Yes , I cant help it, I have to admit it. After looking and seeing what is happening in the Nursing field, I have to say that this so called Nursing shortage is Man made. It is intentionally created. But for what reason? Of course money.
This nursing shortage has its benefits. Hospitals benefit by having one person do a job that two people at least should do. With a nursing shortage, nurses become in demand. And with demand there will be a high starting salary. Some nurses getting out of college with a 2 year degree can start making as much as 70k in nyc.
Now that benefits us in that we are getting a high salary, Yay. But it has its disadvantages. All nurses already know that disadvantage which is overworking. But another disadvantage is the patients dont get the needed care that they really need. Which would prevent so many complications, such as bed sores , med errors , death, etc.
Now why do i say this nursing shortage is man made? In a time of need, common sense will tell you to produce more. But It seems that that is not the intentions of the nursing world. Every minute the nursing world is finding ways to make it harder for someone to become a ENTRY LEVEL nurse.
Heres some examples.
1) Okay now the Nclex passing rate is raised. What was wrong with the last passing rate? Did people who passed with the last passing rate lack something? So now we need a new passing rate? But of course with a new passing rate, that will cut out some people from passing the boards. oy vey
2) Now in NYS , if you are in a RN program, you cannot sit to take the LPN test. And the reasons they gave of course was BS. More ways to reduce the Nursing rate.
3) Theres a "nursing shortage" , and the people heard the call, they came to help, But the more people come, the more harder they make it to get into a program, and the more harder they make it to graduate from a program. There is no difference between a 70 average and 75 average student. and a 74 average person is the same as a 75 average. Lets be real, You learn more in one year as a new nurse, than all the time spent in clinicals. And theres so many wonderful CE programs to build our knowledge base.
What is being done to fill this nursing shortage. Nothing really. The pay will be great for the ones that make it. But the work is going to get harder. And the risk will increase for the patients, who is suppose to be our number one concern.
But lets think realisticly if the nursing shortage would be solved in a few years from now, If the Nursing World would spit out nurses as the demand calls for. What would happen? If there is no demand then guess what goes down. The Money of course. Im not complaining , im just stating whats obvious. But then when u think about it, patient care is the most important thing. :)
Definately don't want to start the whole ADN vs. BSN argument on this thread but since you brought it up...... numerous reputable studies have proved the link between nurses educational level and pt outcomes. I'll probably get slammed for mentioning it but i'm really sick of ADN's criticizing BSN nurses on this board and wer're just supposed to take it but how dare we BSN nurses merely point out the obvious.
a friend of mine had taken several semesters twice and they flunked her for two points right before graduation. Was it harsh? Yes. Was she a great nurse? Yes. But she had high anxiety and had a lot of personal issues which led to her fluctuating grades on tests. Although I'm sorry she is not a nurse today, I think these standards are in place for a reason.
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I could not agree more about the standards being in place for a reason. In my nursing class however one of the highest test scores belonged to a student who froze at the bedside, I was constantly having to guide her on the simple things. I can only hope she got better over time.
As for anxiety, if you are already there going in you don't have much of a chance over the long haul in nursing. If you can't think of the answers with the pressure of a test, how will you think of the answers with the pressure of life and death in your hands? Do we wait for that to happen to you to find out? I say no, we need to identify them and weed them out in school.
AS for the nursing shortage it has been covered well on here,low pay low benefits equals low staff. I do see the writing on the wall however, I have 12-13 years left before retirement and there are a lot of us in this age group and we are staying to the end. Yes, we get paid more than others, but we are the ones holding wages back as well, because we do stay, on and on and on. The young nurses are the ones not staying in the field and or going out for the money they deserve pushing wages up.
