Poor salaries and wages given to the nurses is also another possible cause of the shortages being recorded in the health care system. In most parts of the world, though nurses and doctors carry out some of the essential services to people, they are the most poorly paid people. Also, these people carry out most of the tasks that is they work long hours and their working conditions are poor. Despite these important functions carried out by the nurses and the health risks they are exposed to, doctors and nurses receive non equitable pay for their work.
Most of the nurses have so far left this profession in search for better paying jobs in the business sector and other sectors. Poor pay has also acted as a major hindrance for potential nurses and doctors from joining this profession (Eagleton, n. d, para 6). High cost of educating nurses and doctors is also another reason which has been cited as a major contributor to the shortages in the number of staffs in the health care sector.
It is expensive to educate doctors and nurses and most aspiring nurses and doctors find it hard to raise the required amount to help them acquire the education. This is mostly so in the developing countries whereby the government is unable to fund fully this profession and individuals are left to pay huge amounts of funds. Also, most developing countries lack sufficient resources in terms of learning facilities to enable them educate adequate number of health care workers leading to the shortages of such staff.
Some government practices have also contributed to shortages in the number of health care staff in the world. In the United States for example, nurses are highly taxed than most of the other sectors in the country. There have been notable improvements in the technology used in health care systems as diseases and ailments become more complicated and diverse. Health care has also become more specialized requiring comprehensive training and recruitment of more nurses.
However, after the balanced budget act of the year 1997, which led to the reduction of the amount of funds which used to be allocated to the health care sector, more health care sectors undertook a downsizing exercise leading a decrease in the number of nurses. This act led to an increase in the rate of taxes which were being taxed on the health care sector thus leading to lay offs as well as recruitment of less educated nurses instead of the qualified nurses.
Such government practices are not exclusive in the United States only but are also evident in other parts of the world. Government policies and practices have also contributed to the problem of staffing shortages in the world (Ginty, 2004, para 5). An increase in the number of ailments and their complexities associated with old age has also contributed to the shortages of staffs in the health care sectors. Most developing countries are being faced with an increase in the number of the aging individuals and a decrease in the younger generation.
The aging population require health care services at all times and most of the health care centers concentrate more on the older generation since they are more vulnerable leading to a decrease in the number of staff to attend other sectors. Also, the old people require constant and continuous care making it difficult for the nurses to attend other individuals. Most of these aging people are those who are serving in the health care department and their retirement which is not immediately replaced has contributed to the shortages being experienced in the health care sector mostly in developed countries.