I'm Confused???

[PICNICRN, BSN, RN]

I've been reading, as many of us are, about the new stimulus bill and all of the millions of dollars set aside for nursing education to combat the "nursing shortage".

I've also been reading the multiple threads of nurses concerned about nurses loosing their jobs to layoffs, hospitals closing, units closing, positions being eliminated, mandatory pay cuts, ect.

Seems to me in my area of the country.... the shortage is just not there. So........ where is all of the money gonna go??

[truern]

I'm not convinced there is a nursing shortage *at this time*. Maybe we need to send a link to allnurses to Pres Obama...seems like he's getting OLD and OUTDATED intelligence.

[SharonH, RN]

I've been reading, as many of us are, about the new stimulus bill and all of the millions of dollars set aside for nursing education to combat the "nursing shortage".

I've also been reading the multiple threads of nurses concerned about nurses loosing their jobs to layoffs, hospitals closing, units closing, positions being eliminated, mandatory pay cuts, ect.

Seems to me in my area of the country.... the shortage is just not there. So........ where is all of the money gonna go??

The answer to your question is discussed in a thread here:

https://allnurses.com/nursing-news/american-recovery-reinvestment-372032.html

[in November 2008, AACN’s Board of Directors approved the organization’s request to expand AACN’s efforts to secure funding for nursing education in the stimulus package. In this difficult economic time for schools of nursing, the Board recognized this unique opportunity to act now and alleviate current funding concerns for nursing education and increase appropriations for the Nursing Workforce Development programs in fiscal years 2009 and 2010. Reacting to AACN’s call to action, nursing deans, faculty, and students rallied behind the stimulus legislation and sent more than a 1,000 messages through AACN’s online advocacy tool to Congress explaining the importance of supporting nursing education and funding for the Title VIII programs.

As you can see, our colleagues advocated for the money.

I don't know what area of the country you are in but I would be surprised to learn that this country suddenly had more than enough nurses. A few anedoctal messages about some individuals' experience does not indicate that the nursing shortage is over and the Obama administration was absolutely right to address the issues of nursing education which the nursing profession has been bellyaching about for years and years. Furthermore, it makes sense to be proactive and educate professionals not just for now but for the future.

[PICNICRN, BSN, RN]

Yes, I read this article, that is what sparked my question. I IN NO WAY want to turn this into a political discussion- I am just asking with all of the layoffs, downsizing, and closing of hospitals- where these students are going to find the jobs they are looking for.