7.5% Male; 4 % Fem new nurses dropped out of nursing within four years of graduation

[NRSKarenRN, BSN, RN]

forwarded by psna listserve.

joanne laviglio from the associated press would like to interview a male, registered nurse working in a hospital setting today regarding the just released university of penn study.

the research, which analyzes data from the national sample survey of registered nurses collected by the division of nursing in the u.s. department of health and human services in 1992, 1996 and 2000, was conducted by psna member julie sochalski, phd, rn. the research found that 7.5 percent of new male nurses dropped out of nursing within four years of graduating from nursing school, compared to 4 percent of women and that the drop out rate for both male and female new graduates is accelerating, rising from 2 percent of men in 1992 to 7.5 percent in 2000; and 2.7 percent of women in 1992 to 4.1 percent in 2000. with the discovery that newly-minted nurses are leaving the profession at far faster rates than their predecessors, the study suggests that the current shortage of nurses may reach crisis proportions sooner than anticipated. information regarding the study was released in the most recent issue of health affairs, an influential healthcare policy journal.

if you would like to speak with joanne, please contact her at 215-561-1133 or if you know of someone who fits the profile for this media interview please pass this information a long asap!

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now your chance to speak up!

don't have access to full report. here is abstract.

trends: nursing shortage redux: turning the corner on an enduring problem by julie sochalski

http://130.94.25.113/1130_abstract_c.php?id=http://130.94.25.113/library/v21n5/s20.pdf

projections of a substantial nursing workforce imbalance in the coming decade have galvanized policymakers, providers, private foundations, nurses, and others to proffer aggressive and sustainable strategies to ameliorate the looming shortage. the solutions are largely ones that seek to increase supply. analysis of the 1992-2000 national sample surveys of registered nurses shows that increasing losses from the active workforce, stagnant wages, and low levels of job satisfaction pose major impediments to bolstering supply. strategies focused on working conditions and retention should occupy a central position in any nursing workforce revitalization plan.

karen

re

with the discovery that newly-minted nurses are leaving the profession at far faster rates than their predecessors, the study suggests that the current shortage of nurses may reach crisis proportions sooner than anticipated.

guess they haven't been visiting this bb,,,,we discused this last year here. our ancidotal evidence is now an offical report!!!

[thegame]

Ah Ha, Does this sound fimiliar. You know one of my reasons. It seems strange how nurses leave the profession. Espically young nurses.

One would not see other professionls jumping ship such as, lawers, accountants, engineers, etc, etc.

There is something wrong here and is not helping the profession of Nursing it self.

Thegame

[oramar]

They might find a few nurses who happen to be male that will say that they are being discriminated against because of their maleness and that is why they are leaving. Truth is that most of them leave because they don't like being treated like drudges and lackys. This is the same reason female nurses leave the profession. Where is nursedude when you need him, he could say a few things to the reporters I am sure.

[sjoe]

The AP better hurry up or there won't be any left to interview.

Now I guess the next step to is to set up committees and study groups to assess whether nurses are really dissatisfied or not, whether male nurses are more or less dissatisfied than women nurses, whether 2 + 2 = 4, etc.

[nell]

Here's a statement by Ms. Sochalski:

http://www.senate.gov/~labor/Sochalski.pdf

I particularly liked the last few pages. We should all print a copy f this statement and see that it lands on the desk of our CEOs and DONs.

Here's a Boston Globe article:

http://www.boston.com/dailynews/249/economy/Study_says_male_nurses_leaving:.shtml

P.S. This is the last day of work for our only regular-staff male nurse (we still have one per-diem). He has gone into informatics and has secured a job in that field.....

[oramar]

Did anyone else notice that the article mentions that the dropout rate is shooting up for nursing students? I think that is interesting.

[nell]

oramar,

I heard an interview with Julie Sochalski on the radio today and that was the point she wanted to make - that newer nurses are leaving at an unprecedented pace. It sounded like the Male Nurse angle was highlighted by the press, not her.

She kept trying to bring up the fact that young nurses are bailing out in droves and older ones are very dissatisfied. The interviewer kept harping on the male thing.

[thegame]

I spoke abuot this last week. Only12% of nurses out there are under the age of 30. You think the nursing shortage is bad now, wait another 10 years. Our normal class size our junior year is normally 35, we started out only with 27. When we graduated, we only had 19 of the orgional crew. We picked a few up along the way frome the previoius year who got rolled back or RN to BSN.

Here is a few recomendations from me to make nursing more appealing. Espically for males.

1. Change the name of nursing to something else. Some hospitals use the Clinician levels such as I or II insteasd of using the word nurse. For some guy this is not to macho. Espically when most male nurses are reguraded or thought of as gay. I catch a load of crap from my buddies all the time.

2. Require all new graduates to be BSN graduates. Get rid of the AD program. Other professions require an higher educatinoal level to increase there pay. Allmost all Physical Therapis programs are Masters programs, allmost all pharmcy degress are PhamD and Physican Assistants are going to Masters level programs. Most doctors think all nurses are 2 year degree holders and this is nothing compared to thier 8 years of schooling.

3. Develop an intern program for new nurses or all new graduates that are 18 months long and cover most crtiical fields of nursing.

4. Allow nurses to pass a certification to pass Class I drugs so we do not have to call the Doc at 0300 for tylenol and getting a mouth full of ther crap.

This is just a few of the changes that I leave out there to ponder. Please let me know what you think??

If the current conditions do not improve the profession will never attract new nurses becuase it is a looked down uppon.

[Cindy_A]

I like those ideas!!!!

[live4today, RN]

NRSKarenRN......I saw something to the effect of that article on the news yesterday. What I heard was more males drop out of nursing quicker than the females, and that new grads leave almost as fast.....leaving us "well seasoned nurses" to do the work. :chuckle So.....I guess there is a lot of truth to the fact that nursing is undergoing a major transition due to all the crapola nurses must contend with today. I don't blame them for leaving, however.....leaving will not solve the problem....only compound the problem.

Nurses are many in number, but few in strength for the simple fact that we tend to run rather than continue fighting for improvement in our career field. NOTHING comes easy.....absolutely NOTHING!!!

IMHPO......young people today do NOT have good solid work ethics like generations before them. Who allowed them to become so lapse? The baby boomers who went off on their own to pursue their own careers and place in society WITHOUT taking care to pass on strong work ethics to their younguns.

And let me say in advance.......many may argue or disagree with my HPO here.....and I just want you to know.....I'M OKAY WITH THAT.....and I STILL LOVE YA! :kiss

[Cascadians]

The endless "gauntlet" is not worth it.

The pay is in no way commensurate with the responsibility.

Men are not interested in putting up with all the crap.

It can be degrading and exhausting.

The 2 of us have been caregivers for 30 years now.

The female of the pair will be going further into nursing etc, but will take new degrees a ways away from the bedside.

The male is directing his energy into prolific inventions.

Long-term plans feature a shift toward book-writing, inventions, and gradual lessening of full-time caregiving work.

So here's another male who, in the last month, has decided to gradually opt out of the nursing scene.

Should the suits ever focus on patient health again, many in nursing might take another look. But the way things are going now ...

NOT WORTH IT.

[fergus51]

Originally posted by cheerfuldoer

IMHPO......young people today do NOT have good solid work ethics like generations before them. .

I hate it when people think this is the reason nurses are leaving the profession more than they did in previous decades. I tend to think it has more to do with acuity! A new grad even 10 years ago did not have to care for patients who were as sick as new grads do today. (Basically, nursing was often easier in certain areas because acuity and patient loads were much better, at least in my hospital). Nurses today have more responsibilty than ever before, but no increased autonomy or respect.