November 17, 2004: Tennessee: Tide of new nurses rises but shortages still loom large:"The number of registered nurses entering the job market appears to be on a steady incline, with a total employment growth of over 200,000 R.N.'s since 2001, the largest increase since the early 1980's, but experts at the School of Nursing say it's still not enough to prevent a long-term crisis that threatens to cripple the entire health care system."
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2004-11/vumc-ton111504.php
It's encouraging to hear that the number of graduates is on the rise. Will it be enough to head off a crisis? Time will tell. A lot more needs to be done.
Andrew Lopez, RN
http://www.nursefriendly.comIt seems that the number of nurses entering the job market is always on the rise. The trick is keeping in the nursing field.
One in five new nurses surveyed plan on leaving the field within five years. So yes, we're losing a lot of new nurses. Could it be because we're still eating our young?
http://www.nursefriendly.com/young
Currently, more nurses are being graduated than ever before from our schools. It's expected that will continue to keep pace till bout 2012. Then two things will happen.
1. A crushing load of babyboomers are expected to hit the hospitals and healthcare system.
2. A large number of nurses will be retiring/leaving the field.
When that happens, all gains we've made to that point will be effectively wiped out and we'll find out what it really means to have a nursing shortage.
Andrew Lopez, RN
http://www.4nursing.comIn many ways, good for nurses, but bad for gen. pop.
In many ways, bad for everyone Randy.
There will be a ton of patients to be cared for, not enough nurses. We'll be stretched to the limit, chronically short-staffed, forced to do mandatory overtime, burning out, turning to drug/substance abuse, leaving the field and many more patients will die needlessly because we won't have the time to catch things that we normally do.
In a shortage situation the Great Pay, Sign-on bonuses, etc are nice, but I'd rather keep the same pay and have sane working conditions, less burn-out and safe patients.
Andrew Lopez, RN
http://www.4nursing.comThere seems to be a need for a delicate balance. First is to keep a need for nurses. this gives us bargaining power. But we do not need a shortage that creates a burn out of nurses crating a dangerous situation.
Where I work we have the best retention rate of all hospitals in the area. It has less to do with bonuses and more to do with respect.
