[brian]

There are several reasons for the continually escalating health care costs:

• The increased development and use of clinical and operational technology.
• Higher employment costs due to the shortage of personnel, including nurses.
• Our aging population, which requires a higher level of care.
• The cost of prescription drugs.
• The heavy burden of federal regulations.

The nursing shortage is the most critical problem on this list, as it increases the cost and may compromise quality of care and availability of care. Providers, faced with a growing shortage of nurses and the possibility of closing beds and cutting services, increase salaries and turn to nursing agencies that charge two to three times the going nursing rate.

Full Article: http://www.bizjournals.com/industrie...er_focus4.html

[Norbert Holz]

The "Nursing Shortage " is a misnomer! There is no shortage of Registered Nurses. There could be one some time in the future in some places. Market forces will easily be able to solve these perceived shortages!

Blaming nurses for the rise in healthcare costs is a severely flawed leap of logic! Nurses have been severely underpaid for decades - perhaps since nursing began.

If anything nurses contribute significantly to the containment and limit the rise in health care costs. Registered Nurses - in properly staffed patient care situations save far more that mere money we save lives and suffering!

I am growing weary in defense of the Nursing profession. Countless administrators, academics and observers proclaim the alleged shortage. There is no shortage!

If and when Registered Nurses are ever compensated with an appropriate amount. The supply will simply increase.

I would like to make a contrast. There is a car shortage! There are not enough new full size sedans available for me to buy for $7,000.

Car shortage, car shortage car shortage!

Seems silly doesn’t it? There is no real shortage of full size sedans. Purchasing an auto like a Ford Crown Victoria is done with consideration of market forces. Ford sets the price at what they believe the market will pay for such a vehicle. They also make as many as they think can be sold.

Nursing services are a market commodity. If there is a shortage then real wages will rise. If an abundant supply is available prices, cost, will remain fairly stable just as they seem to have been for the past twenty years or longer.

If and when a "Nursing Shortage" happens then compensation - for the actual nurse - will rise accordingly! Anyone seen a substantial raise lately? I sincerely do not believe that is the case.

Brian please save the "Nursing Shortage" hype for those who are ignorant of facts. Stop spreading the rumors propagated by employing entities who’s only desire is to have an overabundant supply of nurses to choose from while compensation proffered barely elevates them out of poverty!

[katscan]

Great, great post, Mr Holz!!! I agree totally. There is no nurse shortage...there is no nurse shortage...Maybe some day someone, or some group will REALLY investigate the conditions under which we work, the responsibility we carry etc. etc. and DO SOMETHONG ABOUT IT. When and if it happens, nurses will be coming out of the woodwork to apply!

[Sheri257]

Originally Posted by Norbert Holz

The "Nursing Shortage " is a misnomer! There is no shortage of Registered Nurses. There could be one some time in the future in some places. Market forces will easily be able to solve these perceived shortages!

Well, I'm tired of the "there is no shortage" mantra too. It's not that simple.

There are 500,000 licensed nurses who aren't working but, 70 percent of that population is older too. Retirements and deaths jumped to 175,000 in the last workforce survey, up from a relatively stable 25,000. If the average age of RNs was 25, I'd agree with you, but it's not. The average age is 47. Certainly an aging workforce is part of the problem.

Not to mention an aging baby boom population. Do you realize that another 11,000 nursing vacanies are projected for just this year alone? 800,000 in the next 15 years. Why? Because of aging baby boomers and the fact that half a million nurses are expected to retire due to advanced age.

I agree that salaries are a problem, although they actually haven't been declining. Nursing salaries have been stagnant, only increasing with inflation. But this has been a problem for the entire American workforce, not just nurses.

Finally, even if the pool of 500,000 licensed, non-working nurses increases to 650,000 in the next 15 years (at the same rate that pool has increased in the last decade) ...

And even if all them could and would return to work ... it still won't come close to filling those 800,000 projected vacancies, unless nursing school graduates, foreign nurses or some other element on the supply side increases substantially.

Maybe there isn't a "real" shortage right now, but there is substantial evidence that there will be a "real" shortage in the future.

[llg]

When I first began participating in allnurses.com, I was a part of that group that talked about "the nursing shortage." In fact, helping my hospital deal with "the shortage" is the primary focus of my job. However, posts by people like Mr. Holtz above have caused me to re-think the situation.

I think both extreme positions on the issue are wrong. As with most real-life situations, the "truth" is complex and includes elements of both extreme positions.

The health care industry's refusal to take some of the responsibility for the "shortage" and to acknowledge that it has treated nurses badly for generations is a big part of the problem. With that, I whole-heartedly agree. The same can be said for the schools of nursing now making noise about the faculty shortage. As a nurse with a PhD who has tried a couple of times to cross over from hospital work to a more academic career, I can also attest to how unwelcoming schools have been over the years to new faculty members. They have no one but themselves to blame.

