NR 439 Week 6 Assignment 1 – Research Article Critique Paper 1 (Shortage of Nursing Workforce)
The current nursing shortage is a well-known issue that has not only affected America, other continents, such as Australia, are facing the challenges of undersupplied nursing workforce. Understanding the causes & factors aggravating the shortage of the nursing workforce is important to generate strategies that will ensure appropriate nursing workforce planning.
Through a regional study with an online survey, the article “Reasons for entering & leaving nursing: an Australian regional study” provided some factors influencing the decision to leave nursing. The purpose of this paper is to summarize the research article & evaluate the significance of its findings to nursing.
Research Question
In response to the shortage of the nursing workforce, the efforts have been centered on the recruitment of new nurses offering financial rewards, career development, & a good lifestyle. However, an increase in the number of new students is not the solution. “The limited supply of faculty qualified to teach the swelling numbers of students & the retention of these graduates after successful completion of the licensing exam are major deterrents to reducing the shortage” (Cangelosi, 2005). This study identified multiple factors that affect retention in nurses & nursing students, addressing the question in nurses & nursing students regarding the reasons for entering & leaving nursing. This research question is feasible because it used adequate subjects, in this case, nurses & nursing students; in addition, it is interesting to a nursing investigation, & provided new findings that contribute to evidence of the future nursing workforce. Furthermore, the study was approved by the ethics committees & the researcher’s findings are relevant to clinical & health policy.
Research Design
This study is a quantitative cross-sectional cohort design with an online survey performed in a regional public health service district & a nursing school. Quantitative cross-sectional studies are relatively quick & easy to conduct. Since this kind of study is a one-time data collection, there is no waiting on the outcomes. Cross-sectional surveys allow the researcher to assess multiple outcomes; in this case, the demographics of the sample, including age, sex & length of time in the profession, were part of the main outcomes of the research. A weakness of this type of design is that changes can not be measured over time. Nine years following the research, the factors influencing entering & leaving nursing could have changed.
Since the options of the survey were created from prior surveys performed by other authors & existent literature, the authors utilized a quantitative method to be able to apply the questions from the surveys. The survey asked closed-ended questions that gave quantifiable answers. On the contrary, qualitative studies use open-ended to explore & understand human behavior. Quantitative studies are related to facts about social phenomena which fits better in this case to answer the research question.
NR 439 Week 6 Assignment 1 – Research Article Critique Paper 1 (Shortage of Nursing Workforce)
Sample
The sample size used for this study was composed of 272 nurses & 259 nursing students. The sample size of the study was adequate because the target population was objectively identified to answer the survey. Inclusion criteria were used to specify the sample. The potential for sample bias was identified around the self-selected nature of participation & was mentioned as one of the limitations of the study. As Eley, Eley & Roger-Clark (2009) point out in their study, the objective was to have at least 400 subjects to allow comparisons between nurses & nursing students for a power of 80 percent. The authors collected 531 responses with a power greater than 99 percent, surpassing their estimation. According to Houser, 2018 “Adequate power means there are enough subjects to detect a difference in the outcome variable” (p.186). In this case,the power obtained accounted for an adequate number of participants for the research question.
Data Collection Methods
The data was collected via email through a database of the regional health service & the University of Queensland. The tool used to collect the data was an online survey instrument. Ethical considerations were approved by the university & health service ethics committees.
Limitations
Eley, Eley & Rogers-Clark (2009) identified limitations in the design of the study at the time of collecting the data, & the surveys were distributed by third parties, therefore, making it impossible for the authors to know the number of invitations received to participate in the survey. Estimation was needed to determine its statistical power. This limitation could be overcome in subsequent studies by eliminating third parties’ distribution. Moreover, the study was a reflection of the views of participants of a single region of Queensland, creating some limitations on the results. This limitation could be overcome in subsequent studies using different regions for the nursing schools & nurses invited to participate in the survey. In addition, the results of cross-sectional studies are a one-time measurement; as a result, the characteristics of the samples change over time.
Limitations are important to list & discuss within a study because limitations could have affected the study findings; moreover, they can have an impact on the quality of the evidence. An open discussion of limitations helps the readers understand the study. Furthermore, the discussions of limitations within a study should be taken as an advantage for other users of the evidence since it will provide a basis for future studies on the same subject, so these limitations can be planned & overcome for similar studies.
Findings
The findings of the study are based on the 17 factors identified on the survey as factors influencing the decision to become a nurse & the nine factors influencing the decision to leave nursing; & these factors ranged from the most popular to the least. The top factors that influenced the decision to become a nurse were finding the work interesting, the opportunity for caring, & the opportunity to work with people. Students & nurses agreed on the ranking of these three as the most influencing in the decision to become nurses. On the contrary, students & nurses disagreed on the factors corresponding to the decision to leave nursing. Nurses’ disillusionment with their career & retirement were the most important reasons, while for the nursing students were different career opportunities & health concerns. The findings of the study answered the research question posed within the study ranking the most important reasons for leaving & entering nursing.
NR 439 Week 6 Assignment 1 – Research Article Critique Paper 1 (Shortage of Nursing Workforce)
Summary
The actual nursing shortage occurring in the health system is a crisis that impacts the health & well-being of the population. That is why it is important to learn & understand not only how to recruit new nurses but also how to keep them on the job. The article discussed above identified that even though nurses & nursing students coincided on the factors of vocation & altruism as an influence to their decision to enter the career, they differ on the factors influencing the decision to leave the career. Disillusionment with nursing was the highest factor for experienced nurses to leave, while for nursing students was another career beyond nursing. The evidence found in this research should contribute knowledge to the factors that need new retention strategies. It is important that administrators, government officials, & leaders of healthcare systems acknowledge these factors to improve nursing retention.
References
Cangelosi, P. R., Rn, PhD. (2009). Let’s Help Them Stay in Nursing. Nurses Alberta, 65(1), 10- Retrieved February 01, 2018.
Eley, R., MSc., Ph.D., Eley D., MSc., PhD, & Rogers-Clark, C., PhD, RN. (n.d.). Reasons for entering & leaving nursing: an Australian regional study. Australian Journal of Advanced Nursing, 28(1), 6-13. Retrieved February 01, 2018.
Houser, J. (2018). Nursing research: reading, using, & creating evidence. Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning.
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Question 
Purpose of the Study: Using information from the required article and your own words, summarize the purpose of the study. Describe what the study is about
Using information from the required article and your own words, summarize the description of the type of research and the design of the study. Include how it supports the purpose (aim or intent) of the study.