The purpose of this research is examine the issue of the shortage of professional nurses, and to recommend a solution to the problem. The issue is defined in the following section, after which, alternative solutions are identified and assessed.
At the beginning of the 1990s, a shortage of professional nurses exist in most areas of the United States. The problem is particularly acute in rural counties and towns.
The causes of the shortage are many and varied. On one level, the personnel shortage itself is also a cause, because the stresses introduced into the practice of nursing by over work causes many nurses to leave the profession (Scherer, 1987). The stresses associated with the contemporary practice of nursing also lead to an increase of burn out among profes sional nurses (Benner, & Wrubel, 1988). Burn out leads to additional defections from the profession, and further exacer bates the professional personnel shortage.
To the problems discussed above must be added the issue of autonomy in nursing. In the contemporary environment, threats to the professional nurse's autonomy in practice are increasing (Scherer, 1988). Impingements on their autonomy in the
1 2practice of their profession is a major underlying cause of job dissatisfaction among professional nurses (DeBack, & Mentkow ski, 1986). Job dissatisfaction, in turn, is a major reason why professional nurses turn their backs on the profession (Huey, 1987).
The issues discussed above are those which affect the nursing shortage through their impacts on practicing profes sional nurses. There is another side to the equation. The nursing shortage is also aggravated by a significant decline in the numbers of new professional nurses being provided by schools of nursing (Manthey, 1988). The decline in the output of schools of nursing is the combined result of reduced numbers of students entering the schools (Huey, & Hartley, 1988), and increasing attrit...