However, to say simply that "If they paid us more there would be no shortage," is also wrong. It ignores some basic facts that cannot be denied and presents an overly simplistic picture of what is actually a very complex situation. The demographics of the population, the increased sophistication required of today's nurse, the additional career opportunities available for women today, etc. -- these are all very real contributers to the situation that have to be acknowledged and taken into consideration.

Anyone who thinks the situation is simple lacks a full understanding of the situation.

llg

[Sheri257]

Originally Posted by llg

However, to say simply that "If they paid us more there would be no shortage," is also wrong. It ignores some basic facts that cannot be denied and presents an overly simplistic picture of what is actually a very complex situation. The demographics of the population, the increased sophistication required of today's nurse, the additional career opportunities available for women today, etc. -- these are all very real contributers to the situation that have to be acknowledged and taken into consideration.

Anyone who thinks the situation is simple lacks a full understanding of the situation.

llg

I totally agree. There are so many factors to consider that there is no simple explanation for this problem.

[Norbert Holz]

Here are some interesting figures to ponder.

The NLN states there are 1,419 schools for RN's.
If every school produces 75 graduates
This yields 106,425 new graduates every year.

If true the positions projected to be open would be essentially filled without any additional capacity to produce RN's of importation of any foreign nurses.

The link for this factoid can be found at this site.

http://www.nln.org/Research/FacultySurvey/

Projecting the numbers at the current capacity to extend the 18 years would yield 1,915,650 new nurses, significantly greater than the projected 800,000 claimed to be short at that time.

Can't we simply agree that there is no nursing shortage and be done with it! Lets continue to ignore facts and talk about feelings! The facts simply negate any suggestion of a "nursing shortage." How do you feel about that?


PS. If there is a nursing shortage - I am available - right now- to help solve it!

[Norbert Holz]

If they paid us more there would be evidence of a nursing shortage and the need to hire nurses to fill the vacant positions. Supply vs. demand!

I experience a gasoline shortage frequently in my car!

Gasoline shortage, gasoline shortage, gasoline shortage!

I can not find enough gasoline to fill my tank at $1.50 per gallon. There must be a gasoline shortage. Besides no one shows up in my driveway - not even from another country - to fill my tank!

Sounds absurd dosen't it? Lets keep this thread going! There has to be more shortages we can create!

I'm LMAO reading the "educated responses" to my posting on this crisis!

Do you "feel" the shortage yet?

BTW it's HOLZ not Holtz use your real name too don't be afraid of the truth!

[Sheri257]

Originally Posted by Norbert Holz

Here are some interesting figures to ponder.

The NLN states there are 1,419 schools for RN's.
If every school produces 75 graduates
This yields 106,425 new graduates every year.

If true the positions projected to be open would be essentially filled without any additional capacity to produce RN's of importation of any foreign nurses.

The link for this factoid can be found at this site.

http://www.nln.org/Research/FacultySurvey/

Projecting the numbers at the current capacity to extend the 18 years would yield 1,915,650 new nurses, significantly greater than the projected 800,000 claimed to be short at that time.

Can't we simply agree that there is no nursing shortage and be done with it! Lets continue to ignore facts and talk about feelings! The facts simply negate any suggestion of a "nursing shortage." How do you feel about that?

Everything I cited comes from the U.S. Heath Department nurse workforce survey, not "feelings."

http://bhpr.hrsa.gov/healthworkforce...ect/report.htm

You're only looking at one side of the equation:

They actually estimate 300,000 new RNs entering the workforce every four years. But, as you can see, that's not enough compared with the projected half million nursing retirements due to advanced age. And, of course, substantial increased demand for RNs due to aging baby boomers.

Again: Maybe there's not a "real" shortage now, but there is evidence that there will be a "real" shortage in the future, even when you take into account those half million licensed non-working nurses, and assume that all of them could return to work.

[llg]

Originally Posted by Norbert Holz

Can't we simply agree that there is no nursing shortage and be done with it! Lets continue to ignore facts and talk about feelings! The facts simply negate any suggestion of a "nursing shortage." How do you feel about that?
PS. If there is a nursing shortage - I am available - right now- to help solve it!

No ... I believe there is an actual shortage. Many of those people who have RN licenses are elderly and it is not realistic to expect them to actually work a floor any more. Others are middle-aged and financially secure (e.g. married well) and have no intention of working again regardless of what happens. These people keep their licenses, partly as a source of pride, partly to help maintain their identity as a nurse, and partly "just in case." Therefore, they are in the numbers as "available nurses", bBut it is totally unrealist to expect them to work.

Similar things can be said for many of the people in school. They intend to work full time (or even at all) only as long as they have to for financial reasons. If they have a husband who can provide sufficiently financially, they will choose to stay at home and raise a family -- or work only the amount to generate the income they need. Many others are planning to practice at the bedside only as a stepping-stone to another career. They have no intention of having a long-term career at the bedside -- or perhaps, not even a long-term career in nursing.

The numbers are actually much more complicated than they might at first appear. You have to account for all of that sort of thing hidden within the numbers. You can't just take them in at face value in such a simplistic fashion. There are complex social trends at work behind the numbers that must be taken into account.

llg