Nurse Goes Wild!

During two separate hospital stays, I had two separate RN's break down in tears in my room because they were stretched too thin; forced to cover too many patients and supervise too many staff.

The nursing shortage is dire, and it's going to get a lot worse before it gets better.

Here, if a person wants to get into nursing school, there's a year and a half waiting list. Of course you can get your prerequisists out of the way, but obviously a lot of people are going to find something else rewarding as employment waiting that long.

There are not enough instructors, which one reason why the wait is so long. The average age of an RN, not sure in Texas or nationwide, is in their 50's I believe. This means soon a huge amount of people are going to be retiring soon, further cutting down on the number of instructors, and nurses in the community.

I've heard talk of certifying aides to administer meds, under the supervision of an RN. This is a really bad idea in my opinion, but, with the population aging, the system is going to be flooded with patients. Certified or not, a medication aide is not going to be able to access a patient.

Union/non union aside, there just aren't enough RN's out there.

Throwing money at the problem is going to have no immediate effect, it's going to take years.

I have no idea how we're going to cope, as clinical expertise in very technological aspects are increasing, demanding well trained people

Aside from the ranting nurse the hospital based upon the article was a pig sty. That is unacceptable, there is even in the cleanest and well kept hospital there is a chance of contacting an infection The conditions described just increases possibility.

Chai wrote:

The nursing shortage is dire, and it's going to get a lot worse before it gets better.

Here, if a person wants to get into nursing school, there's a year and a half waiting list. Of course you can get your prerequisists out of the way, but obviously a lot of people are going to find something else rewarding as employment waiting that long.

There are not enough instructors, which one reason why the wait is so long. The average age of an RN, not sure in Texas or nationwide, is in their 50's I believe. This means soon a huge amount of people are going to be retiring soon, further cutting down on the number of instructors, and nurses in the community.

I've heard talk of certifying aides to administer meds, under the supervision of an RN. This is a really bad idea in my opinion, but, with the population aging, the system is going to be flooded with patients. Certified or not, a medication aide is not going to be able to access a patient.

Union/non union aside, there just aren't enough RN's out there.

Throwing money at the problem is going to have no immediate effect, it's going to take years.

I have no idea how we're going to cope, as clinical expertise in very technological aspects are increasing, demanding well trained people

Big raises for oncology nurses in Boston:

Dana-Farber nurses approve lucrative new contract

April 19, 2007

BOSTON --Nurses at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute have approved a new contract that makes them the highest paid nurses in New England, and among the highest paid in the country, union officials say.


The three-year contract ratified on Tuesday after only about five weeks of negotiations gives the hospital's 225 nurses pay raises of between 9 percent and 23 percent, depending on seniority and area of specialty.

Under the contract, full-time nurses with 15 years of experience will make $67.78 an hour by 2009, which is about $141,000 per year.

"We are pleased to have reached an agreement that recognizes the value of registered nurses and the vital role we play in delivering first-rate care to the patients at Dana-Farber," said Kathleen McDermott, a Dana-Farber nurse and chair of union's bargaining unit.

Dana-Farber administrators also welcomed the new contract.

"We value our nurses, their skill, and the high quality of care they provide our patients and their families," said Patricia Reid Ponte, senior vice president for patient care services.

The new contract also preserves the union rights of charge nurses, who according to a National Labor Relations Board ruling, are supervisors and therefore ineligible for union membership.

Dana-Farber, which provides care to cancer patients and conducts cancer research, is in the midst of a $1 billion fundraising drive.

Boston Globe