By Alvina Lopez According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, “employment of registered nurses is expected to grow by 22 percent from 2008 to 2018,” a figure that is largely at odds with the current number and capacity of nursing programs at traditional universities. A recent survey of 2010-2011 enrollment figures administered by the American Association of Colleges of Nursing found that “U.S. nursing schools turned away 67,563 qualified applicants from baccalaureate and graduate nursing programs in 2010 due to an insufficient number of faculty, clinical sites, classroom space, clinical preceptors, and budget constraints.” Interest in nursing today continues to grow among students, but traditional colleges are unable to accommodate…
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Let’s Hear About Success Stories
It’s graduation season and let’s take a moment to congratulate all the new nurses!!!! Good luck with your boards and your new careers. But for far too many new nurses, the age old story of graduating college and having difficulty finding a job is becoming a common thread. And yet we’re still saying there’s a shortage of nurses!!! But where are the jobs?? Unfortunately the downturn in the economy found many of us putting off retirement and even returning to work for financial stability. And as many of us know, especially many old timers like myself… hospital administrators cut nursing jobs first and expect the remaining staff to pick up…
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Shortage of Nurse Educators Continues to Keep Students out of Nursing schools
The nursing shortage affects us all. And the even bigger problem is the shoratge of nurse educators. In these lean economic times when so many are out of jobs, it seems even more cruel that over 48,000 qualified students were turned away from nursing programs in 2008-9. In just six years’ time there will be a need for over 580,000 new nurses, not to mention about 425,000 replacements. Read more….
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Senator Addresses Nursing Shortage
The National Nursing Reform and Patient Advocacy Act was introduced by U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) on May 13, 2009. This bill (S1031) is an amendment to the Public Health services Act and would address the nursing shortage which we all know is key to the success of any health care reform to be undertaken in this country. Read more… Contact your legislators to support this bill.
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From the NLN a Call to Your Representatives RE: Title VIII Funding
I’m forwarding along an email I received from the National League for Nursing. This is a very important issue to all nurses as educating new nurses is vital to reducing the shortage of nurses…. “Dear Colleague” Letter on Title VIII Funding Circulating in House — Signatures Needed by Tuesday, March 31, 2009 TO: ALL NURSES Representatives Lois Capps (D-CA) and Frank LoBiondo (R-NJ) are circulating a “Dear Colleague” letter seeking support of their fellow Representatives to fund Title VIII – Nursing Workforce Development Programs at the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) at a level of $215 million for FY 2010. They need to get as many of their House…