[NRSKarenRN]

From Healthleaders.com


STAFFING SHORTAGES: Healthcare Staffing Shortages

Hospitals are responsible for providing the best care possible. Patients expect it. Hospitals strive for it. But that goal has become increasingly difficult to achieve as staffing shortages plague the industry. Because nurses make up the largest population of hospital workers, the nursing shortage makes most of the headlines. But in many areas of the United States, hospitals are also short on pharmacists, medical technicians and even physicians. The problem has translated into fewer healthcare workers per patient in many facilities. Perhaps even worse, that scarcity has forced workers to endure longer hours and more stress, which, in a Catch-22, has prompted otherwise dedicated staff to leave the profession entirely. Without intervention, the problem is projected to worsen in the coming decades. To be sure, hospitals are taking action with stepped-up recruitment and retention efforts. It's not a moment too soon.


http://www.healthleaders.com/magazin...file59838.html

[RN4NICU]

You have to take things like this, along with any other pile of dung the media heaps upon us, with a grain of salt. I see several states listed as being "states with shortages" that I know firsthand are NOT short of nurses - nursing jobs are actually hard to find (and good nursing jobs almost impossible). If a position is listed, but never filled - it is not because there is no one qualified to take it, it is because a) no one wants it or b) there was never any intention of filling it to begin with - it was just the hospital trying to make itself look good by telling everyone "we are trying to find nurses" while piles of resumes lay in HR never to be read. There is a BIG difference between media hype and reality - and if you ask me, THAT should be the headline.

Just my $0.02

[kukitty]

So, what about the waiting lists for school? What about the shortage of teachers, and their shoddy pay?

[purplemania]

why would a hospital claim they are looking for nurses when they aren't? We get candidates looking for work who cannot pass background checks or who will only work areas that are filled but will not consider the openings available. Lots of factors go into a shortage. Some I feel are worth looking in to are work environment, salaries of educators, and having plenty of ancillary staff.

[Boston-RN]

All the nursing schools in my area have insane waiting lists. At every school, every year there are 200 applicants for 50 spots. That would put a dent in the shortage if they could get more students into the classrooms.

[RN4NICU]

Originally Posted by MAnurseHopeful

All the nursing schools in my area have insane waiting lists. At every school, every year there are 200 applicants for 50 spots. That would put a dent in the shortage if they could get more students into the classrooms.

Hard to do that when there is a shortage of instructors. I mean why go to graduate school (and into debt) to get your MSN, or even your PhD, only to earn less than most staff nurses?

[RN4NICU]

Originally Posted by purplemania

why would a hospital claim they are looking for nurses when they aren't?

To keep the staff (and the public) appeased. The nurses are working shorthanded - the hospital tells them "we have positions listed, we are looking, we are trying" when in reality they are not really looking all that hard. They are saving money every day that they can dodge having to hire more nurses (at least in their own eyes - they fail to take into account lost productivity, the cost of replacing nurses that get disgusted and leave, or complications suffered by patients because the nurses are overburdoned).

[KacyLynnRN]

RN4NICU,
I have seen that practice as well where I work. We have been 'short-staffed' for awhile, and while our management swears they are trying anything to get more nurses in the door, I have 2 friends who have both applied numerous times for open positions at the hospital I work at...both are terrific workers and should have no trouble getting a job. However, no one ever calls them back & when they call to inquire about the status of their applications, they are always brushed off. I have actually said something to management about them and always get the run around. I believe what you say because I am seeing the practice myself.
Kacy

[stbernardclub]

Hospitals have caused their own shortages. They treat you like a number, don't give a crap about your health, throw change at you when its time for a raise, give you little to no respect, and worse yet, when its time to evaluate how they have done, these idiots think they have done just great, and give themselves another big fat bonus...PATHETIC..

[Hellllllo Nurse]

Originally Posted by stbernardclub

Hospitals have caused their own shortages. They treat you like a number, don't give a crap about your health, throw change at you when its time for a raise, give you little to no respect, and worse yet, when its time to evaluate how they have done, these idiots think they have done just great, and give themselves another big fat bonus...PATHETIC..

EXACTLY.

According to the stats given in the article- 81.7% of licensed RNs are working in nursing now.
Where are the other 18.3%?

That's 494,100 RNs!(make that 494,101, now that I just quit my crappy job)......

They were lucky and/or resourceful enough to find others ways to make a living, Or- they can't find jobs.


I have also witnessed, first-hand, the practice of hospitals running ads, saying they can't find nurses, then never calling nurses that apply, and even telling them "we have no openings for nurses."
This happened to me- I got a glossy brochure in the mail from a hospital, asking nurses to apply. The brochure showed a woman doing a back-bend and said "We're bending over backwards to hire you!"
Included was a fake "sign-on bonus" check as an enticement. I called the hospital the same day the brochure arrived and was told "we are fully staffed. We are not accepting applications for nurses."


I've said it many times before and I'll keep saying it- there is no nursing shortage.