The paradox in nursing

[zoprack]

Hello all,

I am trying to understand... we keep talking about nurse shortage, but yet, admission to nursing school is still pretty selective, so a lot of people are being cut out from going in.

I understand the standards cannot be loosened because the profession is about taking care of people's lives and there no room for mistake, but it seems that not much is done to deal with that shortage, or maybe I am not aware of what is being done regarding that.

just wondering...

[Nutmeg5575]

There aren't enough nurses that teach. To not sacrifice teacher student ratio for learning reasons they can only accept so many students per teacher. I am waiting to see if I can go to school in spring b/c they have to hire new nursing instructors. To be a nurse educator in most areas you have to have an msn some only require bsn and some even require a doctorate. It all depends on the setting.

[caroladybelle, BSN, RN]

I suggest that you please review the many threads on this topic on the website. As a relatively new poster, they may be of value to you.

Even if one were to "loosen" standards, it would not change the fact that nursing schools are seriously understaffed. It would merely increase competition by adding more applicants to the oversupply.

Ethically, it is not appropriate to "loosen" the standards. Even well prepared BSNs from excellent programs have difficulty adjusting to the reality shock of what nursing is actually like, and take a few years to truly become seasoned nurses. Standards are even stricter for Associate programs, as there is much more to learn in less time.

Nursing school is not like Physics or Accounting or English. It requires a great deal of "Hands On" teaching, requires close attention from a motivated instructor, and there can be lifethreatening consequences if the student "screws up"...something that is not true in the Accounting classroom. There are limits to students per instructor, limits to numbers of students that can fit in the lab, limits to number of dissecting cadavers, etc. Nursing classes are also very expensive for schools because of the teaching equipment that must be used. You cannot merely add a few chairs, a blackboard, and a few books to increase class size. And as Nursing schools do not get the grants and bennies from pharm reps, med. foundations, etc. that medical schools do, they are at a disadvantage. They also cannot charge as much, though they require much the same equipment.

There is also a liability issue. Liability has to be covered, therefore, you want only the best and the brightest. We are talking about life and death, not pass or fail.

In any given school, there are substantially more students exceeding the strict standards set for nursing school admission, than there are positions in Nursing school. As such, there is no good reason to change those standards.