Exodus of nurses alarms Puerto Rico

sjoe · Feb 26, 2003

This LPN plans to make $42K in Florida! Good luck. That is substantially higher than the average RN makes in that state.

howie122832 · Feb 26, 2003

I had to laugh when I read that florida is making it easier to get a license! I've been waiting for my "Authorization to Test" for WEEKS now!!! I think it would be easier to just drive my first born to Tallahassee and drop her off! It also upsets me that they are recruiting for "other " areas, instead of looking at a real solution... Like providing more class space to educate all of the people who actually want to go to nursing school! I'm really finding it extremely difficult to stay "politically Correct" with this post.. oh yea, and $42,000 a year in salary???? Maybe including the "governments contribution"! That's all I got..... Before I really get in trouble

VickyRN, MSN, DNP, RN · Feb 27, 2003

Like providing more class space to educate all of the people who actually want to go to nursing school!

As a nurse educator, I had to reply to this one. There is an acute shortage of nurse educators, facilties in which to hold clinicals, and other major logistic issues (space, training materials, etc.). Training nursing students is EXTREMELY labor intensive, requiring (at a minimum) a ratio of 1 instructor to each 10 students. In our impoverished area of North Carolina, we have a record number of students WANTING to get into our ADN class this fall (340 applicants so far). Unfortunately, we can only accomodate 40.

sjoe · Feb 27, 2003

"In our impoverished area of North Carolina, we have a record number of students WANTING to get into our ADN class this fall (340 applicants so far). Unfortunately, we can only accomodate 40."

And, of course, like Puerto Rico, Ireland, Phillipines, South Africa, etc. once you train them there is nothing to keep these nurses from leaving the state for a better-paying job elsewhere. Simply training nurses can never be enough.

The working conditions and pay have to attract and keep people, and with 2.2 million RNs already licensed in this country, we have more than enough nurses right now, it seems to me. If North Carolina, or any other state wants more nurses, it would be better off to offer these working conditions, rather than squander its money on training, IMHO.