ANA petitions Feds (educ. funding) for 1.1 million more RN's within 8 yrs.

Nurses Activism

Published

AGAIN???

Sept. 4, 2014 report. Say it it ain't so.

Anyone read the ANA Smartbrief this morning?

http://www.healthleadersmedia.com/content/LED-308014/ANA-Calls-for-Federal-Funding-to-Bolster-RN-Training

They cite US BLS forecasts for a shortage of nurses, and recommend to spend more money (over $500 million more) to increase nursing school programs to meet the projected shortage. And, after all, "there are throngs of qualified nursing school candidates unable to obtain a seat in programs due to a lack of adequate space to accommodate them." (Loosely quoted from the article.)

I am most definitely not qualified to make rational, reasoned arguments for or against at this point, because I am at the moment...feeling rather emotional.

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Specializes in Critical Care, ED, Cath lab, CTPAC,Trauma.

Have they lost their minds?

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Have they lost their minds?

Esme, I don't know. I'm still sitting here reeling a bit. This feels like deja vu all over again.

Somewhere I had the statistical data saved on the number of accredited nursing schools that have popped up all over the country in the last ten years due to lobbying the Feds (and States) for more funding to increase (or expand) programs.

Look where that got us.

Now they're doing it... again?

Something stinks in Stinkville.

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I also would like to see this article posted in General and or Student forums, but I'm not sure that it wouldn't get moved.

Nurses (and potential students) need to be aware of what the current climate is, and have a serious discussion. We can't bury our heads in the sand, and expect anything but more of the same.

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Specializes in NICU, PICU, Transport, L&D, Hospice.

I boggles the mind, doesn't it?

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Specializes in Neuro, Telemetry.

I am a student who worked hard and waited to get into a program, and even I think this is a terrible idea. I went into this knowing that the job market for new grads has tanked. Event the marked for experienced nurses isn't doing so hot at the moment. Why the heck would they want MORE graduated nurses, when we are already going to have a rough time getting a decent job as it is? Oh wait. Money. I forgot that money rules everything. Ugh. I know the last "projected shortage" was due to the expectance that the older generation of nurses would be retiring. well obviously that didn't really happen because many either cant retire for financial reasons, or they just plain don't want to because they love what they do and are still able to do it. My class and future classes are still more than enough to fill the spots of those who do eventually retire, and by giving more funding to expand nursing schools sounds like all it will do is keep this nursing glut thriving longer so I can expect to be paid less and have a harder time finding a job then nurses used to when there truly was a shortage per se. Grr.

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Specializes in Neuro, Telemetry.

As a second note, it would not surprise me if this was a play from medical facilities who like getting to pay less and not have sign on bonuses because they have the pick of the litter of nurses willing to take almost anything to be employed.

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Specializes in Pediatrics, Emergency, Trauma.

If they need more funding, then why don't they use that to help aid in increasing nursing instructor salaries?

With the fiasco with for profit schools, what good would that money do unless used properly, and not just letting anyone in or ANYONE making a school???

I hope the Feds take a look at this before just giving the money away...

Madness. :no:

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If they need more funding, then why don't they use that to help aid in increasing nursing instructor salaries?

With the fiasco with for profit schools, what good would that money do unless used properly, and not just letting anyone in or ANYONE making a school???

I hope the Feds take a look at this before just giving the money away...

Madness. :no:

The article mentioned using some of funds to increase instructor salaries.

What bothers me (among many things) is throwing millions of $$ to increase a workforce by 1.1 million, when as another poster mentioned, we already have a glut of nurses currently (and presumably with the next few graduating classes) unable to find work as it is due to the false shortage.

This reeks of lobbying to serve the narrow interests of those in power: Namely academia and professional affiliations, and suppression of wages (to alleviate further decreased reimbursement projections).

This is not about the mass extinction of retiring nurses. We've heard that spin already. But of course the data is in, and the data never lies, right? >insert rolleyes

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Specializes in Critical Care.

They aren't talking about increasing the nursing workforce by 1.1 million, they're talking about just replacing the 1.1 million nurses we'll be short compared to now by 2022. Those aren't numbers the ANA came up with or a university, those numbers come from the department of labor.

I get that it 'feels' like there's a glut of nurses, but if you look at the numbers there actually isn't. The RN vacancy rate is hovering around 9%, which by itself defines a 'shortage'. The job placement of new grads, even ADNs, is still much higher than with other degrees, so I'm not sure where this claim there's a glut of nurses comes from.

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Specializes in hospice.

In my area there are TONS of RN jobs open. They are not for newly minted, AD RNs, but an experienced RN can't swing a dead cat without hitting a job opening. Maybe it's not as bad out there as we think? One of the things that has been happening in the labor market recently is deferred retirement. Well, people can't work forever. Sooner or later the baby boomers who have deferred retirement will leave the work force. What will happen then?

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They aren't talking about increasing the nursing workforce by 1.1 million, they're talking about just replacing the 1.1 million nurses we'll be short compared to now by 2022. Those aren't numbers the ANA came up with or a university, those numbers come from the department of labor.

I get that it 'feels' like there's a glut of nurses, but if you look at the numbers there actually isn't. The RN vacancy rate is hovering around 9%, which by itself defines a 'shortage'. The job placement of new grads, even ADNs, is still much higher than with other degrees, so I'm not sure where this claim there's a glut of nurses comes from.

In my area there are TONS of RN jobs open. They are not for newly minted, AD RNs, but an experienced RN can't swing a dead cat without hitting a job opening. Maybe it's not as bad out there as we think? One of the things that has been happening in the labor market recently is deferred retirement. Well, people can't work forever. Sooner or later the baby boomers who have deferred retirement will leave the work force. What will happen then?
People, including me, claim that there's a glut because -- at least in this neck of the woods -- the ratio of applicants to openings runs about 7:1 - 10:1.

New grad nurses, and even experienced ones, still have difficulty getting hired into stable, benefitted, FT positions.

If the concern is for the future then money would be much better invested in developing paid internships for inexperienced nurses to either break in to the field or to cross train into other specialities.

The only thing that *DON'T* need is to be graduating more nurses into a system which already cannot absorb them.

And BLS predictions are simply that... predictions.

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