Agency and Independent Contractor Nurse Entrepreneur Resources

Maryland has Loan Forgiveness for Nurses

noreply@blogger.com (Affordable Dental Plan) — Thu, 24 Feb 2011 19:55:00 +0000

STATE NURSING SCHOLARSHIP AND LIVING EXPENSES GRANT

The State Nursing Scholarship and Living Expenses Grant Program has been consolidated into the Workforce Shortage Student Assistance Grant Program. Individuals who have received the State Nursing Scholarship in prior years will continue to receive their awards as long as they remain eligible. Award amounts will remain the same and the service obligation must be served.

ELIGIBLE MAJORS

Enrollment in a nursing program that leads to a nursing degree.

ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS

You and your parents (if you are a dependent student) must be Maryland residents. You must have a minimum cumulative 3.0 GPA in high school or college. You must enroll at a two-year or four-year Maryland college or university as a full-time (12+ credits per semester) or part-time (6-11 semester credits) undergraduate student or a full-time (9+ credits per semester) or part-time (6-8 credits) graduate student in a program leading to a degree in nursing. Audited courses cannot be used to reach the minimum credit hours required for full-time or part-time status.

http://www.mhec.state.md.us/financialaid/programdescriptions/prog_nurse.asp

Nursing Blogs

noreply@blogger.com (Affordable Dental Plan) — Mon, 23 Jul 2007 19:29:00 +0000

Emergiblog
Into the Unit
The Nurse Practitioner's Place
Nurse Practitioner News
NeoNurseChic
Misadventurous Melissa
Donorcycle
ImpactED Nurse
Coffee and Conversation
Head Nurse
PixelRN
Orphie, The Wonder Dog
Dust in the Wind
The Mote in the Light
Tiggers Don't Jump
Livin' Large
Student Nurse Jack
Critical Pathways
Fledgling Nurse
Nursing Voices
Milliner's Dream - Woman of Many Hats
Nursehealers
Emergiblog
Nursing Blues
Dear Nurses
NeoNurseChic
Digital Doorway
Mineminemine
Talking RN
Being an NP
Rural ED
Nursing Needs
kt living
World of Nursing
Chocolate and Raspberries
Code Pink
I'm OK - You Need Meds
Rantings of an LTC Nurse
Conscious Sedation
Sonicrusk Blog
Tinkerworld
WebDoken
Random RN Ramblings
Real World Nursing
RN of Mental health
The Drunken Lagomorph
Talk With Desiree
Spelunk in the Trunk
Slowly Comes the Nurse at Dawn
Sedation is Good
Thinking Nurse
ThisNurse
The Nurse is In
The NHS Confessional
The Lady With The Lamp...Not!
Picklecakes
Foxglove's Formulary

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NursePOV - Blog Community from Advance for Nurses
Code Blog - Tales of a Nurse
Disappearing John RN
Picklecakes
About a Nurse
Misadventures of Missbhavens
The Miscellaneous Mischievous
ICU 101: How To Be An ICU RN
Mediblogopathy
Cricoid Pressure
You Know You Wanna
Third Degree Nurse
Life in the NHS
Digital Doorway
Events Scribbles Musings
RN For Your Life - Diary of a Nursing Student
Becoming A Nurse
Diary of a Nurse
Pammiecakes
Chocolate and Raspberries
The Drunken Lagomorph
Faith Community Nursing Blog
New York Nurse News
Diary of a Trauma Nurse
Teisha's Place
Knitting in the Dark
Thought's from the Nightshift
Dust in the Wind
oncRN
Zanta HCl: Aseptic version
Nurse Sarah
Nurse at Small
Nursing Stress
from A to Zimbabwe
Mediblogopathy
Nursing Instructor
Confessions of a Nurse
Urbanmom
Britt Miller's Blog
Winkles Wandering Wardrobe
Yarn, Kids, Dogs, and a few Wierdos
PunkClown Daze
Walk This Way
Ringings from a Southern Belle
Scared to Health
The Knitting Wannabe
The Angel of Life
So Close to Heaven
Shock Trauma
Scott C Lamont RN
Top of My Head
The Travel Nurse
The Road To Braj is Strewn With Thorns
The Mote in the Light
Orphie The Wonder Dog

