The United States is experiencing a nationwide nursing shortage that has policymakers concerned due to the multiple issues and setbacks the problem may cause. As a nurse, your job is one of the most demanding in the healthcare industry, and the shortage likely won't surprise you or your colleagues. However, while policymakers struggle to enforce rules to help decrease this shortage, your nursing license is at risk and may come under scrutiny in your place of work if your performance suffers.
Insufficient staffing in healthcare settings is a recipe for disaster. Although most nurses are capable and used to their fast-paced jobs, their performance, like any professional, suffers when they don't have the support and rest they need to perform their duties. Mistakes can happen, leading to issues that affect their reputations and licenses and harm their patients. In worst-case scenarios, nurses may lose their licenses due to errors indirectly related to staffing shortages.
If you are a nurse who is facing issues with your license, it's essential to speak to a professional who understands what's at risk. Your livelihood is on the line, and so is your reputation and career. Don't wait until you can no longer take action – call the Lento Law Firm Professional License Defense Team today at 888-535-3686 for more information, or send a message here to learn more.
Nationwide Chronic Nursing Shortages
According to the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), federal authorities predict a shortage of 78,610 nurses in 2025 and 63,720 full-time registered nurses by 2035. This shortage is not limited to local hospitals and healthcare centers as it affects every state in the country. In one concerning report published by Health Affairs, a staggering 100,000 nurses left the workforce between 2020 and 2021 – all of whom were under 35 and employed in a hospital setting.
Moreover, some states are reporting more concerning shortages than others. The ten states that are projected to have the highest staffing shortages in the United States by 2035 are:
- Washington (26%)
- Georgia (21%)
- California (18%)
- Oregon (16%)
- Michigan (15%)
- Idaho (15%)
- Louisiana (13%)
- North Carolina (13%)
- New Jersey (12%)
- South Carolina (11%)
If you are a resident in one of these states and plan to continue your career in nursing, your job and license are at stake due to the healthcare issues that are set to increase in the future as the US population ages and requires more healthcare services. Nurses will burn out quickly with so much to do and many patients to treat. This may lead to unintentional errors and mistakes on the job that can lead to license revocation.
Causes of Insufficient Staffing
There are multiple reasons and contributing factors to the nursing shortage in the United States. Some of the reasons why these shortages continue to plague the country include:
- Nurse burnout
- Lack of appropriate working conditions
- Nurses are not being paid appropriately
- Nurses feel like there is a lack of appreciation for their roles
- Mental health issues
- Workplace violence
- A significant number of nurses are near or have reached retirement age
- New nurses joining the workforce do not have adequate training
- The number of patients is increasing due to the aging population
- Multiple changes are happening within the US healthcare system, and Medicare
- A shortage of nursing school educators and faculty
If these issues are not resolved or addressed appropriately, it will give no incentive for current and aspiring nurses to continue within this field. Due to the ethical and legal obligations of care, nurses are quickly identifying that their workplace has become a potential liability to work in with all the responsibilities they have to manage. When this happens, they are less inclined to stay in the same profession and quit not long after they begin working.
When nurses are overworked, underpaid, and don't have the help and support they need, the issue becomes a ticking time bomb that leads to fatigue, resentment, and legal liability.
How Staffing Issues Can Affect Your License
Staffing shortages lead to short- and long-term issues that affect your quality of care, ability to perform your duties, and enthusiasm for your job. You are in a profession that emphasizes quality, care, empathy, and patient safety above all. When you don't have the support or adequate team members to help you perform your duties smoothly, your work suffers, and your license is at risk.
There is only one nurse for every 1,000 people in the United States, as per the US Chamber of Commerce. More than half of nurses leave their jobs within the first two years of employment.
Errors on the Job
When there aren't enough nurses to care for patients, the outcomes can be disastrous for all involved. A lack of adequate nursing professionals leads to an increase of up to 7% inpatient mortality within ICU settings. And that number is higher, up to 10%, for patients not in ICU settings.
Moreover, a lack of adequate staffing leads to a significant increase in medication errors, with the most common types being giving the wrong infusion rate, giving extra doses to patients, omission of medicine, giving the patient the wrong medicine, and giving the medicine of one patient to another patient.
The managerial and human factors that impact these errors include fatigue resulting from too much work, a high patient-to-nurse ratio, and the inability to read patient records due to a lack of technology in some areas. Also, nursing shortages lead to overcrowded emergency rooms, with a staggering 92% of emergency departments in the US reporting experiencing patient overcrowding.
