Nursing Shortage

The "Pediatric Life Support for your Pocket" Reference

Nursing Shortage--a world wide problem!

If you have read our article, you already know the special emphasis of the nursing shortage by the ANA. News reports from around the country are declaring a worldwide nursing shortage. Across the country, hospitals are showing alarming vacancy rates, some are canceling nonurgent surgeries, diverting ER patients or closing beds. If your hospital is not showing the stresses of this issue, it is in the minority. This shortage is coming at a time when the baby boomer generation is aging and medical care needs are on the rise. Survey results, published by the HRSA, indicated the issues include smaller increases in enrollments and graduations and a larger number of nurses aging and leaving the workforce. "In 1980, 52.9 percent of all RNs were estimated to be under the age of 40, compared to 2000 when only 31.7 percent reported being under the age of 40." This at a time when the population is also aging and placing more stress on the medical care structures. Another related issue seems to be salaries. The actual average annual salary in 2000 is $46,782. Utilizing the CPI and considering the changes in purchasing power of the dollar, the "real" salaries have remained relatively flat since 1992, with $23,369 being the average "real" annual salary.

So what is being done about this worldwide problem? Along with a growing awareness of the magnitude of the nursing shortage, many states are investigating strategies and compiling solutions. In Texas, Senator Mike Moncrief and Representative Patricia Gray have introduced the Nurse Shortage Reduction Act of 2001. This would serve to double nursing school capacity over the next 5 years, when many applicants are being turned away due to lack of facilities. Many hospitals are including preceptor programs and offering financial incentives when nurses commit to staying at their respective facility for a given number of years. In Massachusetts, the Clara Barton Act is being proposed by state Sen. Richard Moore. This act would provide $25,000 in increments for starting bonuses to new nurses in the top 15% of their classes. In Washington, the Nurse Reinvestment Act, co-sponsored by Lois Capps, would provide grants for nurses who wish to return to school, along with monies for public service announcements and nursing recruitment grants for schools.

Opinion:

Although these incentives may increase the nursing population, there a real need is to provide early education to those who are in the process of considering their careers. At grade school and high school levels, children need to be offered the advantages of selecting a health field career. They should be given an honest look at nursing as a career, along with the availability of jobs and the multiple choices of careers that nursing offers. Society as a whole needs to see nursing as a profession, with the need to have equal benefits that are offered and available to other careers which carry the same amount of education and the same load of responsibility. Nursing is a highly educated, necessary component to the structure of our health care systems and nurses should be give the respect and support that their position of responsibility brings.

Is there a difference you can make in your community?

To view the National Sample Survey go to: www.bhpr.hrsa.gov