Here's how stupid the nursing situation is getting here in TX...

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Anyone who has read my recent posts knows that I am very frustrated with the lack of jobs, due to the SURPLUS of nurses in the panhandle.

Well get this... I got a card in the mail from a local university informing me that the school just received a 2 million dollar grant from The Dept of Labor as part of Bush's Nurse Reinvestment Act.

I attended the college's informational seminar about the grant program

The grant will pay all tuition, books, fees, and childcare for 20 diploma or ADN RNs to get a Masters in Nursing Education.

Each of the 20 students also gets a free laptop computer AND a $60,000. stipend to be dispersed over the course of the 3 yr program.

Each student must sign an agreement stating they will pursue employment as a nursing educator in the State of Texas for 3 years after graduating.

The college plans to expand their nursing program to accept more students and kick out more new grads. The college expects to hire 4 or 5 of the grads to be instructors in their expanded program. The Nursing program director said that nurses who graduate from the program may be required to leave the area to become nurse educators in other parts of Texas, as they do not anticipate that there will be enough educator jobs for all the grads.

Several hundred nurses attended the seminar. The talk among the nurses was about how there are already no jobs in the area, due to too many nurses, now the college is going to expand so there will be even more nurses here, when there are already too many.

Several nurses were saying how they had been trying to get in to the local hospitals, but could not get hired. One said to me "Since I can't get a job here, I've become a traveler. Have you ever considered traveling?"

I had to laugh when I told her that I also became a traveler, because I couldn't get a job here.

Other nurses spoke about how they had to commute 100 or more miles to other towns to work, since there are no jobs here.

Part of the application requirements for the grants require that applicants submit 2 letters from supervisors. Several nurses spoke up saying "I'm not employed; I can't find a job. Can I submit a letter from a former supervisor?"

Others who did have jobs were talking about how they were only getting 20-30 hrs of work a week, as all the local hospitals and nursing homes have too many nurses on staff.

So, this is how our government is is using our tax dollars to address the nursing "shortage."

Only 16 colleges/universities in the nation will get grants in this program. And they picked the nurse-overloaded panhandle as one of the 16 locations?

2 million of our tax dollars are going to be used to expand nursing programs and create more nursing instructors and new grads in an area that is saturated with nurses.

Good goin' Bush!

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Specializes in Critical Care, Pediatrics, Geriatrics.

do you have a list or a link that would provide info on which Uni's are getting this program. I live in MS/TN/AR tristate area and we do have a shortage and plenty of hospitals to work at and universities that could use this program

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No I don't sorry. You might find info pn it if you look at The Dept of Labor website.

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How do you generally see the glass, half empty or half full?

Many will see this as an opportunity to fill the need nationwide for nurse educators.

I wish you the all the best in life.

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Specializes in PeriOp, ICU, PICU, NICU.
do you have a list or a link that would provide info on which Uni's are getting this program. I live in MS/TN/AR tristate area and we do have a shortage and plenty of hospitals to work at and universities that could use this program

I did a search on the net and only found 2002 dated articles. If you find a link please post it. Thanks :)

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wow....wish someone would offer to pay for me to get my Masters...I am working full time, struggling to get an employer to work with my school schedule and struggling to pay my way through school, support a family and make ends meet all at the same time. And did I mention doing this with all the projects, papers, reading, etc required in a Masters program? And dealing with a teenage and a preteen daughter? I would go for it if it were available to me!!!

If it were me, I would go for it in a heartbeat. But everyone's situation is different.

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I really don't think they are wrong for asking the MSN's who benefit from this grant to move if they can't find work.

There are many, many, many nursing programs nationwide that NEED to expand and can't find nurse educators to fill faculty spots.

Maybe Texas should make a deal with California or those other states that need educators so when all these new educators graduate they can work for those three years in a state of there choosing experiencing a nurse educator shortage.

Another idea would be to give a few grant dollars to all those new ADN's in those programs expanded because of the new MSN's. Perhaps requiring all the new ADN's that benefit from the grant to move to an shortage area if they can't find full-time work within 9 months to a year. Barring illnes or emergency of course.

That might help reduce the surplus in the Texas panhandle.

I think if we give qualified nurses the incentive to move and assure them of proper pay and benefits when they do, many, even those with families, would go.

A paid for MSN? I'd go.

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Specializes in Med-Surg.

That sounds like a sweet deal.

But it would be common sense to go to schools in areas where there are shortages of nurses and long waiting lists of students. Duh..

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When I Went To School We Started With 55 And Graduated 11. They Need To Screen Canidates Well Or The Tax Payers Will Be The Losers.

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Specializes in Geriatrics, Cardiac, ICU.
That sounds like a sweet deal.

But it would be common sense to go to schools in areas where there are shortages of nurses and long waiting lists of students. Duh..

Since when do we expect THEM to do things that make sense?

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Since when do we expect THEM to do things that make sense?

Yep, this is the gub'ment we are talking about. :rotfl:

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Specializes in Case Mgmt; Mat/Child, Critical Care.

I would love a deal like that, pay me to get my Master's....? Especially since I have been looking into Masters Programs now, and they ain't cheap! In the long run, it's all to your benefit.

I wonder where one could find out info on the, what is it...? Bush "re-investment in nursing" program?

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