Independent Nurse Contractor

noreply@blogger.com (Affordable Dental Plan) — Mon, 23 Jul 2007 18:37:00 +0000

Independent Nurse Contractors the new generation of Nurse Entrepreneurs are storming the healthcare field and opening the doors for Nurses everywhere. There was a time when nurses were hesitant about cutting the ties from the employer not true today. More and more nurses are now enjoying the many benefits of self-employment. Nurse Contractors are now a large part of the nursing industry thanks to the ambitious nurse entrepreneurs. Nurses have realized the many advantages of cutting the middleman out of nursing.

An Independent Nurse Contractor is one who practices outside the customary role of an employee of another as an alternative they elect to work as an independent contractor. You will set the terms of your services limited only by need and your ability to negotiate. An Independent contractor can contract his or her nursing services directly with a healthcare facility or with a patient and continue bedside practice. A contractual agreement is drawn up between you and the institution. You will be able to negotiate your compensation, hours worked and length of time your services will be needed. The contract is similar to those used by nursing agencies and travel companies outlining the services to be provided, the responsibilities of both the healthcare facility and the nurse, and the length of time the services are to be provided. Nurses contract their nursing services out to a huge assortment of fields in the Healthcare Industry Home Health, Nursing Homes, Hospitals, Rehab Centers and Doctors Offices just to name a few.

Oneof the biggest challenges facing independent nurse contractors is lack of affordable health and dental care. For available healthcare options click here

Isobel becomes an entrepeneur . . . at 72

noreply@blogger.com (Affordable Dental Plan) — Tue, 10 Jul 2007 01:08:00 +0000

A RETIRED nurse has battled all the odds to fulfil her dream of becoming an entrepreneur — at the age of 72.

Fiesty businesswoman Isobel Foster turned to her creative talents to set up an arts and crafts empire in Inverclyde, but faced an uphill struggle to get others to believe in her vision.

But while the experts turned their backs on her, she found a friend in upcoming business project BizzFizz, based in Port Glasgow.

Now, together with her daughter Lydia, she hopes to tap into grants that will allow her to reach out to children and others in the community who cannot afford access to the arts.

The Skelmorlie business tycoon, who was formerly a director of nursing, said: “When you go to Scottish Enterprise they don’t want to know you if you are over 19. It is very hard to get support. The financial backing is not there.”

She set up her business, which gives people the opportunity to make their own ceramics and cards, more than two years ago.

The mother and daughter team hit brick walls in their attempts to grow the business until BizzFizz stepped in to help them make a success of new premises in Port Glasgow.

Isobel said: “I always liked decorating and making things. We set this up when I retired.

“BizzFizz has just been brilliant. They have helped us in so many ways.

“Now they are helping us to get funding to set up groups for people who can’t afford to come along.

“We want to be part of the community in Port Glasgow. For the first time someone wanted to do something for us.”

BizzFizz coach Lynda Kelly set up earlier this year in Port Glasgow’s regeneration centre 7½ John Wood Street.

Her aim is to give people the confidence to follow their entrepreneurial dreams. Isobel and Lydia’s Crafty Cards and Ceramics enterprise is her first major success.

Lynda said: “Isobel’s business says everything about what we are trying to achieve. Our ultimate aim is to open more businesses in Port Glasgow’s town centre.”

BizzFizz uses a panel of local experts to help put people on the road to business success.

Nurse midlife

noreply@blogger.com (Affordable Dental Plan) — Mon, 09 Jul 2007 14:34:00 +0000

Nurse midlife
Influx of midcareer professionals may mitigate a shortage in the healthcare field
By Jennifer Cutraro, Globe Correspondent July 9, 2007
It's mid morning in the pediatrics wing at Boston Medical Center when registered nurse Bill Kerr checks in on one of his patients, a teenage girl with severe asthma. He counsels her on how to stay on top of her disease, then jogs down the hall to prepare another young patient for a blood transfusion.

