Do you know why there is a big nurse shortage in this country?
One of the reasons is because nurses are getting tired of their long shift hours and quitting their nursing career; some even retire early and move on to something else.
Many RNs move on to a travel nurse career.
Now, the main reason for the nurse shortage is because we don’t have enough qualified nursing instructors. However, nurses have the option of becoming instructors, which they should seriously consider, or moving on to a few different corporate nursing careers later in life.
So, the domino effect is simple…
Not enough instructors = Not enough nursing graduates = Shortage of nurses.
Read the article below, posted on 3/27/2008
Nurse, doctor issue taken to White House
The Council on Physician and Nurse Supply called for the White House to hold a conference to discuss the shortage of physicians and nurses. The council said the U.S. needs to graduate 30,000 more nurses annually to deal with the shortage.Also, the U.S. will also have a shortfall of 100,000 to 200,000 doctors over the next 15 years, the organization said.
“Access to healthcare services cannot be maintained, let alone expanded, unless we educate more nurses and physicians,” said Linda Aiken, professor of nursing at the University of Pennsylvania and co-chair of the council. “The shortage of nurses and physicians is a serious matter that should be addressed at the highest levels.“
The Council on Physician and Nurse Supply is based at the University of Pennsylvania.
Unless something is done to improve the image and workload of the professional nurse, the youth of today will not want to pursue this type of career. There needs to be more ancillary department support so nurses can do what they are educated to do — their nursing skills! Employers need to respect the nurse’s degree and treat them like any other professional is treated. Can you blame an 18-year-old for choosing to go to college for something other than a nurse who is over-worked, under paid, not repected, no support and does all jobs (i.e. transportation, housekeeping, nursing assistant, respiratory, physical therapy…)!? I went back to school to become a nurse in my mid-thirties and after finally getting my bachelor’s degree, I felt less respected than I ever did in any of my previous jobs without a college degree!!!
By: eJane on March 31, 2008
at 3:05 am