When health care workers are exhausted, high-quality patient
care is in jeopardy. Because the signs of a medical problem
in a patient can be subtle and take time to detect, it is
very important that health care providers have adequate time
to spend with patients. In too many cases, events outside
health care workers’ control limit their ability to
spend the time they feel is necessary with patients. Not surprisingly,
one of the causes of stress cited most frequently by health
care workers is a lack of time to do their jobs competently.
When colleagues leave because of that stress, those that remain
are even further understaffed.
Adding to the stress is the skyrocketing amount of paperwork
that must be completed by patient care providers. Since 1997,
over 100 new federal regulations affecting health care have
been enacted. The state has also significantly increased the
amount of health care regulation. A recent study noted that
in the typical emergency room, an hour of paperwork must be
completed for every hour of patient care.
2006 Health Care Personnel Shortage, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
