Reply With QuotePart of the problem is the pay for Instructors/Professors; also, the baby boomers are at 'that age' where they are starting to retire. Anyone else have anything to add?Originally Posted by cvp1983
'Cat'
Forgive me if this has been posted, and if it has, please provide a link...I want to know WHY there is such a shortage in Nurses throughout the country......or is there really a shortage at all?:confused:
Part of the problem is the pay for Instructors/Professors; also, the baby boomers are at 'that age' where they are starting to retire. Anyone else have anything to add?
'Cat'
Hi folks,
I believe the nursing shortage is real. There are a number of reasons not the least of which is retention. The work is tremendously challenging and not always rewarding. Older nurses are retiring and new nurses are getting burned out and changing careers. Others report inadequate pay and undesireable schedules. Let's not forget the exposure to many life threatening diseases. Additionally, schools are hard to get into because there aren't as many programs as there used to be. As you can see, a complex problem with no easy solution.
R
There are numerous studies on why there is a "nurse shortage" There are less nursing schools today than years ago. I had read somewhere that the nursing school portions is not a money generator for campuses. I did not look into that to see how accurate it was. Nursing instructors tend to make less than a floor nurse. You need a Masters to teach. There is not much incentive to go into teaching. I am retiring in 5 years. It costs money to obtain a Masters degree, I would be working to pay off school loans and that is not how I envisioned my per-retirement years. The population is aging, thus putting a larger burden on the already overworked nurse.
In a study about 3 years ago, it was reported that 3 in 5 hospital nurses voiced dissatisfaction because of poor staffing levels which impacts the quality of care. Who wants to be in a job that no matter how hard you work, you cannot give quality work? 2/3rds med/surg nurses fell they are carying for too many patients to be safe. The average is 8 pts. I am sure you have read or heard of the studies regarding understaffing and the affects of quality care and mortality, so I won't repeat it. This issue alone causes greater than 60% burnout.
Wages. I remember in the 90s, I was working for HCA in the Dallas area, the nursing staff had NO raises of any kind for 4 years straight. Stagnant wages is a big reason why they leave the profession, they go into other fields that pay better. Managed care convinced the powers that be- that less nurses would be needed since the system keeps people out of the hospitals. I have been a traveler since 1998 and my pay is stagnant again, it has not changed since 2001.
Working conditions. I am putting this seperate from staffing ratios as I feel it is a different issue. I work med/surg/ortho/neuro and have been hit/kicked/pinched/pushed, spit on, urinated at, had stools tossed at me,threatened,verbally abused, etc. It is a long list. Does it happen all the time? No, Though it is becoming more frequent, I do not know if it is because the druggies/etoh appears to be on the riase or what. Also the geriatrics, they can be quite violent from senility/alzhiemers. Nurses are subjected to diseases/chemicals/medications that they may take home to thier own families, the work environment can be dangerous in different ways. Nurses have a high incidence of physical injuries, I think back injuries is high among the profession.
Age? The average age is around 45. 9% under 30. For most, 45 is far from retirement. To me 45 means there is at least 10-15 years more productivity before most retire or even go into semi-retireent. So why are they saying the nurses are aging is a reason? I don't know. Is that a scapegoat reason? Most likely.
There are many many nurses licensed in America. They choose not to work as nurses and/or in hospitals. Many prefer to work for better wages, lower stress, better working conditions.
Let me finish with, I think the majority of nurses will tell you it is not the patient care that drives them away, it is all the other things that stack up against them. Look at how nurses are viewed in the community...respect? yes, yet they still are treated as subservants. Look at how the media shows nurses, that is what sinks into peoples minds.sorry am climbing down off my soap box.....
Well said. I will add that I work in the ER, and am exposed to large amounts of "bodily fluids". It used to be that the hospitals provided scrubs to the nursing staff in the ER. Not any more! Now we are bringing home many communicable diseases to our own families (as you already stated above). The hospitals do not want to launder our scrubs that are soiled and we are sometimes forced to throw them away. And of course the hospitals don't want to give any sort of clothing allowance. It starts to get costly, and many people feel that this is one of many reasons to give up nursing all together.
