Addressing Nursing Shortage- Due to the nursing shortage, there is a need for nurses to provide high quality care to our growing population of geriatrics. “The Nursing Workforce Federal support for the Nursing Workforce Development Programs contained in Title VIII of the Public Health Service Act (PHSA) is essential” (American Nurses Association, n.d). As nurses are aging and will soon be retiring from the profession, there is a need to fill the position with more qualified nurses who fit the needs of the healthcare profession. As the former President recommended a budget of 229.5 million related to Title VIII of the Public Health Service Act (PHSA) to assist with repayment of loans by working in facilities to compensate for the nursing shortage, funding for nursing programs and organizations to assist with educational growth. Title VIII is important as it plays a critical role in assisting the nursing workforce in building a profession to address the challenges of the everchanging health care system. (American Nurses Association, 2016).
In today’s healthcare, there is a need to have a diverse group of healthcare professionals to provide care for a diverse culture of people. Diversity in the workforce is important to “reducing health disparities and achieving health equity” (Williams, et al., 2014, page 33). This strategy will help to gain access to the resources and care related to health care. In section 5404, when Title VIII was put into place by the Nursing Workforce Diversity(NWD) program as it relates to the 1989 Public Health Service Act, nursing education was authorized to give opportunities to individuals from various minority groups the chance to receive financial support to address some of the healthcare needs in the workforce as it relates to our multi-cultural population (Williams, et al., 2014, page 35). This includes those with advantages and disadvantages.
With the growing population of multi-cultural people in the United States, it is necessary to have a diverse group of healthcare professionals to provide health care based on the cultural and belief system of the individual and the community. As healthcare professionals, nurses have the ability to train and adapt to the environment in which they serve, but people will find comfort in those that may share the same values and belief within their cultural group. And this can also be beneficial with addressing healthcare needs. As healthcare organizations continue to grow and provide nurses with the best educational support and opportunities, this is helping to provide a service that people are seeking as consumers.
My place of employment is making great strides to address the needs of healthcare. There have been an influx of nurses with BSN and higher who are currently employed and taking on leadership roles. As our senior nurses are looking forward to their retirement, there are also more innovative nurses entering the profession and ready to address a lot of the healthcare needs and fulfill leadership positions.