The medication dosage for his third patient, another teenage girl, who has been vomiting nonstop. "Well," he said, peering into the hospital-issued basin on her lap, "at least it's not as green as it was before."
There's just no telling what Kerr might need to deal with during a typical nursing shift, but one thing is sure: whatever happens, it will be nothing like his days as an operations manager at Verizon.
Kerr, a pediatric nurse, is one of a small but growing number of mid career professionals abandoning the cubicle, the construction site, and even the boardroom in favor of the bedside.
No one tracks the number of second-career nurses, but in the Bay State -- mirroring national trends -- hundreds of people in their 30s and older have begun nursing school in recent years, according to nursing school officials. Specialists say the emerging interest promises to mitigate the widespread nursing shortage facing the country. But at the same time, increased demand means it's harder than ever to get into nursing programs.
Kerr, 53, returned to school in 2005 after accepting an early retirement package that ended his 25-year career with Verizon. There, he spent his days desk-bound following a fairly predictable 9 to 5, Monday to Friday schedule. The retirement offer was too good to pass up, he said, but at the same time, he wasn't ready to stop working.
"I knew I was too young to truly retire," he said. "So I started looking for something that at the end of the day, I would feel I made a difference in someone's life, particularly with kids." He found inspiration in his wife, also a nurse, and his two brothers who work in healthcare.
After completing a semester of general science coursework, Kerr enrolled in a 16-month accelerated program at Curry College in Milton designed for people who, like him, pursued nursing with a baccalaureate degree, and often years of work experience, in another field.
Ten colleges and universities across the Commonwealth have added either bachelor's or master's degree programs specifically tailored to the returning professional who already has a college degree, according to the Massachusetts Association of Colleges of Nursing. They're a popular choice.
"We're seeing across the country, these second-degree programs are the fastest-growing programs in nursing right now," said Judy Beal, the association's secretary and associate dean of health studies at Simmons College in Boston. Nationwide, 12,347 students with bachelor's degrees in other fields were enrolled in second-degree nursing programs at the bachelor's and master's level in 2006, up from 6,860 in 2003, according to the American Association of Colleges of Nursing.Continued...
A number of factors probably account for the surge in nursing school applications, said Peter Buerhaus, a Vanderbilt University professor of nursing whose research in the late 1990s helped call attention to the nationwide nursing shortage. Over 116,000 nursing positions remain unfilled across the United States today, and that number is expected to grow to 340,000 by 2020.
Jobs are plentiful, he said. Plus, nursing wages increased significantly since 2002, making the field more attractive to people who might not have otherwise thought about it.
He thinks the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks may also have played a role.
"I don't have any sort of hard evidence, only dozens of conversations with deans and professors," he said. "But 9/11 caused some people to think about their life and wonder about what they are doing and to ask, were they really making a contribution to society."
But all the extra interest has created a logjam at nursing schools across the country, where demand for slots is increasing far faster than the availability of faculty to teach students. In 2006 alone, more than 1,300 qualified applicants were turned away from baccalaureate nursing programs in Massachusetts because there was no room for them in the classroom.
The average age of nursing faculty in the country is 57, Beal said, and there is little incentive for younger nurses to take their place as they retire.
"Newly minted PhDs in nursing are not choosing to go into academia because they can make two to three times more money by working as researchers or administrators at hospitals," she said.
On top of that, said Carmela Townsend, academic coordinator at the Massachusetts General Hospital Institute of Health Professions, many hospitals have as many student nurses as they can manage.
"There are only a certain number of hospitals, beds, and patients, and there's a finite number of faculty to train all these students," she said.
Still, the influx of second-career interest in nursing may be helping to moderate the nationwide shortage of nurses, now entering its 10th year, Buerhaus said.
Recent data point to a slightly less severe nursing shortage by the year 2020, largely because of the migration of older nursing students who didn't start their careers in the field, according to a paper Buerhaus coauthored in the journal Health Affairs this year.
"That is really responsible for the improved projections for the future," Buerhaus said. "It's still a big problem but it's getting better."
Kerr is certainly glad he made the switch.
"I haven't wanted to go to work this much in 10 years," Kerr said. "No customer at Verizon ever gave me a hug at the end of the day."
Jennifer Cutraro can be reached at jenny@nasw.org.
">Link