But that is only one of multiple problems in nursing. But I do want to add the benefit and positives to being a nurse. I have experienced some of the many opportunities there are to offer. Such as traveling. There are very few jobs out there that can allow you to spend time in new exciting places, for 3 months at a time. Also, as sappy as it sounds, it is rewarding when you can truely make a difference in somebody's life. At times it feels like forever since someone thanked me for helping them. I think it's because our society has turned to the "sense of entitlement" syndrome. And it is very easy to become angry and irritated by this.
For these many reasons listed in the other thread, I always encourage anyone thinking about becoming a nurse, to first start off as a CNA. That can really open a persons eyes and give an opportunity to decide before commiting 4 years to a degree they may not want.
Geesh, I just re-read what I posted and my spelling is awful! Hope this forum doesn't have those spelling police that lurk around!!
I do agree that if people worked as CNAs before going to nursing school, it would give them a more realistic view of what nursing is. When I was in school, there was about 44 students in my class, during one of the lectures,an instructor stated that half of the class would not be practicing in 2 yrs. I think about 38 graduated, and all but one passed the state boards the first time. She was right, half the class after 2 yrs was not practicing. I cannot imagine putting oneself through that strenuous school only to find out it wasn't for you.
Nursing is not for everyone, just as typing is not for everyone, I would go crazy sitting at a desk all day (I'd be fired cuz I can't spell).
I did not mean to sound so negative in my post. It is at times, very hard emotionally and physically. It is also as stated, very rewarding. :o I had a patient's family say to me last year,"You really like what you do, it is so obvious" That really made me feel good. It was so nice to have that pat on the back. It was either last year or the year before when a Doc thanked me for giving such good care and showing such professionalism....I didn't feel I did anything out of the ordinary, only what I was supposed to do, but the simple words felt so darn good.
It is a demanding profession, one where you are constantly learning, it can be overwhelming by all you don't know. I can't imagine doing anything else (except digging in my garden)
Dear CPV1983 --
You might want to look up the work of Peter Buerhaus (who is at this moment, at Vanderbilt University, I believe). In addition to all the "reasons" our colleagues have offered here, there are also some historical and developmental reasons we find ourselves so very short of nurses. Here are just a few.
The boomers ARE a big group (I am one of them) but we are the last generation for whom career choices in America were gender-limited. Meaning, in the 50's & 60's many women could only see themselves as nurses, teachers or social workers -- so, if you wanted to go to school, that's where you ended up. By 1970, when I left highschool, a VERY few of my female friends were pursuing collegiate degrees in chemistry, geology or computer science -- and they were pioneers. Today, women pursue whatever work they wish. Needless to say, with the field wide-open, far fewer choose service-related work (there's enough of that at home, when your job is done for the day) and hence -- we find ourselves short of such service-related workers -- nurses are just one such group experiencing this shortage.
How bad is it? I was visiting Hawaii in 2005 when I became acutely aware that in that state alone, over 1/2 of the licensed nurses (RN & LPN) would retire by 2015 -- and, they have virtually no one in the "pipeline" because they have not invested in their k-12 infrastructure to produce enough highschool grads with the math, language and science skills to even get into schools of nursing -- for Hawaii, this will mean a double whammy when it comes to replenishing their workforce.
Also, nurses now entering the field are often 2nd or 3rd career people -- not a bad thing, but it limits your years in the field. If you become a nurse at 24 you may work as a nurse for 40 years or so. If you don't get you're license until you're 35 or 40, you can appreciate that your years in the field of nursing are limited, if only by the realities of age.
So, this isn't meant as a series of excuses. Good things have happened in the last 50 years. Women are free to pursue a vast array of career options, people move from one career to another, professionals DO retire and get to have their own "golden years" if they've planned well.
I simply want you to see that there are forces in play well beyond the work conditions many of our colleagues have cited. To solve this dilemma will take more than throwing money or bodies at the problem. It will take communities all across America (and, by the way, the shortage is not OURS alone) committing to nursing education, and a solid public education agenda that helps young people prepare for a career in the health sciences. This is NOT merely a nursing problem, as many would like to have it be. It is a societal problem, and as a society, we need to get working on it!
--p
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