Now for the RN vs BSN, I'll just say the best nurse I ever met bar none was a CNA. She would watch over the new grads like a mother hen. She prevented and resolved more problems on the unit than you would ever believe. She was great with the patients and families, knew were every IV on the floor was and how long it would be before it ran out of fluid. If there were any alarms going off she knew what it was and which patient it was with out ever looking at the monitor (she just knew her patients that well and was expecting it). With only a few years left before I retire I still hope I can be as good as she was. It has to do with HEART and DESIRE no matter what the letters you have after your name are.
Having higher pass rates while in nursing school helps ensure that those that take the NCLEX will be more likely to pass it. A good pass rate for a nursing school brings in students. Our RN nursing school has much higher NCLEX passing rates than the BSN program in the same town, that's one of the reasons I chose to go this route.
As far as not increasing the number of students allowed into nursing school, that's because there aren't enough instructors to teach them. Nursing instructors have to have their Master's or be working on it and the pay stinks. Generally a $10,000/ year pay cut when switching from hospital nursing to nursing instructor. Not everyone can do that. So until there is more funding for hiring and paying instructors, there won't be more entry slots into schools.
Plus foreign nurses are extremely happy to work in the US for our wages and who can blame them? I know a Filipino doctor who makes more here as a nurse than he did in the Philipines as a doctor. He's darn good too.
I wouldn't say that "nothing" is being done for the shortage. But we obviously are biting our profession in the butt in many ways and are responsible for the shortage. Also we have bean counters and profit-minded non-nursing folks nipping at our heels too.
Specializes in ED, ICU, MS/MT, PCU, CM, House Sup, Frontline mgr.
Also we have bean counters and profit-minded non-nursing folks nipping at our heels too.
Bean counters? Profit-minded people? Like me? Don't worry, this is why I'm getting RN behind my name. So I can be more empathetic and effective in the role of Executive Manager someday.
When I attended a Board of RNs meeting recently, I heard stories about nurses who accepted positions they weren't qualified for, ran people over with their cars, or were stealing drugs from their hospitals. I'm not sure having a BA degree would do much to solve those problems.
On the other hand, requiring a BSN for entry level MIGHT help solve these problems. Think about it.
I want to correct a couple of misconceptions on this thread so far.
1. Nursing did NOT lower its standards with the ADN program. At the time of its creation, BSN programs were rare and trained almost exclusively educators. Nursing was looking for a bridge that would bring bedside nurses to a college level prep and ADN provided that bridge. Anybody that argues that nursing would be better off with more education cannot say that the ADN program was a 'lowering of standards' BECAUSE it was the ADN program that led to college level standards for bedside nursing in the first place. The 'entry to practice' debate has its own forum here. But, I couldn't let pass the remark that nursing 'lowered its standards' with ADN. You should respect the contributions that got you to the point where we can consider where to go from here.
2. The new NCLEX standard isn't going to make it any harder to pass NCLEX. The new standard IS more difficult, but so is nursing and so is what students are being taught. The NCLEX CAT test has been tightened 4 times since 1993, and this will be the 5th time coming up. In fact, they have tightened the standards every 3 yrs since its inception in 1994. The result has been the same, and indeed, they are 'tightening' the standards with an eye to just this result: 87% first time passing rate. No more potential nurses are being 'weeded' as a result of NCLEX now than before. The pass rates are the same.
I want to correct a couple of misconceptions on this thread so far.
1. Nursing did NOT lower its standards with the ADN program. At the time of its creation, BSN programs were rare and trained almost exclusively educators. Nursing was looking for a bridge that would bring bedside nurses to a college level prep and ADN provided that bridge. Anybody that argues that nursing would be better off with more education cannot say that the ADN program was a 'lowering of standards' BECAUSE it was the ADN program that led to college level standards for bedside nursing in the first place. The 'entry to practice' debate has its own forum here. But, I couldn't let pass the remark that nursing 'lowered its standards' with ADN. You should respect the contributions that got you to the point where we can consider where to go from here.
