Heads up: NBC nightly news tonight

EmmaG, RN · Jul 6, 2007

:yelclap::yelclap::yelclap:

RN4NICU, LPN, LVN · Jul 6, 2007

DIDO!!!!
NO new information there!!!!!
How can the prevent the shortage of nurses?????
Well what about providing students with scholarships!!!

Yes, but there isn't really a shortage of students/applicants, is there? The bigger problem in the education area is that there are not enough seats in nursing programs due to a shortage of nursing instructors. Of course the biggest problem (therefore, the first one to be ignored by the media and administration) is RETENTION! It does very little to churn out multitudes of new grads if you can't get them to stay.

I didn't watch the newscast because I couldn't imagine they would have anything to say that we haven't heard before. It appears I didn't miss anything.

SharonH, RN · Jul 6, 2007

Actually that was one of the better media portrayals of nursing. They actually showed a nurse listening to heart sounds and nursing students learning complicated assessments as opposed to the usual view of nurses holding hands and talking about caring and holding hands and fluffing pillows and the other hippy-dippy heart stuff while the all-knowing physicians did all the important work.

And yes, I was disappointed that they chose to focus so much on the alleged cause of the shortage being the lack of nursing instructors although they did mention stress and the fact that the shortage is multifactorial. It wasn't an in-depth analysis for goodness sake, there's only so much they can do in 1 or 2 minutes. And for those who complain that they didn't show a nurse in the trenches well, just be glad they chose to interview nurses instead of a physician. I've seen that happen. And who said that just because the nurse is an executive or an educator that he or she does not know about the conditions on the floor? Where do you think most of them started?

Came back to add that they also made a point of linking the nursing shortage with poor health outcomes thus making the general public aware of why the shortage should be important to them.

MrsMommaRN · Jul 7, 2007

here is the link if anyone misses it. the statistics they shares were scary 1 in 7 new nurses quit due to the demands of the job:o

so what was the point of the story yes there still is a nursing shortage, yes each year qualified applicants are turned away, yes nurses do not want to teach beacause they can make more elsehwhere, so what is going to be done about it?

http://video.msn.com/v/us/msnbc.htm?f=00&g=db25009f-785a-4295-97c1-f104bde09c6f&p=hotvideo_m_edpicks&t=m5&rf=http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3032619/&fg=

llg, PhD, RN · Jul 7, 2007

It's not NBC News' job to solve the problem. There job is to report it to the masses of people who either aren't aware of it or never stop to think about it. Yes, they could have done a longer, more indepth analysis ... but that's not what happens on the Nightly News.

We need to be political about this. If we attack every media outlet that reports on the shortage because they don't say everything we want them to say ... media outlets will shy away from reporting about it. We need to make them feel good about reporting on nursing (not bad) so that they will report more.

Let's not be our own worst enemy (yet again) by attacking the people who are trying to help us. We can't expect them to say everything we want them to say all the time.

dekatn · Jul 7, 2007

It would be nice if they could do one of the dateline reports on nursing, they mentioned that 1 out of 7 nurses are quitting due to stress, people need to know what that stress is, it would be a great way to educate the public. One would think that the only reason there is a shortage is because there isn't enough educators, which I know is one reason, but that said, they need to know what goes on in the trenches, everybody can't work in management.

OB Night Nurse · Jul 7, 2007

What about getting out of my face all the time about "customer satisfaction" and let me do my damned job?

AMEN!

I wonder if you work for the same company I do???

:lol2:

Altra, BSN, RN · Jul 7, 2007

Thanks to mom2bear for the link - I missed the news this evening.

I thought the piece was pretty well done. As SharonH pointed out, it showed nurses assessing patients & utilizing advanced technology. It also included a quote from a nursing school dean that a shortage of nurses is directly tied to poor patient outcomes. These are important things for the public to see and hear.

ann945n, RN · Jul 7, 2007

While they didnt offer any answers to the shortage (which isnt their job to do) its good that they are reporting the real facts though obvious to us nurses is not to the general public. Perhaps more public awarness will spark some federal help if pressure is applied by the public more once they understand they are affected by this as well.

KR · Jul 7, 2007

DIDO!!!!
NO new information there!!!!!
How can the prevent the shortage of nurses?????
Well what about providing students with scholarships!!!

I have to respectfully disagree with your statement. The problem is not that would be nursing students are not able to finance their education, the problem is that there are not enough nursing professors to teach nursing. I feel the reason for this is because you can make more as a bedside nurse by far than by working as a nursing professor. But I won't even get on that soap box.

abundantjoy07, RN · Jul 7, 2007

There has got to be a point in every nurses career where they take the time to reflect on the profession of nursing and see how they can contribute to the future of nursing.

Nursing instructors aren't just going to just pop out of the woodwork. The instructors are you guys that have been nursing for decades and have acquired a great deal of knowledge.

Therefore, I propose that to help the profession as a whole either:

A. Keep working and providing the safe and effective care that is valued.

B. Be an advocate to your peers and encourage them to become an educator, stressing the importance of giving a renewed hope to the field of nursing.

OR better yet...

B. Quit complaining and teach! Give life to the new students and to those that want to get in school, but can't. If you serve as a teacher there will be more students serving as RNs and LVNs in the future. Not only is that beneficial to the patients, but also to nurses themselves! All of this "trench" work doesn't have to exist...but without new nurses filling in gaps of a strained work environment nothing is going to be accomplished.

The report was well done. The technical skill of nurses was presented, and the story was timely. They do these stories about once a year anyway. But if a nurse were to go on camera complaining, the shortage would be even greater by the end of the day!

The bottom line that was presented was the lack of instructors. No instructors means no new nurses and no new nurses means a greater shortage in the future.

It's time to put the money argument aside and give back to the field that has given so much to you.

ann945n, RN · Jul 7, 2007

There has got to be a point in every nurses career where they take the time to reflect on the profession of nursing and see how they can contribute to the future of nursing.
Nursing instructors aren't just going to just pop out of the woodwork. The instructors are you guys that have been nursing for decades and have acquired a great deal of knowledge.
Therefore, I propose that to help the profession as a whole either:
A. Keep working and providing the safe and effective care that is valued.
B. Be an advocate to your peers and encourage them to become an educator, stressing the importance of giving a renewed hope to the field of nursing.
OR better yet...
B. Quit complaining and teach! Give life to the new students and to those that want to get in school, but can't. If you serve as a teacher there will be more students serving as RNs and LVNs in the future. Not only is that beneficial to the patients, but also to nurses themselves! All of this "trench" work doesn't have to exist...but without new nurses filling in gaps of a strained work environment nothing is going to be accomplished.
The report was well done. The technical skill of nurses was presented, and the story was timely. They do these stories about once a year anyway. But if a nurse were to go on camera complaining, the shortage would be even greater by the end of the day!
The bottom line that was presented was the lack of instructors. No instructors means no new nurses and no new nurses means a greater shortage in the future.
It's time to put the money argument aside and give back to the field that has given so much to you.

This sounds like a nice idea, giving back, but you can't ask people to take a job for half the pay when we have house and car and student loans bills to pay off. One must be responsible for ones own self first.