Nursing Shortage
One of the most important steps towards healthcare reform is the need to address the nursing shortage in the United States. While on one side government is trying to take steps to make sure that everyone has acces to the healthcare, on the otherside the key force to healthcare delivery system the nurses are becoming scarce. As the Baby Boomer's continue to age and the need for nurses is going to continue to grow, but fewer people are entering the nursing field. There are several reasons that have led to this shortage. Foremost reason for nursing shortage is the lack of faculty to prepare the nurses. The nursing schools have either closed or they just cannot accommodate all the eligible students because they do not have enough faculty to teach them. One of the reasons why many nurses are avoiding to go into teaching is the fact that the nursing faculty make much less than the clinical nurses. On top of that the nursing salaries are slipping in comparison to the other healthcare providers who have no direct responsibility for the patient.
Other reasons for nursing shortage are that the older nurses are nearing retirement, but there aren't enough newl nurses to replace them. The US population is growing at a much greater rate than it ever did before, so the demand is increasing. However there is nothing much being done to help the schools so they can train more nurses. Most of the nursing schools have almost 2 or more years of waiting lists. In addition, the students are subjected to thorough back ground checks leading to further delay in competion of the program.
Twenty first century women have a much broader range of careers to choose from, and many of those careers are better paying, more respected and less labor intensive. Very few men join the nursing force- and of those who join nursing most move on to administrative jobs or other non-bedside type nursing jobs.
Due to lack of awareness about the nursing profession, most public does not respect nurses like they respect the doctors. Some people treat nurses as maids, or bed pan handlers. It can be very labor intensive to take care of the very sick patients, but nurses do not get appreciated. That is why many of the staff nurses have moved into other less labor intensive areas of nursing, or left the field compeletly.
Nursing is a great profession the job opportunities expected to reach record numbers in years to come. The growing technology is making bedside care much more easy and nurse friendly. The rewards are many. Computerized charting is helping avoid medication errors, and easier to seek consultations, and improve communications. With the right publicity and proper recognition nursing shortage can be resolved. We need to educate the public that the nurses are not just maids, or pan handlers- they are well educated and trained professionals who work very hard to achieve the best outcomes for their patients.
Also organizations and the government should provide more incentives to the schools and faculty for providing greater and better nurses. The nursing students should be given scholarships, as well as awards for going into nursing- so that they donot have to worry about making their ends meet while going to school. The nursing salaries should comensurate according to their work. There should be more opportunities for continuing education so that they can keep their knowledge current. Presently not many employers can allow nurses time off for continuing education because of the shortage of nurses. This brings down the nursing morale. Proper opportunities for continuing education, funding for schools, increasing public awareness, proper credit where due, and appreciation, are few of the steps that can help to overcome the nursing shortage.
