February 17, 2005: Washington State: Nursing career and programs in hot water:"According to an article in The Washington Post, last year about 13 percent of U.S. nursing jobs went unfilled. Even more alarming is the fact that as the baby boomer generation ages, the amount of patients in need of care will increase dramatically, thereby requiring a proportionate number of nurses. With current trends, nursing jobs are not being filled quickly enough to meet this demand.
Although Congress passed the Nurse Reinvestment Act last July to help pay for nursing programs and forgive education loans for trainees who agree to work in areas with shortages, the government has not appropriated money to the fund. To combat the nursing shortage, many hospitals are strengthening recruiting efforts by selling themselves through advertisements, job fairs and offering signing bonuses. However, critics are skeptical that recruitment alone will fix the problem." http://www.spectator-online.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2005/02/17/42159d59e7321
Wednesday February 16, 2005: Washington State: Nurses Outraged at Proposed Cuts in Nursing Staff by Sacred Heart Medical Center:"The more than 1250 registered nurses, represented by the Washington State Nurses Association (WSNA), at Sacred Heart Medical Center are outraged by the announcement regarding proposed cuts in nursing staff by the Hospital. The proposed staffing guideline changes will impact all in-patient units and will result in a reduction of budgeted staff positions including registered nurses at the bedside and other staff.
"While we do not yet know the full impact of the proposed guideline changes and potential layoffs and exactly how many RNs will be affected, the bottom line is that there will be fewer registered nurses at the bedside caring for our patients," said Marty Avey, RN, local unit chair. She continues, "Our primary concern is the quality of care that our patients will receive as a result of the cuts in nursing staff." http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/050216/sfw128_1.html
December 29, 2002: Washington State:"Short-staffed Washington hospitals recruiting nurses from abroad:"Washington hospitals are looking overseas to fill staffing gaps caused by a nationwide shortage of nurses.
Nearly 100 nurses from the Philippines will arrive next year to work at Tacoma's two biggest hospitals - Tacoma General and St. Joseph Medical Center - and their sister facilities.
From major institutions such as Swedish Medical Center in Seattle to a 38-bed hospital near Yakima, many other hospitals also are recruiting abroad as one solution to a problem administrators say is only getting worse." http://www.tribnet.com/news/story/2388562p-2441418c.html
December 15, 2002: Washington State: Nursing Colleges Rejecting Qualified Applicants:"Hospitals across the country are desperately seeking nurses like Tracey Rasmussen, a 34-year-old mom with a warm, down-to-earth bedside manner and a 3.9 GPA.
But Rasmussen was rejected twice from nursing school - one of thousands of qualified would-be nurses turned away from the profession each year because nursing colleges lack space, faculty and funding.
Anyone who's spent time in a hospital lately knows about the nation's nursing shortage. By 2020, the shortage is expected to grow to nearly 30 percent, a shortfall of more than 800,000 nurses nationwide, according to projections by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Finding people who want to be nurses isn't hard. Getting them into nursing schools is.
It was so frustrating," said Rasmussen, who was finally accepted into Washington State University's Yakima nursing program and has a job on the maternity ward of a local hospital waiting for her when she graduates in May.
Despite the looming shortage, nursing schools in the United States turned away nearly 6,000 qualified applicants last year, according to a survey by the American Association of Colleges of Nursing." http://santafenewmexican.com/site/news.cfm?BRD=2144&dept_id=461625&newsid=6395557&PAG=461&rfi=9
Sunday, December 8, 2002: Washington State: EvCC planning health care center:The goal is ambitious: Everett Community College wants to build an Education Center for Health Professions that would more than double the number of students studying health care within 10 years.
The means to get there are sketchy.
EvCC will need the help of area health care providers to make it work. The college will be measuring community support over the next few months.
"I think it's a very ambitious business proposal, and that is played off against a very serious shortage of health care professionals," said Stu Barger, the EvCC dean of instruction, who floated the idea by the college's board of trustees." http://www.heraldnet.com/Stories/02/12/8/16185282.cfm
Monday, December 2, 2002: Washington State: Lacking faculty, nursing students turned away:"The call light is on at Washington's acute-care hospitals, but hundreds of would-be nurses are stuck at the front doors of schools, waiting to begin their training.
It's an unexpected plot twist in the story of the severe nursing shortage in Washington state and across the country: Thousands of students are clamoring to enter the nursing profession, but schools are forced to turn many of them away because of a dearth of qualified faculty." http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/98060_nursing02.shtml
December 2, 2002: Washington State: Looking for a new career? Health-care jobs plentiful:"The nursing shortage is known. State hospitals report it is difficult to recruit experienced registered nurses, while the population of Washington is aging and growing. At this point, a nurse in every family might not be enough.
Exacerbating the nursing crisis is an across-the-board shortage of health-care workers. For every nurse needed, even more support positions in the industry are in demand -- from nursing assistants to medical office workers. Health care employers can't find qualified people to fill the positions that most directly affect your health-care experience, from the way you are greeted to settling your bill, at the doctor's and dentist's office, at the hospital and pharmacy." http://heraldnet.com/Stories/02/12/2/16044167.cfm?cityid=24
November 30, 2002: Washington State: Education seen as key in health care worker shortage:"While Washington residents struggle with the highest unemployment rate in the nation, health care jobs are going unfilled.
And many who would like those jobs cannot get the education needed to qualify for them, according to a legislative task force appointed to find solutions to the state's severe shortage of health care workers.
The task force plans to recommend the state invest in more health care education offerings at colleges and universities despite the high cost of such programs, said William Gray, dean of Washington State University Spokane and vice chairman of the Health Care Personnel Shortage Task Force." http://www.tri-cityherald.com/news/2002/1130/story2.html
November 25, 2002: Washington State: Hospital finances in peril:"On top of the other problems, a national nursing shortage is leaving hospitals with the choice of turning away patients or paying premium prices for traveling nurses supplied by agencies.
Kadlec expects to pay $3 million this year in premium pay for nurses, the difference between what it costs to pay the expenses of a traveling nurse and the cost of employing a staff nurse.
Even with all three hospitals relying on traveling and agency nurses, on any day, one or two of the Tri-City hospitals' acute care units may be closed to new admissions. http://www.tri-cityherald.com/news/2002/1125/Story1.html
September 30, 2002: Washington State, Spokane: Nursing Shortages in the Nation:"Deaconess Medical Center is not feeling the pinch of the nation's nursing shortage.
The hospital only has three job openings for full time nurses, but Administrators worry that could change in the next ten years. "With the baby boomers coming on and knowing that there is going to be a growth in the population of need, we have to be very careful as we assess what our future needs are going to be." http://www.kxly.com/common/getStory.asp?id=23822
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
This Page is Part of The Nursefriendly National Nursing A To Z & Consumer Health Directories
We are Incorporated in The State of New Jersey, under the name:
Nursefriendly, Inc.
38 Tattersall Drive, Mantua, New Jersey (NJ) 08051
Our Phone #: 856-415-9617
Other products and companies referred to herein are trademarks or registered trademarks of their
respective companies or mark holders, and are not owned or affiliated with Nursefriendly, Inc. or any of it's affiliated companies.