Age Discrimination In Nursing Literature Review

Literature Review

Lack of Consideration for Incoming Nurses When comparing new and older employees, it is imperative to look at the labour force being convoluted by the minute. As the older employees are coming closer to retirement, there will be a need for skilled employees to replace the retirees, especially in the nursing field. According to the Canadian Nurses Association, Canada will be short almost 60,000 full-time equivalents of Registered Nurses (RNs) in 2022 (“Tested Solution”, 2009). Despite the many openings available currently, the number of skilled nursing students are very limited and they have to compete with nurses who decide to work beyond retirement, thus making entry into the field more difficult. Meanwhile, new graduates

A finding indicates that the number of individuals entering the field of nursing has also decreased over time as “Canada's nursing schools are simply not graduating as many students” (Grant, 2017). A report from the Montreal Gazette indicated that the Canadian government has announced a more constricted spending measure, such an example being Montreal experiencing cut costs in the number of hospitals and reducing staff (Derfel, 2016).

Age Discrimination in the Workplace Better known as ageism, age discrimination is a frequent occurrence for the elderly population and it encompasses negative stereotyping (Vasconcelos, 2015). In the healthcare industry, nursing is one particular profession that is known to be comprised of aging workers. A common misconception associated with aged nurses is that the up-keeping of physical demands is difficult to adhere to as it is intensive. Hence, the desire to hire younger employees is often prevalent in recruitment practices (Kagan & Melendez-Torres, 2015). Research suggests that there is a notion of inferiority compared to younger employees, where aging workers are less open to technology, change, slower learners and

Burnout tends to increase the rate of turnover, decrease the quality of care that is provided, as well as negatively affecting the health of the caregiver (Dewa, 2017). In a research study, it showed that about 37% of nurses that worked in nursing homes suffer from high emotional exhaustion while 35% of nurses that worked in a hospital setting also suffer from high emotional fatigue (Dyrbye, 2017). Through research, it was indicated that turnover rates for nursing homes ranged from 40-75% (Cohen-Manfield, 1997). Burnout is due to several issues such as employees being overworked or having to deal with traumatic situations on a daily basis such as death (Kompanje, 2015). Consequently, some of the healthcare workers have PTSD as a result of what they have experienced (Kerasiotis, 2004). Nurse aides who have PTSD and have to work with patients with dementia are more likely to develop higher levels of stress and rates of emotional exhaustion, which leads to burnout. The organizational context is also a determinant in nurses developing quicker burnout in nursing homes. Burnout can expand when organizational resources and support systems are absent within the institution (Chamberlain, 2017). It is imperative for organizations to tackle burnout because it can affect the employee