The nursing shortage: dynamics and solutions. A research perspective

The nursing shortage continues to be described as a crisis. Attempts to delineate the nature and scope of the problem and its impact on all aspects of health care from the individual human to the organizational and societal levels have been direct and comprehensive. A growing body of facts and perceptions has led to some specific recommendations for action. The potential for elaborating and explicating a base of scientific knowledge is powerful. The view expressed in this article is that a body of knowledge that can guide action to remedy the shortage problem requires directing knowledge development to serve the purposes of nursing and its constituents, clarifying and creating conceptual and theoretic perspectives, and giving attention to critical methodologic analysis of the current and emerging research programs in this domain. Knowledge directions will be guided by the goals and aims of nursing. Conceptual and theoretic perspectives derived from the phenomena of concern and congruent with knowledge development directions will provide a base for organizing and interpreting the growing body of facts. Finally, the understanding of research as modes of engagement will supply a means to analyze critically the methodologic approaches and the consequences of knowledge development in the domain of the nursing shortage inquiry.