To be a nurse means to be a person, who is ready for many challenges and the demonstration of their personal and professional skills. There are many issues that an ordinary nurse has to take into consideration. In this paper, several social (nurse shortage and the economic crisis), political (the impact of Obamacare act), and cultural (cultural varieties of co-workers) developments will be evaluated to comprehend how they can influence the work of nurses and their actions.
For a long period of time, the question of a nurse shortage has been open for discussions. A number of nurses could not meet their goals and expectations because of the existing economic challenges and the global crisis. Nurses are not confident that their work and emotional costs can be properly covered. Besides, a nurse shortage is the problem that could be observed in the sphere of education because it turns out to be hard to standardize educational requirements for RNs in many countries (Aiken, 2008).
Nowadays, more attention is paid to the economic improvements, and the issue of a nursing shortage is not as urgent as it was several years ago. American nurses are provided with guarantees, and nurse students can get a clear picture of what to expect when they choose this profession.
In the political sphere, the current changes influence nursing in a variety of ways. For example, the Obamacare Act signed in 2010 provided a number of Americans with a chance to get affordable and quality health care by means of regulating taxes and subsidies and identifying the standards which all medical workers should follow. As a result, nursing has been considerably challenged in terms of education and practice to meet the standards set by the President (Ely, 2015).
On the one hand, many new requirements and obligations occurred. On the other hand, it means that nurses have to get their education on a high level and be true professionals in the chosen field. My choice of this career path has several grounds. First, I want to believe that the political control should improve the sphere of nursing. Second, I want to expect that as soon as nurses prove their professionalism and readiness to work under different conditions, they can get their own benefits with time.
Finally, there is a cultural aspect that influences nursing in a certain way. Today, international exchange of workers is very popular. In the same hospitals, doctors and nurses from different countries could work. Therefore, it is important to consider the cultural differences and learn how to respect each other interests. It means that nurse students should get an opportunity to pay more attention to the cultural backgrounds of their profession and improve their knowledge in a variety of ways.
In general, the current political, economic, and even cultural challenges influence the sphere of nursing a lot. Nurse students have to learn these aspects to become true professionals. Nurse educators have to comprehend what improvements they have to implement in the existing educational system. Finally, nursing is the sphere where people offer and ask for help, set their expectations and meet the expectations of other people. It is necessary to make sure that nurses are aware of and ready for all changes to make sure that American healthcare can become an example for other countries to follow.
References
Aiken, L. H. (2008). Economics of nursing. Policy, Politics, & Nursing Practice, 9(2), 73-79.
Ely, L. T. (2015). Nurse-managed clinics: Barriers and benefits toward financial sustainability when integrating primary care and mental health. Nursing Economics, 33(4), 193-202.