Facts On Our Condition

[Louie18]

A. There are currently 126,000 nursing positions currently unfilled in hospitals across the country.

B. FIFTY-SIX PERCENT of hospitals are using traveling nurse or other agencies to attempt to fill these positions.

C. On average, a nurse works 340+ hours overtime per year.

D. It is estimated that by 2020 there will be 400,000 ubfilled positions in nursing.

E. NINETY PERCENT of long term care facilities lack sufficient staffing to provide even the most basic care.

F. There are 21,000 fewer nursing students today than in 1995.

G. Nursing schools turned away 5,000 qualified baccalaureate students in 2001 due to faculty shortages.

unionize

[iliel]

Thank you Louie, this is wonderful information.

I do plan on joining a union when I grad.

[SirJohnny]

Louie18:

- Can I ask where you got this information? Just curious.

- I'd like to show the article to my friends at work. I am currently in the software engineering field.

Thanks,

John Coxey

[Louie18]

A new nursing flyer called "Nursing Connections"

[foreverhope]

Are there any unions in Texas? It will be two years untill I graduate, but I would be interested in the union at that time!

[lindalee]

Just out of curiosity, how does joining a union fix this? Believe me I know the problems in our field but unsure that a union can impact the problem. Perhaps it may improve conditions, certainly they will be glad to have our dues--we are talking huge amounts of money. They tell us they will fix our problems, But how do they fix the problems with reimbursement, lack of people interested in nursing or willing to work in hospitals? I think the problem is far more complex than joining a union. JMHO

[PJMommy]

You need to look at your employer and look at your union. A blanket statement saying we should all unionize is not necessarily appropriate for all situations. Like all things, unions have definite pros AND cons.

I would tend to agree with Linda. The problems in nursing are "bigger and badder" than an easy union fix. I tend to believe that the answer lies in political activism. Don't wait for the union or the hospitals to fix things. We need to get out there and call our legislators and make our voices heard -- not expect someone to do it for us. Faculty shortages and low enrollment are some of the problems mentioned above -- yet I don't see how these can be fixed by unionization.

Respect yourself, respect your profession and as the bumper sticker says, "Think globally, act locally".

PJ

[Louie18]

I AGREE, BUT HAVE A STORY ON WHAT THE UNION DID FOR ME I WILLL WRITE LATER.

LOUIE