Alaska: Monday, March 24, 2008: Nursing overtime spurs safety concerns: By Alan Suderman | JUNEAU EMPIRE:"Lawmakers in the Senate Finance Committee heard continued testimony Friday on a bill that would outlaw mandatory overtime for nurses except in a few cases.
Some nurses, nursing groups and other supporters of the measure say overworked nurses in Alaska pose a serious threat to their patients and themselves, and a state law is needed to protect them from being forced to work overtime.
"Mandating that nurses work overtime could be unsafe," said Sue Behnert, a nurse at the Southeast Alaska Regional Health Consortium.
But hospital administrators say mandatory overtime isn't a problem in Alaska, and the bill is an unneeded extra regulation that would bog down hospital staff." http://www.juneauempire.com/stories/032408/loc_261108448.shtml
Recruitment and Retention of Alaska Natives into Nursing:"What Is RRANN?
RRANN stands for Recruitment and Retention of Alaska Natives into Nursing. RRANN is part of the School of Nursing at the University of Alaska in Anchorage. RRANN and UAA are committed to increasing the number of Alaska Natives and American Indians graduating with an Associate of Applied Science or Baccalaureate of Science Degree from UAA. The RRANN program is dedicated to encouraging personal growth within an academic setting that recognizes individual strengths and cultural diversity."
Mary Sue Anderson, Project Coordinator
anmca@uaa.alaska.edu
(907) 786-6944 http://nursing.uaa.alaska.edu/rrann
April 15th, 2005: Alaska: Shoppers at job fair find work on offer:"It's a buyer's market" for potential employees, said William Perket, human resources director for the consortium, which serves Natives in 18 Southeast communities. "There's a critical shortage of nurses nationwide."
Alaska training and education programs are ramping up to fill the need, but the years it takes to train for professional positions such as registered nurses means plenty of competition among employers today." http://www.adn.com/news/alaska/story/6381110p-6259637c.html
Sunday, December 26, 2004: Job growth expected to continue:"Along with a nationwide shortage of nurses, hospitals throughout the United States are scrambling to find pharmacists willing to fill their around-the-clock needs as more of them are drawn to the relatively normal hours at retail outlets like Wal-Mart and Fred Meyer, Harrison said.
Another problem area for hospital recruiters is specialty positions, such as critical care nursing. "It just seems like we are going more and more into an era of specialties; it fine-tunes that recruiting need," she said." http://www.alaskajournal.com/stories/122604/loc_20041226006.shtml
Tuesday, November 26, 2002: Alaska State: Fund-raiser aims to help nurses:"Nurse numbers on the Kenai Peninsula could get a boost as funds were raised to support nursing education, and a new class of nurses may be set to start as early as January.
About $15,000 was raised to start a fund to benefit prospective nursing students on the peninsula. An assortment of peninsula health care organizations that depend on nurses hosted a fund-raising event Nov. 15 at the Kenai Senior Citizens Center. The goal was to create either grants or loan programs to assist with schooling.
"There is a critical nursing shortage on the peninsula," said Linda Flowers, director of the Forget-Me-Not Care Center. "We are trying to raise (these) funds so that it becomes a self-supporting fund." http://www.peninsulaclarion.com/stories/112602/new_1126020007.shtml
National Council of State Boards of Nursing, Inc.:"The following narratives have been written by individual state boards of nursing regarding the significant activities in their respective states related to the nursing shortage. These excerpts do not provide a comprehensive update of the nurse shortage in these states or nationwide. The information is simply intended to share information among Member Boards."
National Council of State Boards of Nursing, Inc.
676 N. St. Clair Street
Suite 550
Chicago, Illinois, 60611-2921
Telephone: (312) 787-6555. info@ncsbn.org http://www.ncsbn.org/news/stateupdates_state_shortage.asp
Nursing Shortage Serious For Seniors, About.com:"As the population ages the impact of the nursing shortage will be even greater.
There is a threat to the health of every older adult in the United States and Canada looming on the horizon. It is not a virus or new type of bacteria that is causing this threat. The threat to health is a result of the increasing shortage of nurses in both countries.
Over the last couple of years there have been numerous stories in the press about the magnitude and causes of the shortage. So far solutions for this situation have been few. Additionally this nursing shortage will impact the oldest of citizens the most. Older adults use health care services at a higher rate than do younger people. Advances in medicine and improved nutrition and lifestyle have added years to the average life span. With this longer life comes higher needs for medical services, especially the services of professional nurses." http://seniorhealth.about.com/cs/prevention/a/nurse_shortage.htm
The Nurse/Patient Ratio by Genevieve M. Clavreul RN, Ph.D.:"The New Year heralds many things, and this year brings legislation mandating a patient/nurse ratio in California. But after the confetti stops falling, did we get what we want? We now have a panacea for thousands of nurses in California, however, the ratio really can’t be enforced. (At the writing of this article the companion bill for enforcement is stalled in the legislature, having been defeated at least once already).
As my children are fond of saying, “why am I not surprised?” Having been a nurse for almost 30 years, most of those years spent in the NICU/PICU, I am used to working with a strict nurse/patient ratio. ICU’s and a few other areas of nursing have always been under the control of an “acuity” system. Actually, all nursing is supposed to be, but we all know this isn’t always the case. For this reason, I knew in my heart that legislating a nurse/patient ratio was probably an exercise in futility."
Working Nurse, Working World Magazine
3600 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 1526
Los Angeles, CA 90010
Tel:(213)385-4781,
Fax:(213)385-3782, WorkingNurse@WorkingWorld.com http://www.workingworld.com/magazine/viewarticle.asp?articleno=254&wn=1
Nursing: A Medical Emergency, and Opportunity, hits home by Ronald A. Reis and Karen F. Reis RN:"You’re an RN, and you’ve been at it, administering to the sick and wounded, for months, years, maybe even decades. You’ve got your hands full with 12-hour shifts, high turnover, an often less than supportive work environment, and a stressed-out health care system that is, in places, itself on life-support. What to do? How to keep going? How to make this job, career, meaningful again? How to get out of nursing what you went into it for? How to avoid adding to the national nursing shortage by short-circuiting your own involvement in a noble profession?"
Working Nurse, Working World Magazine
3600 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 1526
Los Angeles, CA 90010
Tel:(213)385-4781,
Fax:(213)385-3782, WorkingNurse@WorkingWorld.com
http://www.workingworld.com/magazine/viewarticle.asp?articleno=253&w
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