Don't Solve The Nursing Shortage

[Geeg]

I don't think that solving or alleviating the shortage will help pts or nurses. The hospitals won't hire adequate staff even if they are available, forcing us to work "short handed", so we might as well try to do it for as much money as we can. God forbid there is actually a glut of nurses, salaries and benefits will plummet.

[Tweety, BSN, RN]

Not true where I work. They'd be happy to hire and stop using agency and contracts.

We finally got a VP that understands adequate staffing equals retention.

[llg, PhD, RN]

Not true where I work, either. Not everyone in management and administration is evil.

llg

[Geeg]

It seems that they are happy to hire regular staff just to save money, I will agree with that.

[oramar]

There are plenty of people tackling this from other perspectives. Just read any of the many articles Karen post under Nurse Activism and Politics. Yes, many people in managment think that if nursing schools just crank out large numbers of new nurses that will spell the end of the shortage. To them the ideal situations is one where there are so many nurses they can abuse and exploit them to any extent they please. However, there are other people and groups going after the bad conditions and pay that produced the shortage. There are still to many new grads posting about how they want nothing to do with bedside nursing after just a short experience with it. There are also to many experienced nurses who continue to bail out. There was a summit yesterday on conditions and pay, Karen is going to post about it later today. There is pressure being brought from many directions to end the true causes of the nursing shortage. Believe me the idea that the nursing shortage is caused by to few bodies is an idea that is dying a quick death.

[ShandyLynnRN, BSN, RN]

Our hospital is on a hiring freeze right now, even though I know our ICU is short atleast 2 nurses.