Nursing Shortages – Oh Really?

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Nursing shortage seems like anothermyth. In some areas of the USA, this is true. In other areas, thereis an honest shortage, but it may not last long. What are some ofthe factors affecting the field of nursing? There are some obviousanswers and some almost obscure answers.
Two of the most telling answers areone; older nurses are not retiring because of the economy and maywell have a spouse without a job. The second and more frighteninganswer is hospitals are just not replacing nurses as they leave. Whyyou might ask? The reduction in profits is largely to blame andincreases in hospital administrator salaries are adding to thispressure.
Although many hospitals have positionsfor nurse aids, more hospitals are adding them in place of nurses. This will increase the workload for remaining nurses, but thehospitals are striving to keep profits increasing. How are thehospitals determining this? They have people patrolling the floorsof the hospitals, counting patients, watching nurse activities andother variables. These people report to the administration abouttheir observations.
This may sound cruel, but many nurseshave brought this on themselves by their actions or maybe I shouldsay lack of doing their duties. I have been in a few hospitals andactually seen this and wondered how the hospital could make moneywith the nurses sitting around the nursing station. In one visit toa friend, the five hours I was there they sat and never made rounds. Call buzzers would go off and still they did not move. They wouldsend an aid to check and only leave the nurse's station if it wassomething urgent. The patient I was visiting needed a shot everyfour hours, but while I was visiting, no shots were given.
Even a trip to the nurse station didnot get a shot. In this case, I called the doctor and explained whathad happened. The doctor said he would be there in a few minutesand he was. He came in an entrance away from the nurse's station andcame directly to the room. He checked the chart and asked how long Ihad been there. Next, he headed to the dispensary to get themedication for the shot and the syringe. He asked why his patienthad not been given a shot on time. The answer was it was not listedon the patient file. He came to the room, gave the shot, and thenwent back to the station with the patients chart in his hand.
I don't know more as visiting hourswere over and the nurses were checking every room and making sure allvisitors were leaving. The whole time I had been there, no roundshad been made by the nurses, but the aids had come and gone ratherregularly. From what I observed, the five nurses had a gab fest thewhole time and I don't think four had gone anywhere except to use theladies' room and one to the cafeteria to bring back food for all.
In another hospital, I knew there werevery few patients on that level, but the nurses were constantlychecking rooms and I very seldom heard a call bell (or buzzer)sounding. About every 15 to 20 minutes, a nurse would be in to checkon my wife, checking pulse and blood pressure and moistening her lipswith water on a cloth. When shift time came, one of the day nursesstayed and two others reported in plus a couple of aids. Even theywere making rounds and checking on the few patients. A very clearcontrast when compared to my visit to a friend.
From the second article, this seems tobe the case I have described above and varies from hospital tohospital. Some nurses are extremely busy and at some hospitals, itis difficult to see nurses at work. Even patients are complaining atthese hospitals. Although this is seldom talked about, hospitalsthat have strong unions are where the most complaints originate. Others say it depends on the strength of the director of nursing. And, it may be a combination of these.
Either way there are several scenariosthat may play out in the next few years. I disagree with thescenarios discussed in this blog, but he may be right as he is aninsider and I am a patient. I suspect there will not be anoversupply of nurses because many will leave for employment that ismore lucrative. Hospitals will work diligently to reduce the nursingstaff and replace many with nurse aids to reduce labor costs and atthe same time bring in pharmacists to administer medications andmanage inhouse pharmacies. Unions will be either forced out orgreatly weakened all as a means of increasing profits.