nursing shortage? nursing schools full?

SmilingBluEyes · Feb 22, 2005

There is a shortage of instructors/professors, hence a shortage of slots. It's hard to lure anyone with a Master's degree or PhD when the pay is so low and work so very hard, frankly. In some cases, a staff nurse with an ADN can make more money than these folks do.

TheCommuter, BSN, RN · Feb 22, 2005

Most states will only allow a certain number of people into nursing programs per quarter, semester, or level. I attend a school in California that only allows 24 students per level due to state mandates. This is to maintain the high level of education. Imagine how much you'd learn if forty students were in your class. When getting clinical practice at an actual hospital, the instructor wouldn't even be able to get to you if he/she had many other students to instruct. In addition, nursing training is the most expensive major that colleges deal with. Schools minimize their costs by only training a limited number of students per year.

llg, PhD, RN · Feb 22, 2005

In addition to what the people said above ...

In many communities, there is also a shortage of suitable clinical experiences for nursing students -- particularly in specialty areas such as pediatrics and obstetrics. A hospital unit can only handle so many students at a time.

llg

WSU_Ally_RN, BSN, RN · Feb 22, 2005

Ditto to what everyone else has said... not enough teachers to teach everyone that wants to be a nursing student. I attend Wright State which is in Dayton, and we don't really have a long 'waiting list' per say. You have to have all of the pre req's done and then apply. They take applications from those with over a 2.5 GPA, but I have heard that to get in now, you basically have to have a GPA of about a 3.3 or higher to even be considered, due to the amount of apps recieved. I know Sinclair has a program too, but there is a huge waiting list there. Either school, you'll probably get into the actual nursing program at the same time, by the time you finish all the pre rec's for WSU or by the time your name comes up on the wating list at Sinclair.

I forgot, Good Sam Hospital just opened up a nursing school in conjunction with WSU and Sinclair, but I'm not real sure if there's a waiting list or how it works.... another option you could check out.

KrisRNwannabe · Feb 22, 2005

I know in michigan there is a major instructor shortage. plus the state is reluctant to add additional seats to all school. the school I attend has a 63% pass rate in the RN program. the state doesn't really want to give additional seats to a program that can't get their students to pass. at one school in the area, the waitlist was over 800.

Speculating · Feb 22, 2005

I was just wondering if their is such a nursing shortage than why can't everyone who wants to be a nurse get into a nursing school right away? Is their a nursing teacher shortage or what? A lot of people want to be nurses, but so many of them are having a hard time getting into a nursing program. Does anyone know of any nursing schools around the Southwestern Ohio area that are pretty easy to get into or don't have very long waiting list? Thanks!

All right people we are professions here. I don't want to sound as if I'm minimizing anyone. Although it's very difficult at times to be short handed, if we don't keep a slow quota on grads coming into the market then you realize your paycheck is going to get cut in half. Flooding the market with RN's will help everyone the most with the exception of the RN whose paycheck will be more in the $16-17 dollar range as opposed to the $28.00 and up area. Supply and demand yep, Supply and Demand. :uhoh3:

HappyNurse2005, RN · Feb 22, 2005

AT my school, there are approx 300-400 applicants for 80 or so spots. (Numbers not exact, its changed since when I started 2 years ago). THere are a ton of ppl who want to do it, but you nailed it-not enough instructors. Especially clinical instructors. Here, there cannot be more than 10 students on the floor with a clinical instructor at one time. It's hard to find clinical instructors to hire who are good and who stay for the low amount of pay. Plus, school lab space. Your school has to have a big enough lab, enough lab instructors and enough time to fit in labs for all the students. Again, any more htan 10 students in one lab and it gets a bit cramped. Clinical space an issue, too, we have a ton of specialties around here, but not only do we have RN programs, but the school's LPN program and the other 2 fairly local nursing schools too, their RN students need a clinical home.

bobnurse · Feb 22, 2005

All right people we are professions here. I don't want to sound as if I'm minimizing anyone. Although it's very difficult at times to be short handed, if we don't keep a slow quota on grads coming into the market then you realize your paycheck is going to get cut in half. Flooding the market with RN's will help everyone the most with the exception of the RN whose paycheck will be more in the $16-17 dollar range as opposed to the $28.00 and up area. Supply and demand yep, Supply and Demand.

Good point

dazzle256 · Feb 22, 2005

I was just wondering if their is such a nursing shortage than why can't everyone who wants to be a nurse get into a nursing school right away? Is their a nursing teacher shortage or what? A lot of people want to be nurses, but so many of them are having a hard time getting into a nursing program. Does anyone know of any nursing schools around the Southwestern Ohio area that are pretty easy to get into or don't have very long waiting list? Thanks!

I really don't think that making more nursing school slots open will solve the problem. Its keeping people in the profession that needs to be addressed not making more.

kirbi · Feb 22, 2005

Due to the community need here in our county, the community college ADN program did just that and accepted an additional 20 students this semester, making our class size 80. They hired extra staff and the local hospitals said bring 'em on in and made room for us at clinicals. Plus our local state university BSN program is only 4 years old, getting ready to graduate it's first crop this year.

kirbi

Nursetob2005 · Feb 23, 2005

This appeared in our newspaper the other day. I am currently in my 3rd semester of clinicals and waited a good year to get into the program itself. Here in DE, it is now rumored that is taking anywhere from 1-2 1/2 yrs to get in (that's second hand info)

http://www.delawareonline.com/newsjournal/local/2005/02/18nursingstudents.html