??Is there a shortage: Nursing Supply and Demand

They generally do well

and the younger and the cuter they are all helps also.

Though I prefer Gatorade over beers, particulalrly in the Texas Cool summers

Ah a subject near and dear to my heart. As a student nurse and Health Care Administrator I can safely say in nursing areas which are hard to fill such as geriatrics...yes there is a nursing shortage.

First let me say that depending on your geographic location and nursing specality, staffing can or cannot be more of a demand on your time. This is where we find nursing shortages.
Now:
I feel nurses should be paid more. I do not understand how a med surg nurse can make more than a geriatric nurse, I understand the differences in enviromental settings and take into account other factors, I just think the nursing profession has placed themselves at a great disadvantage and it is time to change the nursing profession. Not just with monies but with staffing ratios and RN CPT insurance reimbursement so nurses are seen as positive cash flow instead of a mandated staff member who is always marked in red (negative cash flow).

We have only ourselves to blame for this is our profession, the fruits of our labor. Make your nursing profession proud and join a local union for changes, get involved at the local/state or federal level of government for health care changes for if you do not others will who have no background in healthcare except from a business standpoint and we will continue to stagnate the nursing profession just that much longer.

Yes, yes Trudi!! Right on the money

We have to deal with crappy Directors who have no flippin' idea of what's going on on their units, physicians, mostly from over-seas, who maintain that nurses are here to serve THEM and refuse to honor us as their collegues (cultural), hospital politics, favoritism, hostile work environments, demanding families threatining legal action because mother got her colace a 1/2 hour late and on and on, ad nauseum.

Is it anywonder that nurses leave the profession to become, well, anything but a nurse.

Oh yeah, I can say, "paper or plastic, maam"?