Nurse shortage.....WHERE?????

redshiloh · Apr 18, 2003

Gee...move HERE. We have had situations in which there are NO applicants for a nursing position.

renerian, BSN, RN · Apr 18, 2003

Wow I have not heard that. We sure could use you in the states.

renerian

J. Tigana · Apr 18, 2003

There are plenty of nursing jobs in England. You could come and get one. By the way what are division one and two nurses.

OzNurse69 · Apr 19, 2003

Definitely not the same in the capital cities - I'd be interested to know which town you are in (PM me if you like). "Large" towns e.g. Ballarat, Bendigo etc. I would imagine would be more likely to use more casuals, whereas "large" towns along the Horsham, Traralgon would probably give their extra shifts to permanent part-time staff before using bank - just my observation, anyway.

But move to a capital city, & you'll get all the shifts you want, as long as you are flexible.

pickledpepperRN · Apr 19, 2003

Perhaps the better staffing keeps the nurses working in Victoria:

http://www.calnurse.org/cna/calnursesepoct01/austrn.html

The union movement "should be about more than just salary and benefits," says Belinda Morieson,

RN. She illustrates this principle by detailing how the nurses organization she heads went about

winning the first legally mandated nurse-to-patient staffing ratio anywhere.

That accomplishment, and its ramifications in improving the quality of patient care, have captured

the imagination of nurses across her native Australia and around the world, fueling their

determination to raise the issue of staffing ratios to a new level.

It has also served to underscore that working conditions are the most common cause of the

worldwide shortage of nurses working in hospitals and better staffing ratios the increasingly

accepted formula for ending the crisis.

Morieson is secretary - the leading position - of the Victoria

Branch of the Australian Nursing Association. Since

securing nurse-to-patient staffing ratios in that Australian

state last year, 2,600 nurses who had moved to work in

other settings have returned to the hospitals there. This has

meant an overall 13 percent increase in the active nursing

workforce.

This was due in part to reentry and refresher courses

conducted by the major hospitals and overseen by the board

of nursing. Over 1,600 of the returning nurses came through

the courses and last month there were 300 nurses waiting

for training slots.

RN from OZ · Apr 22, 2003

Wow move on over the the Central Coast in NSW ! we have no applicants for positions that we advertise in medical wards esp as well and a terrible midwife shortage...we are almsot at crisis point at my hosp and there is talk of closing Labour ward !

gwenith, BSN, RN · Apr 22, 2003

Move to QLD this sounds like a local phenomena. You should be able to register in other states - apply through your registration board. If you are worried apply for work through a nursing agency before you move.

Grace Oz · Apr 23, 2003

Must correct two INCORRECT statements in the article (link)posted by spacenurse.

Firstly, in Australia we DO NOT have LPN's! Apart from RN's, we have ENROLLED NURSES-(EN's), also called DIVISION TWO nurses in Victoria. It would have been polite for the author of that article to use the correct title for our other level nurses! There is a difference between the US LPN & our AUSTRALIAN EN.Both the training AND the resultant qualification are DIFFERENT. Yes, I see the two compared & equalised all the time, but they ARE DIFFERENT. An Australian EN would NOT qualify to work as an LPN in the USA.

Secondly; The article stated that;"Victoria is the 2nd largest state in Australia"... HELLO???!!!

If the author intends that statement to reflect NUMBERS (of nurses), then I'll stand corrected. If however, said author intends it to describe state size.... then I'd suggest said author takes some geography lessons!

Nuff said.

Cheers,

Grace

auzzie · May 3, 2003

I think the answer is obvious. MOVE.

There is definitely a shortage of both RNs and ENs in all major cities in Australia.

Beds have been closed and more will be because of our current shortage. It is unfortunate though that the answer means having to leave your current home but hey if you need work you need work.

sehbear · May 14, 2003

Re: spacenurse comments post #6

Belinda Morieson is my absolute hero!

I beleive that the nurse patients ratios, although will need to be continually reviewed, are certainly a fanastic concept. I beleive this has lead a number of staff back into the workforce into permanent positions therefore the need for casual staff is reduced. I think you will find that causal staff can only be used to fill sick leave and leave of unexpected absences as opposed to the days of old - well not that long ago really - when roster shortfalls are filled with casuals....

Spacenurse how do you know of the great Belinda all the way over there in the states? very interested to know.

:)

ozziern · May 22, 2003

There are small country towns just over the NSW/VIC border screaming for nurses. Wagga And Albury are also on the lookout. Your hospital is lucky to have a steady nursing workforce. Ihope the hierarchy appreciate it.