Free Nurse Shortage Solution Essay Sample
My initial reactions to the article:
This article comes at the right time, especially considering the crisis that has been occasioned by the shortage of nurses in the United States and majority of other developed countries, not to mention the omnipresence of this same problem in all developing countries. In fact I strongly believe that the policy makers ought to lay their hand on this article as they deliberate on the next course of action as far as the shortage of nurses is concerned. The literature accompanying this research is also in my view very exhaustive and informative. In fact it sets the ground for the actual research, which is precisely what is required in any article that uses research data as a basis of its findings and recommendation.
Methodology:
The methodology of this survey involved sending questionnaires to sample of 3000 registered nurses residing in Vermont. There exists selection bias emanating from lumping together nurses with a bachelor of science with a nursing major and those with a bachelors of science in nursing, which is even made worse by being set in Vermont where the are a high number of each of the two groups. To me this alone compromises to a great extent the study's generalization to the population that is being targeted (strictly ADs and BS) thereby producing a flawed methodology for the conclusion of this study. Another aspect of flawed methodology can be found in the failure of the researchers to acknowledge that BS holders comprises of ADs who went back to college to acquire a BSN.
Whichever way you look at it there is no way the seven percent that has no been included in the final analysis can be considered as negligible, which therefore compels me to conclude that the study has been denied the precision that would have been demanded of this kind of a study, which however does not mean that it is not reliable. The inclusion of ages, length of the career, activity, and work setting, in the content of the questionnaire is no doubt an important inclusion which provides information that enables the authors to make the findings that they make.
Whether or not I would conduct a similar study:
Just is expected of a research article this one borrows a lot from previous researches. By borrowing this much the authors of this article provides this particular study with information and data that can be relied on. Another reason for citing from those who can be considered as authorities in the respective fields in my opinion is to elevate the research and the content of the literature accompanying it to a high level. I strongly believe that the authors of this article have quiet achieved that feat which is a plus as far as this article is concerned. The citing of the likes of Hoffman & Scott, 2003; Shaver & Lacey, 2003; Larrabee, Janney, & Ostrow, 2003; (Betty, et al, 2005) and other researches on factors affecting RN satisfaction, is a an extremely important inclusion in this particular study, simply because it goes along way in inculcating a sense of reliability as far as the information there-in is concerned. It also helps a person to understand the efforts that has been expended in these particular efforts previously.
Feasibility and effectiveness of the research:
The feasibility and the effectiveness of the research in this study is not in any doubt, In fact in the absence of this particular research which has been featured in this article the article would be lacking in foundation and therefore unreliable and unconvincing.
Appropriateness of the study design:
Under the circumstances the use of a survey as the research design was quiet in order. Just as previous researches that the authors of this article have cited can attest, the survey as the research design is a good option. A survey was the most efficient approaches of gathering the kind and amount of data from a large area like Vermont that was required. This does not however mean that this was the only available option, rather the uses of questionnaires to collect data from a large sample of nurses (3000 nurses) in a vast area was the best under the circumstance. However I strongly believe that statistics have not been adequately employed. The researchers would have improved immensely this research if they had included descriptive statistics.
Substantiation of all views with appropriate examples:
Looking carefully at the article one cannot fail to notice a trend which involves the authors substantiating each and every view that they put across with proper example and citation. For instance, the idea that social return on education's investment ought to be looked from a public policy perspective. In this regard the authors put this idea in the context of the nursing workforce, its from here that they illustrates how job involvement coupled with job satisfaction enhances employees tenure, while society benefits specifically from quantity and the quality of care that is available.
Another example of this trend can be found in the idea that education investment only bequeath benefits on the societal level, in this regard the authors illustrates how people can only derive satisfaction in their careers if only they are making a positive impact on the society. This can be construed to mean, just as the authors have rightfully pointed, that investment in education does not only contribute quantitatively but also qualitatively to the workforce, which is a net benefit to the entire society. These are some of the examples that the authors have used to substantiate the various ideas that they have out across in this article.
Suggestions on ways to improve the study:
A bit of reorganization of the structure of the study will be a consideration that I can take into account if I was to be asked to improve this study. The study will be grounded on more solid ground if the researchers had considered and acted according to the fact that BS holders are AD holders who had went back to school to acquire higher qualifications, while dealing separately with holders of Bachelor of Science with a nursing major and those with a bachelors of science in nursing. However it is important that the study acknowledges the fact that BS and AD nurse do not work in similar conditions.
Interpretation of Findings:
This study showed how BS nurses were more likely than AD nurses to hold on to several nursing jobs as they progressed in age. BS nurse were likely to be more satisfied than AD nurses were with job satisfaction factors like; physical demand, job and also organization demand, and job stress. However when it came to promotion, career, pay, continuing education, supervision, and benefits, no significant difference was found between the two groups of nurses.
Limitation of the study:
There was need to include longitudinal data that would assist in following the two cohorts in course of their lifetimes together with assessing actual retirement and career dropouts. This is the only way the study would have given us information on the retention component of returns on society as far as education investment is concerned. Limiting this study to nurses who had attained only the AD and BS levels prevented the consideration that would have been made on entry-level education by filtering those nurses who had completed higher education in various other fields.