According to several Canadian and US heathcare organizations, the nursing shortage has several causes, including: lack of funding for full-time positions and available seats for nursing students, undesirable working conditions that drive nurses away (stress of overtime and heavy workloads, etc), and workplace abuse. This shortage will be further exacerbated within the next decade as nearly half of the experienced nurses will retire.

Some suggested solutions for ways to correct this shortage include: more funding for schools of nursing, provision of more full-time positions, the option of part-time work for nurses with more seniority without losing benefits, strategies aimed at improving the workplace by having sufficient nurses, effective leadership, and opportunities to further education.

What I am interested in learning about is how registered nurses/nursing students/LPNs have experienced the nursing shortage and its effects in the workplace. Do you agree with these organizations’ opinions on the cause of the shortage and what can be done about it? What have your employers done to help attract nurses to work for them? What are your opinions, questions, or comments on the subject?