Introduction
The healthcare sector is affected by many factors that can negatively influence its productivity and financial components. In particular, such indicators as the aging population, economic recession, and natural disasters are critical unless effective strategies are in place to overcome them. This essay will discuss the reasons, features, and possible changes in relation to the shortage of nurses in Louisiana.
As an argument of the essay, for various reasons that contributed to the lack of nurses in Louisiana, it was necessary to develop effective policies and laws that could prevent damaging effects such as high poverty rate and economic recession and from natural cataclysms. The shortage of nurses in Louisiana was caused by a significant confluence of negative factors and circumstances that became critical for the state’s medicine amidst existing deficiencies and poverty.
Causes of the Shortage
One of the most crucial causes of the nursing shortage was the economic recession caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. It has significantly impacted the stability of paying wages for healthcare workers, including nurses, in Louisiana (Armenia et al. 134). Specific restrictions imposed to counter the pandemic’s effects have seriously impacted the work of healthcare providers. In particular, their working conditions have deteriorated significantly, and salaries have either declined or become inconsistent due to the economy’s decline. The pandemic has become a critical factor against the background of already existing problems, such as the high poverty rate in Louisiana, which will be discussed in more detail in the essay.
Another cause of the shortage is the absence of specific laws and policies that could provide consistent strategies regarding protections for health workers’ safety (Armenia et al. 153). Therefore, this factor caused dramatic burnout among various professionals in the medical sphere (Armenia et al. 153). Consequently, they left their jobs for a more stable and secure workplace.
In the book From Crisis to Catastrophe: Care, COVID, and Pathways to Change by Armenia et al., the authors consider additional causes that led to the high shortage of nurses. As Armenia et al. state, one of the crucial causes of the shortage is “dangerous and stressful working conditions during the pandemic – including lack of consistent hazard pay” (153). Therefore, it is important to emphasize another cause of the shortage, which is the high psychological pressure on nurses during their work. It should be noted that this problem has met not only part-time nurses in Louisiana but also professional healthcare workers and well-paid physicians (Armenia et al. 153). Therefore, stressful work is another crucial cause of the shortage of nurses.
Considering all the abovementioned causes, it is vital to highlight the next one, which concludes why nurses leave their jobs. Such factors as the aging population and, therefore, higher demand for healthcare services result in a significant workload of nurses in Louisiana (Malone 95). Considering the problems discussed earlier, such as the absence of particular policies to secure healthcare workers and the lack of consistent payments resulting in numerous burnouts, it is possible to understand why nurses are leaving their jobs. When they experience lower and inconsistent wages while the workload gets only higher, it is not a surprise that nurses will try to search for a more just workplace.
Peculiarities of the Shortage of Nurses in Louisiana
It is vital to stress that the shortage of nurses, including in Louisiana, has overgrown because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The uncertainty and other harmful factors connected with wages have directly impacted the willingness of medical staff to proceed with their practices. For example, as Armenia et al. state, “a recent national survey of U.S. health care workers found that two in five nurses intend to leave their current practices” (154). The pandemic has not only complicated the working conditions of medical staff but has also added much work to new cases.
It has become a critical factor for Louisiana, as the state’s level of medicine is considered insufficient, and there are many problems, such as a high poverty rate (Armenia et al. 134). However, the distinctive feature of Louisiana in the context of the nurse shortage is not the human factor but the natural disasters. Various disasters, such as hurricanes, cause significant damage to the local population and, therefore, also add to the work of nurses. An example is Hurricane Katrina, which caused severe damage to the population (Malone 98). Therefore, the two factors listed above, high poverty rates and natural cataclysms, are critical for the nurse shortage in Louisiana.
Why and How the Causes Need to Be Changed
First, it is essential to note that a qualitative foundation must be expressed in a practical legal framework to fight the shortage of nurses in Louisiana. In addition, there is a need to improve the financial viability of the state significantly. In other words, to efficiently address the causes of the shortage of nurses, it is necessary to improve the economic and legal situation of the state in general.
It is necessary to ensure that in a crisis such as the COVID-19 pandemic and an economic recession, the state would have a reserve of resources and a consistent strategy to minimize the negative consequences (Armenia et al. 132). In the case of human factors and relatively natural disasters, nurses must be provided with a stable salary and security guarantees. Moreover, since one of the causes of the shortage is the nurses’ psychological state and high-stress level, it is necessary to organize effective mechanisms to reduce these issues, such as introducing psychologists and reducing the burden on nurses by diversifying work.
Counter Argument
As a counter-argument to the essay, one should highlight that solving the consequences of various crises, such as the coronavirus pandemic, requires enormous resources. Given the current economic recession, it is unlikely that additional funding will be available for special programs to stop the reduce the number of nurses in Louisiana. In particular, since the initial poverty rate of the state is high and the economic state is insufficient, methods such as additional psychologists for nurses or the development of specific policies will only worsen the state’s financial situation (Malone 65). Moreover, predicting the damage and consequences after the natural disasters that often occur in Louisiana is challenging.
Conclusion
In conclusion, it is important to stress that the State of Louisiana is subject to many negative factors that directly affect the health sector. In particular, the coronavirus pandemic only worsened nurses’ general situation and increased their shortage. The causes explored in the essay are economic recession, burnout, inconsistency in payment, and the absence of effective policies to provide security for nurses during their work. However, the argument identified possible methods to minimize the harmful effects of the above factors. In particular, it is critical to improve Louisiana’s overall economic situation, as well as to create the right laws aimed at improvement of nurses’ work.
Works Cited
Jaga, Ameeta, Price-Glynn, Kim, and Duffy, Mignon. From Crisis to Catastrophe: Care, COVID, and Pathways to Change. Rutgers University Press, 2023.
Malone, Angie. Palliative Care, An Issue of Critical Care Nursing Clinics of North America. Elsevier Health Sciences, 2022.