2. The new NCLEX standard isn't going to make it any harder to pass NCLEX. The new standard IS more difficult, but so is nursing and so is what students are being taught. The NCLEX CAT test has been tightened 4 times since 1993, and this will be the 5th time coming up. In fact, they have tightened the standards every 3 yrs since its inception in 1994. The result has been the same, and indeed, they are 'tightening' the standards with an eye to just this result: 87% first time passing rate. No more potential nurses are being 'weeded' as a result of NCLEX now than before. The pass rates are the same.
~faith,
Timothy.
I never said that ADN programs lowered the standard. I mentioned that ADN programs were created to ease a shortage. I meant that the things the OP listed ("easier" NCLEX exam, lower grade expectations in school, ect) would lower the bar for the nursing profession in a time when nurses really need to be more knowledgeable than ever before. Thank you for the correction, but I hold no misconceptions on this subject.
Do BSN's think that nursing education is any easier for the ADN nurse? Yes, there are less useless prerequisite courses for the ADN. Yes, ADN's do not take Community Health Nursing, Statistics, or Research in Nursing. ADN's do take many exams, attend quite a few clinical rotations, are expected to hold their own with BSN level nurses, and are held to the EXACT same standard clinically as a BSN. I've never studied harder in my life than when I went to an ADN program. And I have a bachelor's degree in another area. My instructors were strict and concise...you knew your stuff or you failed out. Period. End of discussion. I don't appreciate being talked down to by a BSN, especially because our education is so similar. I precepted BSN new grads. I taught them quite a bit despite my little ADN title. I have never had a physician ask me, "Are you a BSN or an ADN?" Physicians do not care. In fact, nearly every patient I have come in contact with does NOT care. We are all in this together. I don't respect a BSN any more than I respect a diploma or associate degree nurse. I worked side by side with an MSN-prepared nurse in an ER. She was very good, but the physicians and other nurses didn't treat her any differently. Why should they? Her title is RN. Also comes the "two year RN" title. I love this one. Try 3.5 year RN...yes, with tons of prereqs and the actual school itself, I earned many more credit hours than just 60. Then let's discuss the "BSN's have a better patient safety record than the ADN" issue. This percentage, in ONE study, quoted a decrease in medication error and mortality rate of 10%. Really? In what area did this study take place? In what setting? How many ADN's and BSN's were involved in the study? What statistical methodology was used? How many patients with bad outcomes were studied? The point is, statistics can be dead wrong, have no true significance, and can be altered to support the researcher's hypothesis. Don't believe me? Read the book "How to Lie with Statistics". I was a manager with an ADN, but now I must have a BSN degree? Please. The BSN's working under me hated that fact and felt I did not belong in my role because my BSc was in something else. But I precepted most of the nurses working with me! Talk about absurd.
I don't hate BSN's. In fact, I applaud their decision to become BSN's. I just want them to realize experience is everything in this field. As well as continuing education. And I don't mean spending another $12,000 to $20,000 on a BSN. I mean actual continuing education courses on how to be a better bedside nurse (i.e. ventilator courses, PICC line courses, I.V. therapy courses, assessment courses, legal documenting courses, etc.)
By the way, my BSc degree is business related, with a heavy emphasis on managerial skills and finance. But I wouldn't make a good nurse manager, because my degree doesn't read "BSN". Anyone else see the absurdity of this?
The profession has already made several changes that make it "easier" to get a nursing degree. That is why the ADN was created, to ease a shortage. Nurses need to know more now than ever before due to technological advances and advances in medicine in general. I think it would be a huge mistake to ever lower the bar in nursing education by doing the things you suggest (lowering pass rates, standards, ect). This might create more nurses (assuming we have the instructors to educate them) but it would hurt our profession and our patients. The long term answer IMO is to RAISE the bar and expect nurses to be even more professional and knowledgeable. This will most likely attract more smart and ambitious individuals into our profession.
As for the man made aspect of the nursing shortage, this may be part of the problem but there are many contributing factors to the crisis which have been much discussed on this board.
S.N. Visit, BSN, RN
1,233 Posts
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