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Dozens Picket ?Hospital’s Use of ‘Traveling Nurses’

noreply@blogger.com (Affordable Dental Plan) — Sun, 27 May 2007 02:40:00 +0000

Dozens picket hospital’s use of ‘traveling nurses’
01:00 AM EDT on Saturday, July 14, 2007
By Felice J. Freyer

Journal Medical Writer

Dozens of union members picketed outside Women & Infants Hospital yesterday to protest the hiring of three “traveling nurses” to fill empty shifts in the neonatal intensive-care unit.

The traveling nurses work for an agency that provides temporary nurses to hospitals. The hospital hired the three nurses for 12 weeks starting June 18, but so far only one was needed to fill a single, 12-hour shift in the neonatal intensive-care unit, according to Paula Gillette, senior vice president for patient-care services. Otherwise they have been standing by, working administrative duties.

Gillette said that the hospital did not have serious staffing problems, but she feared that some shifts would be hard to fill in the NICU. She said she hired the travelers to make sure there would be no mandatory overtime.

But Wendy Laprade, a labor-room nurse and union leader, said the hospital had avoided hiring travelers until now, and the decision hit a nerve. “The only time there were travelers in this building was when they were scabs,” she said, recalling the bitter contract dispute in the winter of 1998-99. In that dispute, the union staged a one-day walkout, the hospital refused to let them return for 29 more days, and traveling nurses were brought into to replace them.

“Would you want to be cared for by a nurse with one foot out the door?” The union represents about 1,700 hospital employees, including 700 nurses.

“This is about them making bad choices for the patients at Women & Infants,” Laprade said. “We’ve got a commitment to the community and to our patients.”

Laprade said that by staffing with travelers instead of mandatory overtime, “they’re replacing one bad thing with another.... We truly, honest-to-God believe that it’s bad for patients.” The hospital, instead, should hire enough nurses to fill every shift, she said.

Gillette acknowledged that nurses who’ve devoted their careers to Women & Infants have a deeper commitment to the hospital than a temporary worker. But the travelers, she said, are carefully selected. “We only accept people who are highly qualified and skilled.”

The protest comes as the hospital and the union begin to negotiate a contract; the current one will expire in November. One bargaining session has been held. The union is working with a new team at the hospital, which has recently hired a new chief operating officer and human-resources director. Gillette is also new, having started April 1 to replace Mary Dowd Struck, who retired.

The summer is a difficult time for staffing at Women & Infants because births increase at the same time that staffers want vacations.

Under a new agreement with the union, the hospital offers incentives for nurses to volunteer for overtime, to avoid mandating people to work extra shifts. The program has worked well, but Gillette still feared staff shortages in the NICU, she said. Gillette said she exhausted every other alternative before turning to the travelers.ravelers.

“We think they’re testing the water with it,” Laprade said. “We want them to know it’s not going to fly.”

Said Gillette, “The challenge is coming up with a plan that satisfies universally everyone.”

ffreyer@projo.com

Benefits for Agency and Traveling Nurses

La- Louisana Nursing Shortage

noreply@blogger.com (Affordable Dental Plan) — Wed, 23 May 2007 02:29:00 +0000

Initiative targets nursing shortage

A critical shortage of nurses is being addressed in Louisiana. Those nursing students who stay in the state after graduating and work full time won't have to pay the interest on their college loans. The interest relief is made possible by the Louisiana Education Loan Authority.

Too little attention has been paid by government at the state and national level to the shortage of registered nurses and its effect on the quality of health care. In a recent issue of Health Affairs, experts estimated that the nationwide shortage will increase to 340,000 by the year 2020. Several national surveys report that the shortage is having a negative effect on patient care and undermining the quality-of-care goals set by the Institute of Medicine and the National Quality Forum.

