- Meet nursing shortage demand and fill vacant staff positions
- Increase funding to nursing program to expand faculty, staff, and facilities
- Accommodate the increase in nursing students of levels including bachelor, doctoral, etc.
- Increase student loan access and availability
- Students
- Teachers
- Nurses
- Hospitals
- Health care facilities
- Educational Institutes
- Patients
Potential Impact for Nurses:
- Decrease staffing strain and better job satisfaction
- More accessible education
- Increased experience of nurses as pursue further education
- Better staff/patient ratio resulting in better relationship
Potential Impact for Patients:
- Better care and outcomes
- Increased quality of care
Potential Impact for Health Care System:
- Ultimately decreased costs due to better patient outcomes
- Increased standards
Scholarly Evidence:
- Reports in September of 2004, project that the shortage of nursing is continuing to progress, and that in fact the number of RN's leaving their positions will actually outpace those entering. The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) provides evidence in the study, What is Behind HRSA's Projected Supply, Demand, and Shortages of Registered Nurses?,available online at: ftp://ftp.hrsa.gov/bhpr/workforce/behindshortage.pdf.
- The National League for Nursing (NLN) released a preliminary report on December 9, 2005 which estimated that schools of nursing with entry-level baccalaureate, associate, and diploma programs were forced to reject more than 147,000 qualified applicants for 2005. This was an 18 percent increase over the previous year's figures. www.nln.org
- American Journal of Nursing in July 2008 printed an article entitled, Many Experienced Nurses Plan to Leave the Profession, that supports the fact that nurses leaving their practice will contribute to the nursing shortage and the conditions that perpetuate it http://ovidsp.tx.ovid.com/spb/ovidweb.cgi?QS2=434f4e1a73d37e8c801e28bf12495710f9ff724170747ec89f1c9c473ab06f8eab6bed75c53472ac28775f4fe25b850def47a2489a7bf625cfd3045637a8300cd07f0e552e75fe0ce9b913a46c2a82e8c4471bdaff08cad97400f044678fac503f14b8d8a0a56d27edb243a041b0db049168618349e8763ec4e73ad2a79293f02240190b4c364f40d34f55ed53103f80e96124f159b687b5421c37a10cf5f60d2b7a732464bc02ab46466c396993b5812f23a2afe18b7490f1727c92551ead9205af3ee21d8b6451d8ebb0c306491c69c102e33d50a49132cc3b2ccbb11270e854d53be54b9e8a7e#11
2 comments:
This bill correlates strongly with ours. While it focuses more on the financial aspect (in that it will help students entering nursing programs loans) it still has the ability to help with the national nursing shortage. Anyway that we can get more students into nursing programs and degrees in nursing is a step in the right direction to fixing this national dilemma. The fact that Joe Biden proposed this bill makes me hopeful because he is currently in the national spotlight and may be able to get more support for it.
This bill is imperative as the baby boomer generation ages and grows into a geriatric population. It is frightening to imagine a larger nursing shortage than the current crisis. An increase in nurses are necessary for the safety and well being of hospitalized patients as well as patients who are suffering with debilitating chronic conditions. Any effort to boost the number of nursing faculty, nursing schools, and nursing students should be recognized, welcomed, and promoted.
Post a Comment