all needs of the patient as a whole. This paper discusses the nursing shortage problem, identifies settings in which deficits are observed, explains the effect of the scarcity, and proposes a solution for the problem.

Project Topic for Focus of Change Proposal

My project will focus on the topic of nursing shortage. The essential services nurses provide make them important healthcare team members (Haryanto, 2019). However, deficiencies in nursing staff have been reported. It is estimated that 10 million more nurses are needed to solve the nursing shortage problem in the United States of America (Zhang et al., 2018). Shortages of nurses reduce the quality of services delivered to patients. The low ratio of nurses to patients is associated with burnout and decreased productivity (Zhang et al., 2018). Therefore, the problem of nursing shortage should be prioritized and addressed.

Setting or Context Where Project Topic is Observed

The nursing shortage has been reported in all sectors of health care. Reports indicate that only the State of California has an established policy on the nurse-patient ratio based on the service provided (Buerhaus et al., 2017). The other States lack these policies. This has led to a low percentage of nurses to patients in the United States of America. The nursing shortage has been linked to inadequate training facilities. This limits the number of persons who can enroll in nursing training. Nursing shortage in healthcare facilities negatively impacts service delivery.

Detailed Description of Project Topic.

The nursing shortage is a global problem. The problem is rampant in the USA because of the large patient population. Various factors have been implicated in the issue. The inadequate nursing training facility is a significant factor. It is estimated that approximately 80,000 applicants were turned away in 2019 due to insufficient facilities (Buerhaus et al., 2017). Inadequacy has been reported in the number of instructors, classrooms, and healthcare settings. Shortages have also been attributed to the nursing workforce retiring or closing up to the retirement age. More than 1.1 million nurses are projected to have retired by 2030 (Zhang et al., 2018). This is expected to worsen the existing problem.

A large aging population with chronic diseases also causes the nursing shortage. This population needs specialized nursing care, which has strained the existing workforce (Scheffler & Arnold, 2019). The high turnover rates in the crew have been linked to shortages. It is estimated that 13.5 percent of registered nurses leave their jobs annually (Marć et al., 2019). Therefore, the nursing shortage problem is significant in the USA and is expected to worsen.

Effect of Identified Problem

Nursing staff burnout results from workforce shortages. Nurses have to work longer shifts to cater to the needs of patients. This leads to physical and emotional exhaustion. Burnouts have been linked to a decrease in the productivity of nurses. This is likely to increase medical-related errors and patient morbidity and mortality rates (Drennan & Ross, 2019). Therefore, the nursing shortage lowers the quality of services delivered to patients. The nursing shortage is also associated with a stressed and dissatisfied workforce. This is because they are overwhelmed with their workload. Dissatisfaction makes the nurses quit their jobs (Weaver et al., 2018). This worsens the existing problem of nursing shortage.

Topic Significance and Implications for Nursing Practice.

Nurses are involved in providing patient-centered. Nursing shortage leads to burnout, decreased productivity, and increased risk of patient mortalities and morbidities (Buerhaus et al., 2017). The dissatisfaction and stress created by burnout will likely make the staff quit their jobs. This leads to the worsening of the problem. The problem should be tackled to improve patient service delivery and satisfaction in the nursing workforce. Failure to address the problem will lead to a deterioration in nursing practice.

Proposed Solution for Identified Topic

The nursing shortage can be addressed by increasing the capacity and number of training facilities. Currently, the number and power of nursing training facilities are inadequate. The existing training facilities should expand their capacity regarding classrooms and instructors (Abhicharttibutra et al., 2017). This can be achieved by partnering with different healthcare systems. More nursing training institutions should be constructed to accommodate duly qualified applicants. The shortage of preceptors can be tackled by providing fellowships to graduates and retaining them at the institutions. These interventions will solve the nursing shortage problem and improve nursing practice.

Nurses are essential members of the healthcare team. They perform various tasks, such as providing patient education. Nursing shortage leads to staff burnout, reduces productivity, and increases the risk of medication errors and patient mortalities. This problem should be addressed to ensure that patient service delivery is improved. The problem can be solved by increasing the number and capacity of nursing training facilities.

References

Abhicharttibutra, K., Kunaviktikul, W., Turale, S., Wichaikhum, O. A., & Srisuphan, W. (2017). Analysis of a Government Policy to Address Nursing Shortage and Nursing Education Quality. International Nursing Review, 64(1), 22–32. https://doi.org/10.1111/inr.12257

Buerhaus, P. I., Skinner, L. E., Auerbach, D. I., & Staiger, D. O. (2017). Four Challenges Facing the Nursing Workforce in the United States. Journal of Nursing Regulation, 8(2), 40–46. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2155-8256(17)30097-2

Drennan, V. M., & Ross, F. (2019). Global Nurse Shortages – The Facts, The Impact and Action for Change. British Medical Bulletin, 130(1), 25–37. https://doi.org/10.1093/bmb/ldz014

Haryanto, M. (2019). Nursing shortage: Myth or fact? Orthopaedic Nursing, 38(1), 1–2. https://doi.org/10.1097/NOR.0000000000000535

Marć, M., Bartosiewicz, A., Burzyńska, J., Chmiel, Z., & Januszewicz, P. (2019). A Nursing Shortage – A Prospect of Global and Local Policies. International Nursing Review, 66(1), 9–16. https://doi.org/10.1111/inr.12473

Scheffler, R. M., & Arnold, D. R. (2019). Projecting Shortages and Surpluses of Doctors and Nurses in the OECD: What Looms Ahead. Health Economics, Policy and Law, 14(2), 274–290. https://doi.org/10.1017/S174413311700055X

Weaver, M. S., Wichman, B., Bace, S., Schroeder, D., Vail, C., Wichman, C., & MacFadyen, A. (2018). Measuring the Impact of the Home Health Nursing Shortage on Family Caregivers of Children Receiving Palliative Care. Journal of Hospice and Palliative Nursing, 20(3), 260–265. https://doi.org/10.1097/NJH.0000000000000436

Zhang, X., Tai, D., Pforsich, H., & Lin, V. W. (2018). United States Registered Nurse Workforce Report Card and Shortage Forecast: A Revisit. American Journal of Medical Quality, 33(3), 229–236. https://doi.org/10.1177/1062860617738328

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Capstone Project Topic Selection and Approval
I AM CHOOSING NURSING SHORTAGE AS MY TOPIC. Can you please use Pubmed and CINAHL AS DATABASES? Thanks

Capstone Project Topic Selection and Approval

In collaboration with the approved course preceptor, students will identify a specific evidence-based topic for the capstone project change proposal. Students should consider the clinical environment in which they are employed or have recently worked. The capstone project topic can be a clinical practice problem, an organizational issue, a leadership or quality improvement initiative, or an unmet educational need specific to a patient population or community. The student may also choose to work with an interprofessional collaborative team.

Students should select a topic that aligns with their interests and the clinical practice setting where practice hours are completed.

Write a 500-750 word description of your proposed capstone project topic. Include the following:

The change proposal will focus on the problem, issue, intervention, quality initiative, educational need, or collaborative interprofessional team project.

The setting or context in which the problem or issue, intervention, quality initiative, educational need, or collaborative interprofessional team project can be observed.

A description (providing a high level of detail) regarding the problem or issue, intervention, quality initiative, educational need, or collaborative interprofessional team project.

Effect of the problem, issue, intervention, quality initiative, educational need, or collaborative interprofessional team project.

Significance of the topic and its implications for nursing practice.
A proposed solution to the identified project topic with an explanation of how it will affect nursing practice.