How To Protect Your License
It's not your fault that your place of work employs less nursing staff than is necessary to cut costs. However, if you engage in an activity that leads to negative repercussions as a byproduct of the shortage, you are the one who will be penalized, and your license may be revoked. While it may seem difficult to navigate, there are some steps that you can take to minimize that risk for you and your patients.
Without the staff support you need to perform your duties optimally, you'll be chronically tired, irritable, and overworked. With so many patients to work with and the many procedures you may need for each one, the situation creates a fertile ground for mistakes. However, it can be too late to advocate for more nursing staff once you make the mistake.
Knowing how to protect yourself when you identify that staffing shortages are affecting your job goes a long way when you are being blamed for an issue during your career.
Some actions to take to protect your nursing license from insufficient staffing at your workplace include:
- Thoroughly Understand NPA Policies
- Document and Chart Everything
- Follow a Protocol for Medication Verification
- Look Into Insurance Options
- Advocate for a Safer Environment
- Contact a Professional License Defense Attorney
Although these actions may not completely cover you in case an emergency arises, having the awareness and protocols set in place reduces the chances of you losing your license and helps you keep things in perspective when you feel overwhelmed on the job.
Understanding NPA Policies
Whether you have been a nurse for a long time or are just starting, it's essential to be familiar with and regularly review the Nurse Practice Act and policies enforced in your state. Understanding these policies and regulations helps you become a better nurse and protects you if you are called before your Board of Nursing.
Another benefit to knowing these policies is that you can identify whether your workplace is providing an environment where you can work safely and provide adequate care for your patients. Armed with information, you can make the right calls and advocate for yourself and your patients should the need arise.
Documenting and Charting
One of the best ways to protect yourself is to create a documentation process for all actions and duties performed on your shift. While this may be time-consuming and tedious, the benefits of documenting everything are immeasurable later, when or if there is a case against you.
For example, suppose you are at risk of losing your license due to an error made while you were on the job. In that case, you can go back to your documentation or charting process and identify if any issues led to this mistake. Moreover, when your administration and supervisors know that you document your actions meticulously, they will also be able to see what went wrong in case of an emergency.
Following a Verification Protocol
Protecting yourself means going the extra mile to make sure that you protect your patients. Regardless of the staffing issues that you may have in your workplace, the actions that you are responsible for must be performed correctly. If you need to administer medication or perform similar activities that may impact patient health, take the extra time to create a personal verification protocol that you can also add to the documentation process.
Ensuring that a patient gets the right medication and treatment is beneficial to both the patient and you. Creating this system helps you stay within the scope of your practice and decreases the likelihood of errors costing you your license.
Insurance Options
As a nurse, you have multiple insurance options that can protect you from significant issues down the line. Some examples include malpractice insurance and liability insurance. With these protections, you show that you not only care about your job but are also aware of the dangers that may arise due to poor staffing decisions made by your workplace administration.
Suppose you are sued by a patient or experience other similar issues. In that case, these types of insurance can help with costs and the repercussions of some mistakes made on the job.
Advocating for a Safer Workplace
The core of the nursing profession is advocacy and safety. You can advocate for better, safer, and less hectic working conditions by speaking to administrators when you feel problems may arise. If you are unsure where to start, look up your local laws for working with patients, safety protocols, and staff-to-patient ratios to better understand what is expected and what is not.
You can also write to local and state representatives to encourage them to enforce new laws and protocols that help keep everyone safe, from staff to patients.
Contacting a Professional License Defense Attorney
When you are facing an issue with your license and don't know who to turn to, contacting a Professional License Defense Attorney from the Lento Law Firm gives you a fighting chance. Speaking to a professional helps provide you with clarity about the next steps.
The attorney will help you understand your local laws, formulate an action plan to tackle the issue, and stand by you every step to boost your chances of a favorable outcome and reduce the likelihood of losing your license. However, speaking to a professional as soon as you recognize that an issue will potentially lead to license revocation is essential. The more you wait, the higher the chances of the error turning into why you can no longer practice nursing.
Contacting the Lento Law Firm License Defense Team
The Lento Law Firm License Defense Team understands how challenging and critical your role can be for your patients and society. With years of experience working with nurses nationwide, the team leaves no stone unturned when it comes to helping you avoid license revocation and debilitating penalties that can permanently affect your life and career.
As a nurse, you have much responsibility, and understaffed workplaces put you and your patients at significant risk. You should not have to worry whether your workplace will keep you exhausted and unable to perform your job with the passion and dedication your patients deserve.
It's not too late to take action if you face license issues due to a mistake made at work. Send the Lento Law Firm Professional License Defense Team a message through this portal or call 888-535-3686 to speak with someone today.
