An interesting outcome of the current economic recession is the temporary alleviation of our nationwide nursing shortage. For much of the past decade the nursing shortage has increased to the point where hospitals have offered extra incentives to attract nursing staff. In some regions nurses can make as much as physicians. But now, some are delaying retirement due to economic concerns and are temporarily bolstering the number of available nurses. It is likely, however, that once the economy rebounds, the nursing shortage will once again become apparent, perhaps even worsen.
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Tags: economy, nurses, nursing shortage, recession
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Dr. Steven Chang, the author of DailyDose, is a staff physician with Kosmix RightHealth. Dr. Chang practices Family Medicine at the University of California Davis Medical Center, where his medical interests include both pediatric and geriatric care, public health, gay and lesbian health, and sleep medicine. Dr. Chang trained at the Stanford University affiliated O'Connor Hospital, and was a research fellow at the National Institute of Health. He holds an M.D. from McGill University and a BA in Public Health from Johns Hopkins University.
April 9th, 2009 at 5:53 am
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April 9th, 2009 at 8:15 am
I fear you are right about the attraction for nursing careers now. It is a scary thought that the profession will be flooded by people who only seek to be a nurse because they have no other choice.
To be a GOOD nurse takes a special kind of person with a special type of temperment, not someone who’s there because they have to be. I have been nursing for about six years now, admittedly not a long time, but I did it not out of necessity, but because I love meeting new people and helping to make them feel better. I have seen new nurses who do not have the personality to care for patient. It is the patient who will suffer.