US Rep. James Sensenbrenner (R-WI) wrote this editorial about his co-sponsorship of HR 5924, the Emergency Nursing Supply Relief Act. Do you support the bill?
8/11/2008
A prescription for our nursing shortage
By Jim Sensenbrenner
Nurses have always been the friendly faces providing comfort and rehabilitation while we and our loved ones recover in the hospital or healthcare facility. However, over the past decade, the numbers of nurses in the US have been dwindling. According to the American Hospital Association, there are presently over 116,000 vacancies for registered nurses. By 2014, that number is estimated to be 1.2 million. This shortage not only creates a crunch on hospitals and other facilities trying to administer care, but has also contributed to nearly 24% of hospital deaths and injuries.
What???? That comment makes no sense. I am not getting my citizenship! I have always been a US citizen - my family came to this country on the Mayflower! You have obviously missed my numerous postings on the subject of foreign nurses if you think that I am not a citizen.
1989,
Oops, sorry. I mis-posted that comment. Another online member is becoming a citizen; I was congratulating her. I'll have to click and paste more carefully. (See post #20 above.)
Luckily for them, your immigrant ancestors were given a warm welcome by the natives.
What???? That comment makes no sense. I am not getting my citizenship! I have always been a US citizen - my family came to this country on the Mayflower!
You have obviously missed my numerous postings on the subject of foreign nurses if you think that I am not a citizen.
That might have been meant for me I'm a transplant from New Zealand and I LOVE it here. I feel very passionate about my new homeland.
That might have been meant for me I'm a transplant from New Zealand and I LOVE it here. I feel very passionate about my new homeland.
Dear Kiwi Pointer Sister,
Lots to love about being here. Like everywhere, there are good aspects and bad. It's all a balancing act. Welcome aboard this very diverse, very outspoken ship!
And you don't have to tell us which rowing/sailing/swimming teams you are privately cheering for during the Beijing games! ;-) (Old ties run deep!)
This is very interesting. I have been reading this site for a long time and love it. BTW, I finally started nursing school after two years on the waitlist. WEE!!! My mom is a foreign nurse who has 20 plus years of experience now in the US and is one of the most knowledgable and competent nurses. But even my mother has said she worked so hard once she got here to understand the US nursing system because the country she is from the RN's there do not get the training they get here. I rather not say where to not cause any fights.
She says where she is from RN's were basically pill pushers. I have two cousins Rns who are trying to come here and they say the same thing unfortunately. They studied for the NCLEX at they say its nothing like what they learned. I tell them about what Im doing and they say again its not like what they learned. They say US nurses have to do so much more and have more responsibility. I support my cousins coming here I know they are both caring and intelligent people who will be great nurses and learn the system here. But what about the others who are lazy and just do enough to pass the test and move? This scares me. I think what needs to be done is better evaluation by the US of foreign schools. But I doubt that will happen.
I agree that this bill is ludicrous and an insult to nursing. I completely agree that this would long-term only serve to excacerbate and not solve the problem. Why would we let nurses leave countries where they are critically needed to care for patients whose culture or language they are not fluent let alone their skill set?
A rhetorical question indeed. We would be shooting ourselves in the foot.
Any topic involving immigration is sure to spark a debate these days - including the topic of foreign-trained nurses.
Do foreign-trained nurses depress the wages of U.S. nurses? Since the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services reports that less than four percent of all nurses in the U.S. are foreign trained, it is hard to imagine their presence would have much effect on wages one way or another. Indeed, annual RN wages climbed 14% from 2000 to 2004, from an average of $46,782 to $57,755 according to HHS, and most indicators suggest that wages have continued to rise since then.
Do foreign-trained nurses displace U.S. nurses? Given a national hospital nurse vacancy rate of over 8%, as reported by the American Hospital Association, that doesn't seem likely. And, given projections that the U.S. will be anywhere from 340,000 to one million nurses short by the year 2020, it seems improbable that foreign nurses will displace U.S. nurses any time in the near future.
What about the "brain-drain?" By recruiting foreign trained nurses, are we undercutting medical services in countries where the need for medical professionals is.... (for the rest of the article, go to http://www.recruitingtrends.com/)
Any topic involving immigration is sure to spark a debate these days – including the topic of foreign-trained nurses...
I agree with the vast majority of nurses... providing patients with nurses who do not understand the culture or language of America is negligent. I would guess that you represent an employment agency who would be making money by farming out these nurses from the Phillipines, India, Malaysia etc to take care of my neighbor and families parents and children. For the amount of work required of students to be accepted and complete nursing school, the wages you state are but a pittance compared to other like jobs. The ANA is opposed to this bill and they are the association which has traditionally reflected the morale compass of major nursing debate. The scholarship and evidence on this issue is very clear. As in other fields where corporate America has sought to destroy wages and have a ready stable of corporate drones making money, they seek to outsource but one of the few remaining jobs for which our children may aspire, outsource for greed and stockholder profit. It is time to think about patient care and not ways to circumvent the need for higher wages and more quality nursing schools. Our patients must not forced to be cared for by Visa holders ill-familiar with the culture or language who carry questionable credentials and taking a honorable job which should be available to our own for a competitive salary and a reasonable and safe environment.
