Nursing Shortage

Open normal relations with Cuba and steal (attract) theirs...

I know what attracts me to nurses.

I doubt you want to know that though.

It's the comfortable shoes, isn't it?

Sensible shoes!
Nurses have sensible shoes and heads to match.

The Dreaded Batter Pudding Hurler (Of Bexhill-On-Sea)
Series 5, Episode 3

Moriarty:
Pardon me, my friend.

Seagoon:
I turned to see the speaker. He was a tall man wearing sensible feet, and a head to match. He was dressed in the full white outfit of a Savoy chef. Around his waist were tied several thousand cooking instruments. And behind him he pulled a portable gas stove from which issued forth the smell of batter pudding.

The goon show

Dadpad, we need a Goon Show thread!!!

Re the nursing shortage, I feel it first hand every day.

What is frustrating to me is the fact that, on top of their being a shortage of RN's, hospitals and the gov't keep making it harder and harder to stretch the nurses that already exist.

For instance, we are hearing that one hospital system with do a lot of business via our acute dialysis program is going to require that a registered nurse only do the dialysis treatments for patients. Currently, we can also use LVN/LPN's for this.

Bringing in nurses from other countries involve sponsoring them, and supplying huge cash incentives. Which, on one hand is understandable, but on the other, it still effects the bottom line. Not to sound mercenary, but if the entity employing the nurse has to pay more, they have to bill more, the patients end up paying more....and complain.

I'm going to be honest here, some nurses I know don't have the sense of a goose, and some of the things they say or do when off the job makes me think I'd never want them near me if I was sick or injured.

I know, I'm not offering any solutions really, but sometimes I don't think the general public knows what companies are up against in hiring people.

Pay them more? OK, now I'm gonna vent a little....in the 20 odd years I have worked in a medical environment (not the clinical end) I have heard so many nurses bemoan the fact they are paid so little, how they can't make ends meet, etc. etc.....the public hears this, and I think some still have the impression an RN is a glorified bedpan cleaner that earns little.

Next Sunday, look in the paper and see what some of the hourly salaries and sign on bonuses for nurses are.

In the market I'm in, RN's earn between 27 and 35 bucks an hour, plus overtime, which obviously they are getting. Plus, sign on bonuses of $5,000 to $15,000. They are hardly in the poorhouse.

Problem is, many times a nurse making 27.50 an hour will jump ship to go to another company paying 28.50.....

Sure, many nurses go into the profession because of the nursing, healing, patient care etc. But, there are no end of patients and need, and they figure they might as well be earning 30 bucks an hour doing patient care, instead of 29. So, what's the answer? Throw more money at them? Nurses already get full benefits packages, education reimbursement, they get their moving expenses reimbursed if your hire them, etc etc etc.

Anyway you slice it, in the world today, there are only x amount of RNs available, and it's going to be a tough situation for quite some time. A whole bunch of nurses are at the age right now where they are getting ready to retire.

I believe recruitment has to start as early as grade school.