Is the nursing shortage our own fault? Are we making sure it stays a shortage? There is a shortage of nurses spanning the world. Contributing factors to the nursing shortage include “Steep population growth resulting in a growing need for health care services, a diminishing pipeline of new students in nursing, and an aging nursing workforce (paragraph 2).” These Factors are not likely to change. So why make this so difficult?
Colleges right now are making the nursing program impossible to gain acceptance from. At UCF, as an applicant to the bachelors in nursing program, you are competing against 700 students for 120 spots. That leaves around a one-in-six change of admission. Making the programs this difficult to get into makes no sense.
Should we be turning down students so easily for a career that it is in need? Nurses are becoming a rare but necessary commodity and, in my opinion, it is senseless to make the road to this career so steep. Impossible acceptance to nursing school counteracts the progression we make to lessen the shortage.
The satisfaction of being a nurse is declining. “Job dissatisfaction is on the rise due to increased workloads, longer hours and not having the resources to provide the highest quality care to patients (paragraph 12).” Our shortage is not only bad for our patients, its bad for our current nurses. My mother is a nurse. I am a certified nursing assistant. I have seen the effect my mothers job has on her. If one nurse misses work, she suffers and has to take a double load of work for the night.
UCF orientation for the nursing profession was shocking. The teacher spent the majority of his time trying to scare students out of this major. Is that supposed to help the shortage, or is that meant to increase it. Seeing the students scrambling to change their major was discouraging. The point of nursing school is to help lessen the already terrible shortage. “Countries around the world are facing critical nursing shortages. From North America to Africa and Europe, communities are challenged with growing health care needs and diminishing numbers of nurses (paragraph 1).” We cannot expect to help other countries if we restrict the learning potential of our city.
I took great interest in reading this blog. I am also a nursing major, and witnessed the challenge as I walked into the Classroom one building and stepped foot inside the orientation for "future" nurses. The professor basically discouraged all the students to quit and give up. That the process was not worth it, and that if you get a B in one of your classes kiss your major good bye (since you basically need a 4.0). Nurses are our health care system, they inform the doctors of the patient’s health and provide treatments that cure patients; they are also the backbone of the hospital. According to the AACN, “Compounding the problem is the fact that nursing colleges and universities across the country are struggling to expand enrollment levels to meet the rising demand for nursing care.” The nursing program should be difficult but not discouraging. Schools shouldn’t discourage students to quit the major but to succeed and prosper; we are the next generation of health care!
ReplyDeleteThis is really interesting. I never thought about the shortage like that. With the aging population today, there is a higher demand for nurses everywhere. I don't understand why it is so competitive to get accepted either. I agree with you. If there is such a shortage, why not open up the programs and let there be more nurses (for those who pass). It should be challenging and rigorous, because you will be working with people, but it shouldn't be super competitive to effect the demand of nurses nationwide even worldwide.
ReplyDeleteThe topic is really an eye opener because people do not realize how hard it is to get into the nursing program at UCF. It is important to ensure that our hospitals are equipped with the best nursing care possible to make sure our health is in good hands. However, I do find that it is unfair to expect all nurses to have a 4.0. The idea seems difficult and may discourage many people would might be very good at that job.
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