Registered Nurse Shortage

THE SHORTAGE OF REGISTERED NURSES AT THECOMMUNITY HOSPITAL, AND THE

RELEVANT POLICY ISSUES In the early1990s, a shortage of registered nurses exists in most areas of the United States (Bureau of the Census, 1991). The problem is particularly acute in some areas of the country, and Houston is one area where the shortage is acute at the community hospital level.

The causes of the shortage are many and varied, and tend to exist in differing combinations, depending upon the area, and upon the specific instituion. At the Houston area community hospital which is the focus of this research, the shortage of registered nurses is in itself a cause of the continaution of that shortage, because of the stresses introduced into the practice of the registered nurse by overwork. This phenomenon has also been recognized in other areas and at other institutions (Scherer, 1987).

Wage and salary levels are always prominently mentioned in any discussion of the shortage of registered nurses. The general contention is that registered nurses are n

. . .
the idea that firms attempt to maximize anything (McCain, 1989). The behavioral theory of the firm considers the fact that most contemporary firms are large, complex organizations with hierarchical managerial bureaucracies, and, as such, are significantly affected by their environments. The behavioral theory of the firm conceives of the firm as being composed of a number of subgroupsmanagement, employees, stockholders, customers, and supplierswhose conflicting needs and desires must be coordinated and, to the extent possible, satisfied. Within this concept of the theory of the firm, it is easily seen that the maximization of stockholder profits need not be the primary goal of the firm. The alternative theories of the firm should be considered within the context of normativepositive analysis. Simplified to the extreme, positive philosophy may be said to deal with life as it is, while normative philosophy may be said to deal with life as it should be. Positive microeconomics, thus, is concerned with the explanation and prediction of actual resource allocation decisions made by consumers, producers, and, to a lesser extent, governments. By contrast, normative microeconomics is concerned with the development o
. . .

Some common words found in the essay are:
Gould Lazear, MICROECONOMIC THEORY, Bureau Census, Benner Wrubel, Journal Nursing, , DeBack Mentkowski, CONCLUSION Neither, theory firm, registered nurses, Nursing Outlook, community hospital, Nursing Education, houston community hospital, shortage registered, houston community, shortage registered nurses, microeconomic theory, community hospital focus, focus research, hospital focus research, hospital focus, health care, concept theory firm, behavioral theory,
Approximate Word count = 1848
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page)

More Essays on Registered Nurse Shortage