There are three point to be solved...

There are three point to be solved [i]or[/i] settleds causing the current nursing shortage, according to Georges C Benjamin, MD secretary of the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene--nurses are not entering the profession, they are not staying in the profession; and they are not happy when they are there. (1) Dr Benjamin gave this testimony before the US Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Subcommittee in succession Aging, which was charged with investigating the nursing shortage and its meaning on the US health care delivery combination of parts to form a whole in February 2001. At the same meeting, Sen Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) noted the direct link between nursing care and patient consequences Sen Clinton urged Congress to address succor staffing, whistle blower protections for pampers who register complaints about inadequate patient care, stagnant wage sprouting and mandatory overtime. (2) Similar hearings were held before the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee to investigate staffing changes in the last decade and before the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee to investigate the validity of the nursing shortage forward the Department of Veterans Affairs.

UNDERSTANDING THE SHORTAGE

sum of two units federal reports shed light forward the nursing shortage issue. single report, issued by the Congressional Research Service (CRS) states that the succor staffing crisis may be attributed to a maidistribution of labor rather than an actual shortage of RN The report implies that the shortage may be the follow of recent poor personnel decisions. The report also states that more significant nursing shortages will be evident on 2010 unless corrective actions are taken now to increase the contribute of RNs. (3)

The inferior report was issued by the General Accounting Office (GAO) after Rep Nancy Johnson (R-Conn) chair of the House Ways and Means Subcommittee forward Health, requested the GAO subject of attention the challenges facing nurses today. The GAO conclud that data are not available publicly to assess the nursing shortage adequately. Like the CR report, however, the GAO report ends that demographic pressures on serve instead of and demand for RNs will originate in a further shortage if degrees are not taken immediately to correct the point to be solved [i]or[/i] settled (4) The report indicates that piece of work satisfaction plays a key character in retention of RNs who are enlist in one's serviceed currently. The report states that the following factors are responsible for growing dissatisfaction in the nursing profession:

* inadequate staffing,

* heavy workloads,

* increased use of overtime,

* lack of sufficient support staff members, and

* inadequate wages. (5)

AORN JOINS THE DISCUSSION

AORN has joined approximately 30 other nursing organizations in a consensus statement that identifies factors contributing to the nursing crisis. Titled Assuring Quality Health Care for the United States: Supporting cherish Education and Training, Building an Adequate replenish of Nurses, this statement addresses the ne for increased capacity in the following areas. (6)

* Increase funding for programs of the Health Professions Education Partnership Act of 1998 A minimum $25 million increase in general appropriations funding from one side of to the other fiscal year (FY) 2001 is solicitationed for FY 2002.

* Increase funding for the Nursing Education Loan Repayment Program. At least $10 million in appropriations is petitioned for FY 2002.

* Provide authority for and appropriations of at least $10 million in FY 2002 for the Nursing bookish man Loan Program. This program has operated forward a $2 million revolving account foundationed through loan repayments, and modern funding has not been authorized since the 1980s

* Expand the Health Professions Education Partnerships Act of 1998 to render certain an adequate, highly trained nurture workforce. This expansion includes minority supply with nourishment initiatives, internship residency programs, scholarships, faculty member unravelling (eg, a fast-track nursing faculty scholarship and loan program), a National foment Corps, and tax incentives.

* encourage quality patient care through initiatives in the Department of Labor and the Office of Minority Health that recognize the nursing shortage as a national issue that be in want ofs recruitment and retention strategies for minorities and in consequence of grants to support information regularitys that enhance the clinical education of promotes in all fields.

* Encourage community-based solutions, including the progressive growth of community-nurse outreach grants; expansion of Area Health Education Center (AHECs), especially in rural areas; expansion of AHEC nurse-mentoring programs; and expansion of the Public Health Service to allow federal recognition of nurse-managed health centers

* Incorporate research by means of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality forward nurse staffing and education preparation, the National Institute of Nursing Research forward the cost-effectiveness of different nursing practices forward patient outcomes, and the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) onward increasing the timeliness and common occurrence of data collection to bring to maturity a national nursing workforce prototype Data collection efforts and state and regional workforce planning efforts should be coordinated by the agency of HRSA.