Nurses – the Powerhouse of Healthcare — Need Support

By Annette B. Wysocki, PhD, RN, FAAN, FNYAM

Dean and Professor School of Nursing, University at Buffalo

Nurses, the epic heroes of patient stories, are the powerhouse of the healthcare system. (National Nurses Week was celebrated May 6-12). Nursing is the most-trusted profession in this year’s Gallup Honesty and Ethics poll, a top ranking they have occupied for 22 consecutive years, with nearly 80% of U.S. adults recognizing their high ethical standards. This is higher than medical doctors, engineers and even veterinarians. Nurses make up the nation’s largest group of healthcare providers, numbering over 4 million. Nurses administer the majority of care for acute care patients, after initial diagnosis or surgery.

Intensive care nurses and those at bedside on the front lines, ad minister medications, monitor respirators, and titrate drugs that balance patients on the edge of life. Studies show hospitals with an 80% baccalaureate-prepared nurse workforce lower the odds of inpatient mortality by 25%. Yet, these facts have not translated to critical support for schools and colleges of nursing. Nurses often feel unrecognized and unappreciated. This leads to high workforce turnover. Nurses feel as though they went from heroes to zeros.

During the pandemic, nurses were the backbone of the healthcare system. They provided critical care, working at an exhausting pace, despite dealing with high rates of mortality until a vaccine was deployed to drive down the specter of death.

During the pandemic I received this email from a nurse on that front line:

“For the last 4 shifts, I have been stuck behind a glass window, banging for help as my COVID patient decompensated in front of me. I needed orders to push Propofol, Versed or Ketamine. Luckily, I’ve been coordinating with my medical team to be there anytime I enter a COVID patient’s room. I’ve also been writing backwards on the glass for orders. I tape paper to the window with vital signs and changes on the pump.”

Yet, the underfunding persists.

Over 91,000 qualified applicants were turned away from nursing pro grams because of a faculty shortage, insufficient classroom space and clinical preceptors, and budget constraints, according to the Ameri can Association of Colleges of Nursing.

Meanwhile the Bureau of Labor Statistics projects a need for 203,200 new registered nurses each year through 2031.

Further exacerbating the nursing faculty shortage is that nurses can earn higher salaries in hospitals, corporations and the military.

There simply needs to be more faculty at universities offering nurs ing degrees. Every nursing school needs benefactors to offset insuf ficient state funding. These benefactors can support student scholar ships or endowed chairs, professorships, or lectureships. They can contribute to enhance facilities like simulation labs and expand class rooms.

As we celebrate National Nurses Week, I invite you to tell a story, thank a nurse and contribute to a school of nursing in your commu nity