U.S. healthcare system pinched by nursing shortage

[alienlovechild 75]

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. healthcare system is pinched by a persistent nursing shortage that threatens the quality of patient care even as tens of thousands of people are turned away from nursing schools, according to experts.

The shortage has drawn the attention of President Barack Obama. During a White House meeting on Thursday to promote his promised healthcare system overhaul, Obama expressed alarm over the notion that the United States might have to import trained foreign nurses because so many U.S. nursing jobs are unfilled.

Democratic U.S. Representative Lois Capps, a former school nurse, said meaningful healthcare overhaul cannot occur without fixing the nursing shortage. "Nurses deliver healthcare," Capps said in a telephone interview.

An estimated 116,000 registered nurse positions are unfilled at U.S. hospitals and nearly 100,000 jobs go vacant in nursing homes, experts said.

The shortage is expected to worsen in coming years as the 78 million people in the post-World War Two baby boom generation begin to hit retirement age. An aging population requires more care for chronic illnesses and at nursing homes.

"The nursing shortage is not driven by a lack of interest in nursing careers. The bottleneck is at the schools of nursing because there's not a large enough pool of faculty," Robert Rosseter of the American Association of Colleges of Nursing said in a telephone interview.

Nursing colleges have been unable to expand enrollment levels to meet the rising demand, and some U.S. lawmakers blame years of weak federal financial help for the schools.

Almost 50,000 qualified applicants to professional nursing programs were turned away in 2008, including nearly 6,000 people seeking to earn master's and doctoral degrees, the American Association of Colleges of Nursing said.

PAY DIFFERENCES

One reason for the faculty squeeze is that a nurse with a graduate degree needed to teach can earn more as a practicing nurse, about $82,000, than teaching, about $68,000.

Obama called nurses "the front lines of the healthcare system," adding: "They don't get paid very well. Their working conditions aren't as good as they should be."

The economic stimulus bill Obama signed last month included $500 million to address shortages of health workers. About $100 million of this could go to tackling the nursing shortage. There are about 2.5 million working U.S. registered nurses.

Separately, Senator ####### Durbin and Representative Nita Lowey, both Democrats, have introduced a measure to increase federal grants to help nursing colleges.

Peter Buerhaus, a nursing work force expert at Vanderbilt University in Tennessee, said the nursing shortage is a "quality and safety" issue. Hospital staffs may be stretched thin due to unfilled nursing jobs, raising the risk of medical errors, safety lapses and delays in care, he said.

A study by Buerhaus showed that 6,700 patient deaths and 4 million days of hospital care could be averted annually by increasing the number of nurses. "Nurses are the glue holding the system together," Buerhaus said. Continued...

http://www.reuters.com/article/domesticNew...E5270VC20090308

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

The nursing shortage is a worldwide problem. In the Philiippines, they have pretty much drained the pond, providing qualified nurses for the US and many other countries around the world. Philippines is now suffering their own nursing shortage, especially in the provinces.

[_Simpson_ 250]

I found this very interesting and puzzling. I checked into nursing for my wife here in Oregon. My local community college has a waiting list that goes by a point system.

[spookyturtle 9,466]

The shortage of nurses is Obama's fault.

[Ban Hammer 13,347]

exactly why uscis needs to speed up the pi petitions.

[doodlebugg 10]

We hire a ton of Phillipino nurses! I don't get the difficulty of being able to go to nursing school though. None of the schools that my husband has looked into have a waiting list. He's decided to go into nursing because 1) he basically acted like a nurse for his dad for a few years before he died, 2) in this economy it's kind of a safe job choice and 3) the pay is phenominal where we are.

[HAL 9000 96]

We hire a ton of Phillipino nurses! I don't get the difficulty of being able to go to nursing school though. None of the schools that my husband has looked into have a waiting list. He's decided to go into nursing because 1) he basically acted like a nurse for his dad for a few years before he died, 2) in this economy it's kind of a safe job choice and 3) the pay is phenominal where we are.

Waiting lists like looking up mentions have more to do with keeping enrollment at capacity and not over. Schools can only handle X-number of students per enrolling class. With this economy the way it is... yes... nursing and medicine seem like safe bets... but not as much as some might think.

[Donna A 4]

alot of people are loosing their jobs and heading for nursing school. in a few years im sure we will have alot of them.

[tallcoolone 102]

The nursing shortage is a worldwide problem. In the Philiippines, they have pretty much drained the pond, providing qualified nurses for the US and many other countries around the world. Philippines is now suffering their own nursing shortage, especially in the provinces.

PI is overflowing with Nurses

They are having to work for free at hospitals just to get experience

Retrogression has basically shut down any Nurse from PI coming to USA on a Work Visa

Nursing Schools are a dime a dozen in Philippines

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

The nursing shortage is a worldwide problem. In the Philiippines, they have pretty much drained the pond, providing qualified nurses for the US and many other countries around the world. Philippines is now suffering their own nursing shortage, especially in the provinces.

PI is overflowing with Nurses

They are having to work for free at hospitals just to get experience

Retrogression has basically shut down any Nurse from PI coming to USA on a Work Visa

Nursing Schools are a dime a dozen in Philippines

I'll try and find the article for you. It was written in one of the Filipino papers, and was noting a shortage of "qualified" nurses, in the provinces generally, and in certain specialties specifically.

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

Here is an excerpt from one article:

At present, health sciences, especially nursing, are the most popular courses in the country. Many professionals—notably doctors, physical therapists, teachers and lawyers—make career shifts to nursing.

They use nursing as a stepping-stone to obtain other jobs or migrate abroad. As a result, many of the underserved areas in the Philippines have become more fragile as they lose not only nurses but other members of the health team as well.

In the past, when doctors became scarce, nurses assumed the post of managers of rural health units and primary hospitals until new physicians were recruited. With the loss of both nurses and physicians, many government district hospitals and some private hospitals are undermanned and are in danger of closing

http://www.manilatimes.net/national/2008/d...081207top1.html

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

Here is the article I based my comments on:

Shortage of able nurses seen

By Mayen Jaymalin Updated February 16, 2009 12:00 AM

http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=440797

[mawilson 2,133]

Nursing shortage? What, Flips are not coming here anymore?

[Nagishkaw 510]

The hospital right up the street from me, where I go about every 3 months, has an enormous staff of Canadian nurses employed there.