I do not represent employment agencies though I do make my living training people from all sides of cultural difference how to get along. I absolutely agree with you that communication is best undertaken when both caregiver and care-receiver have common experiences and understanding. However, US nursing programs are not turning out enough graduates. I would love it that they did. But they currently don't. In the mean time, sick Americans need to be cared for. Who's going to do it? Non-trained US citizens (by virtue of their passports) or trained non-citizens because they have the chutzpah to pick up and move to a place where xenophobes try to keep them out? It's a numbers game, and we need to keep staffing up. If you have a way to get more American nurses into American hospitals, I'm all ears.
I agree with the vast majority of nurses... providing patients with nurses who do not understand the culture or language of America is negligent. I would guess that you represent an employment agency who would be making money by farming out these nurses from the Phillipines, India, Malaysia etc to take care of my neighbor and families parents and children. For the amount of work required of students to be accepted and complete nursing school, the wages you state are but a pittance compared to other like jobs. The ANA is opposed to this bill and they are the association which has traditionally reflected the morale compass of major nursing debate. The scholarship and evidence on this issue is very clear. As in other fields where corporate America has sought to destroy wages and have a ready stable of corporate drones making money, they seek to outsource but one of the few remaining jobs for which our children may aspire, outsource for greed and stockholder profit. It is time to think about patient care and not ways to circumvent the need for higher wages and more quality nursing schools. Our patients must not forced to be cared for by Visa holders ill-familiar with the culture or language who carry questionable credentials and taking a honorable job which should be available to our own for a competitive salary and a reasonable and safe environment.
You are being an ignorant jerk saying these things about foreign nurses "who carry questionable credentials and taking an honorable job".
First off, in my home country, Poland, you need to have a master's degree to be a nurse. There is no ADN or BSN. I believe most foreign nurses are more qualified than "your own" to do such "an honorable job".
Second, there is a shortage and it is only becoming more profound. Someone needs to take care of those sick patients, unless you want to have a nurse patient ratio around 1:20. Good luck!
I do not know where you got your information but it is incorrect. Specifically, in Poland the information I have is very different from what you have stated. I am aware that until recently, nurses only had pre-university nursing education in Poland which was only discontinued in 2002/2003 at the insistence of the EU 15 who found serious deficiencies and took specific sanctions against Poland.
Only 80 per cent of Polish Nurses were recognized by the EU as valid nurses and could only practice as health assistants according to the Accession Treaty related to the training in EU states. That is one reason they began to look elsewhere.
That the EU took this action to protect their member states from what they deem as substandard or deficient education seems to support my point. You should check your data before you post it as fact.
Specializes in ER and family advanced nursing practice.
I agree with the vast majority of nurses... providing patients with nurses who do not understand the culture or language of America is negligent.
It is time to think about patient care and not ways to circumvent the need for higher wages and more quality nursing schools. Our patients must not forced to be cared for by Visa holders ill-familiar with the culture or language who carry questionable credentials and taking a honorable job which should be available to our own for a competitive salary and a reasonable and safe environment.
The answer is not to place patients at risk and alienate them from their caregivers.
The answer is very simple.
The answer is to improve work conditions.
The answer is to increase pay for nurses which has been stymied many years because it has been a traditionally female role.
The answer is to provide equitable salaries and attractive benefits to attract, retain, and encourage nurse teachers.
The answer is not to bring in foreign nurses which threaten patient care, morale and our health care system.
Uhh, Sir,
You don't speak for me. Shame on you. You should be careful when say things "vast majority". I have posted on this before. I have worked with, trained with, struggled with, many foreign trained nurses and found them to be excellent, and I would have NO problems whatsoever with them taking care of me or my family. So please, sir, tell me, what exactly is the "culture of America"? I don't' think you have a clue as to what that is based on the xenophobic statements like those you are making here.
If you are of the attitude that a foreign born nurse will alienate the patients I can't help but wonder how far you go not to alienate your foreign born patients who might have a language barrier.
You guys keep saying things like higher money and higher wages, yet no one will state where that money will come from. I hear things like nurse educators (for nursing programs, not staff development) should be paid more. Those nurse educators don't work for hospitals, they work for teaching institutions. So the question is how does their pay compare to other instructors at those institutions (taking into account if the instructors are bachelor, masters, or doctorate prepared). As many have pointed out even if we could magically get every applicant into a nursing program then there would still be a bottleneck in finding clinical space for these students.
So again: Where will the money come from?! Please don't start with CEO wages and all of that. I don't like CEOs earning crazy amounts of money, but even if they worked for free how much money would that put back into the system?
alan headbloom
74 Posts
1989,
Oops, sorry. I mis-posted that comment. Another online member is becoming a citizen; I was congratulating her. I'll have to click and paste more carefully. (See post #20 above.)
Luckily for them, your immigrant ancestors were given a warm welcome by the natives.
Alan