Tuesday, December 17, 2002: New Jersey: Today's nurses in control when it comes to pay talks:"Sign-up bonuses can reach $7,500. Benefits can include employer-subsidized day care, family illness days and use of the employee gym.
Hospitals want good nurses, and some are working hard to recruit them.
Bigger and wealthier hospitals are poaching nurses from struggling hospitals. Agencies, meanwhile, are luring nurses from hospitals. Pay for experienced nurses is going up.
"Nurses are absolutely in the driver's seat," said Nadine Green, a recruiter for InteliStaf, a national recruiting agency with an office in East Brunswick. "One agency is paying more than another. Hospitals are getting smart and finding out how to keep their own people. There is a price war going on." http://www.nj.com/business/ledger/index.ssf?/base/business-3/1040109139210290.xml
Wednesday, December 04, 2002: New Jersey: Bleak outlook for hospitals:"For the $13 billion industry, the cumulative effect of years of struggles means little can be invested in safety features such as computerized prescription ordering for patients, new technology, or building improvements.
"You begin to wonder what the impact will be on the quality of care,'' Carter said.
Meanwhile, costs are going up. The shortage of nurses and other health-care professionals has compelled hospitals to put more money into salaries and bonuses. And escalating premiums for malpractice insurance affect hospitals, because hospitals pay the premiums for their doctors and institutions." http://www.bergen.com/page.php?level_3_id=7&page=5862976
Health-care field scrambling to fill staffing shortages:"A growing nursing shortage in the region has health care administrators scrambling to fill vacancies, and patients' loved ones worried about the quality of care they will receive.
The New Jersey State Nurses Association says a serious shortage of skilled nurses is on the horizon if nothing is done." http://www.southjerseycareers.com/hca.html
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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