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The Impact of the Nursing Shortage on American Healthcare.... Faye Satterly, R.N.
....“…an important book…a wake-up call…”—Bookviews.com
At 6:30 A.M. a head nurse reviews room assignments and the day’s challenges ahead: twenty-nine patients, most of them seriously ill, and four nurses to care for them. That means a barely manageable and potentially risky patient-nurse ratio of seven to one, with one nurse taking eight patients. Unfortunately, this dismal scenario is played out again and again in hospitals across the country.
This in-depth, behind-the-scene’s account of a healthcare system under stress and the declining quality of medical treatment in America should serve as a wakeup call to the public. Faye Satterly, a Registered Nurse with over two decades of experience, spells out the alarming statistics: The average nurse today is forty-five years old and anticipating retirement. Only 12 percent of nurses are under age thirty. At the same time, nursing schools report decreasing enrollments and fewer graduates. The result is that the nurses who are on the front lines of healthcare are feeling overwhelmed and leaving the field for less stressful opportunities outside hospital settings.
Compounding the looming crisis is the fact that just as nurses are becoming scarce, the need for them is becoming ever greater. Over the next decade, aging baby boomers will swell the ranks of the over-fifty-five population, a group that experiences higher healthcare needs than those in their thirties and forties.
There are answers, the author insists, but they will require an honest public debate about our choices and expectations. What are we willing to do and how much are we willing to pay for safe, effective delivery of healthcare?
This fascinating and disturbing account by a veteran nurse with extensive experience is a compelling call for action to counter the nursing shortage and ensure that “caring” regains its premium status in healthcare.
Faye Satterly, R.N. (Charlottesville, VA), is Cancer Services Director at Martha Jefferson Hospital. She has been a Registered Nurse for twenty years, and served as Cancer Services Director for twelve years. http://www.prometheusbooks.com/catalog/book_1458.html
At the same time, nursing schools report decreasing enrollments and fewer graduates.
I don't know where they're getting that from. Nursing school enrollments are up and waiting lists are common nationwide, up to two years. My school just added 10 more slots because of increased enrollments.
Maybe this was true years ago, but it's not true today.
I don't know where they're getting that from. Nursing school enrollments are up and waiting lists are common nationwide, up to two years. My school just added 10 more slots because of increased enrollments.
Maybe this was true years ago, but it's not true today.
All things are relative, are nursing enrollments going up? Yes but compared to years ago the number of new RN students is still considerably lower.Also the pace of creation of new RNs is not keep up with the known losses from the profession and the increased demand of RN positions. The shortage will continue to grow unless this mis match is corrected.
I don't know where they're getting that from. Nursing school enrollments are up and waiting lists are common nationwide, up to two years. My school just added 10 more slots because of increased enrollments.
Maybe this was true years ago, but it's not true today.
It's interesting about the waiting lists. I wonder if the "waiting lists" are common at all schools or just the community colleges and state schools were education is cheaper. I attended nursing school in the early 1980s, and there were long waiting lists to get into community college programs, as well as state universities. I ended up attending an expensive private university. There was a nursing shortage on, and like now, all the bells and whistles were out. Nothing seems to have changed.
Nursing school enrollment dramatically decreased during the 1990s, so we can say that enrollment may be up compared to ten years ago, but that really may not be saying much. Also, it would be interesting to see what happens a year or two from now, when the economy is doing better. Nursing also picks up during economic slowdowns.
And finally, the tide of nurses leaving nursing is increasing. So even if you pump up enrollment, it still can't keep pace with the numbers getting out. And according to one study at least, the largest number of those leaving are those with less than 5 years experience.
I don't know where they're getting that from. Nursing school enrollments are up and waiting lists are common nationwide, up to two years. My school just added 10 more slots because of increased enrollments.
Maybe this was true years ago, but it's not true today.
Not a shift goes by that one of my coworkers does not talk about getting out. Now threatening to leave and actually leaving are two different things. Most of them would like to get out but can't afford to stop having pay checks. If the economy continues to improve and people can get better jobs they will leave in droves.
The Reason That There Is A Waiting List Is Because There Are Not Enough Teachers/facilities To Teach The Ones Wanting To Go To School.....
Nursing Shortage Will Increase As Baby Boomers Move From Health Care Providers To Those In Need Of Health Care
It's interesting about the waiting lists. I wonder if the "waiting lists" are common at all schools or just the community colleges and state schools were education is cheaper. I attended nursing school in the early 1980s, and there were long waiting lists to get into community college programs, as well as state universities. I ended up attending an expensive private university. There was a nursing shortage on, and like now, all the bells and whistles were out. Nothing seems to have changed.
Nursing school enrollment dramatically decreased during the 1990s, so we can say that enrollment may be up compared to ten years ago, but that really may not be saying much. Also, it would be interesting to see what happens a year or two from now, when the economy is doing better. Nursing also picks up during economic slowdowns.
And finally, the tide of nurses leaving nursing is increasing. So even if you pump up enrollment, it still can't keep pace with the numbers getting out. And according to one study at least, the largest number of those leaving are those with less than 5 years experience.
About the CC enrollment? Yeah, they've got waiting lists! One CC in my area got 360 application for 32 spaces. But the public University that's only 15 miles away got75 applications for 80 spaces. And the private university only 5 miles away? This is funny...30 application for 48 spaces (they're always in the neg. numbers for enrollment). Why would someone pay $75,000 to be an RN at private school, when they could only pay $2,500 at the CC where the N-Clex pass rate is 99%? There are no "waiting" lists for private schools or 4 year public universities.
The DON, where my friend is an RN said that nurses over 50 and nurses with less than 7 years experience (regardless of age) are just hemorrhaging out of the hospital.
One more note...my class had 80 to start with and only 42 are comming back for the second year.
allnurses.com is the largest community for nurses on the web. We now have over 328,923 members! Join today to network with other nurses, laugh, share, and much more.
Where Have All the Nurses Gone?
.... Faye Satterly, R.N. 
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