Nursing shortage

Published

Specializes in hospice.

Right here in my brand new textbook, copyright 2015, chapter 1, page 9, "The United States continues to face a nursing shortage."

SMH

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Is the textbook written by a professor of a nursing school?

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Specializes in hospice.

Foundations and Adult Health Nursing, 7th edition, by:

Kim Cooper, RN, MSN, Dean of the School of Nursing at Ivy Tech CC in Terre Haute, IN

and

Kelly Gosnell, RN, MSN, Associate Professor at the same school

So, yes.

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Specializes in Critical Care.

A "nursing shortage" in terms of the number of nurses we need to adequately take care of patients and the number of nurses facilities actually want to hire are two different things. While there is a low job-vacancy-rate in nursing (there aren't a lot of job openings), that doesn't really have anything to do with whether or not we need more nurses (whether or not there is a nursing shortage).

As an example; a large portion of patients now on medical floors with 1:5 or higher ratios were on stepdown units or even the ICU only 15-20 years ago. Nothing has changed to make these patients less labor intensive, we just keep squeezing more workload into nurses' already overloaded workload. So if we take into account that while facilities aren't hiring, they should be to meet the needs of adequately caring for patients, then there is a nursing shortage.

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Specializes in psych, addictions, hospice, education.

Right now, where I live, hospitals are hiring lots of nurses.

It seems hiring goes in phases. First there won't be jobs anywhere, and then there are jobs everywhere. I've seen it happen for a long time.

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Specializes in Med/Surg, Ortho, ASC.

Seems odd to me that a textbook would even mention something that (a) is so time-sensitive, and (b) is so region/state-sensitive.

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Specializes in Acute Mental Health.

Your textbook is already outdated and I agree with roser13, odd that a text would print something that is so fluid....

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Specializes in Med/Surg, Ortho, ASC.
Your textbook is already outdated and I agree with roser13, odd that a text would print something that is so fluid....

FLUID! That's the word I was searching my elderly brain for!

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Specializes in Critical Care.
FLUID! That's the word I was searching my elderly brain for!

Job vacancy rates are fluid, the number of nurses needed to adequately care for patients on the other hand is fairly stable and consistent.

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Specializes in Acute Mental Health.

Ahhh the operative word being 'adequately'. With a decrease in budgets, we do so much more with less staff. My pt load has increased by at least 2 pts. That means one or two less nurses needed. I know it ebbs and flows, and right now its ebbing :)

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Specializes in psychiatric.
Seems odd to me that a textbook would even mention something that (a) is so time-sensitive, and (b) is so region/state-sensitive.

As I have found to my dismay, it doesn't matter if it's time sensitive or not. Each semester I am expected to purchase 2-5 new textbooks, especially in Grad school. I could easily use texts that I used in undergrad or my ADN program and have no problems learning the pertinent info. (I would exclude the 3 P's though).

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Specializes in Acute Mental Health.

I love the books you have to have that you only crack open 1 or 2x's. :(

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