A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association reported that nurses experience greater job dissatisfaction and emotional exhaustion when they are responsible for more patients than they can care for.

It is an extremely serious situation that is steadily worsening.

Part of the problem is a shortage of faculty members at nursing schools throughout the nation. The American Association of Colleges of Nursing says 42,866 applicants were turned away by nursing schools in 2006 because of an insufficient number of faculty members, clinical sites and classroom space. Budget constraints were also a factor.

Like other parts of the country, the situation in Louisiana is severe. According to estimates by the Louisiana Health Works Commission, the state needs to fill 4,000 to 5,000 positions for registered nurses and 2,500 for licensed practical nurses. As hospitals in the New Orleans area recover from Hurricane Katrina and resume full operation, those numbers will increase significantly.

The move by the Louisiana Education Loan Authority is not the complete answer but is an important step toward dealing with the shortage of registered nurses. As it is being implemented, other approaches need to be studied. A program in Pennsylvania called "Nursing Loan Forgiveness for Healthier Futures" is having a positive effect. Nursing students who meet certain guidelines may receive forgiveness for up to 25 percent of eligible debt during a three-year period. Participating employers can match the forgiveness contribution.

There are a number of requirements that must be met by those seeking loan forgiveness. Prominent among them is the stipulation that, upon graduation, students work in health-care facilities in Pennsylvania.

Many other states are developing programs to deal with the nursing shortage. It is encouraging that Louisiana has taken a significant step. More is needed, however. We recommend that the governor create a qualified task force to examine programs in other states and to develop recommendations specific to Louisiana's needs.

We must deal with the problem or face a continuing decline in the quality of health care.

Benefits For Independent Nurse Contractors

Nursing Shortage in Florida

noreply@blogger.com (Affordable Dental Plan) — Mon, 21 May 2007 02:25:00 +0000

Nurses essential to quality care but we face huge shortage
By JUDITH HUSSEY
COMMUNITY VOICES

Nurses are a wonderful resource and a valuable commodity that is shrinking. We need to promote a positive image and appreciation for the things that they so quietly do. The silent assessments and communication of observations that nurses routinely do, are often overlooked by patients, visitors and even other staff members.

Nurses spend more time with patients than any other health care professional. Nurses are with the patient through diagnosis, treatment and end of life care. Nurses perform as caretakers, advocates, supporters and friends. Let's take a look at a few of the concerns from the nurses themselves:

· IMAGE: What do you picture when you visualize a nurse? Is it someone standing at the bedside taking vital signs? Holding a patient's hand? Emptying a bedpan? What you may not realize is that the nurse is assessing the patient's orientation, level of consciousness, breathing pattern, skin turgor, mobility, level of comfort and coping skills while performing any of these tasks. The nurse's assessments are vital to the care of the patient.

· STAFF/PATIENT RATIO: Many studies have demonstrated problems with patient outcomes directly proportional to the number of patients for which each nurse is responsible. Some states are adopting limitations on the number of patients (usually 5 maximum) that a nurse should routinely care for each shift. The trend that seems more acceptable is that the charge nurse should assess the acuity of the floor and assign the ratio accordingly. This can be a difficult task to justify to administration that looks at numbers and doesn't understand the process. Many acuity tools have been tried in the past and failed as too difficult or time consuming.

· EDUCATION COSTS: Many nurses are still paying student loans; but the salaries or tuition reimbursements are pale in comparison to the education costs. Some hospitals have led an initiative by offering an educational program for nurses in exchange for a work commitment. The state of Florida is attempting to implement a loan forgiveness program for nurses, but it needs more money budgeted and less red tape. President Bush has proposed millions to develop programs including the Nurse Reinvestment Act. This includes $32 million for student loan repayments and scholarships, $21 million for nursing diversity programs and $8 million for geriatric nurse education and nurse faculty loan repayment programs. These measures have been fueled by the knowledge that the number of new nurses will not keep up with the demand as the baby boomers reach retirement.

Health and Human Services has stated that up to 2,000 volunteer nurses would need to be mobilized in the event of a mass smallpox vaccination or other widespread health event such as a bioterrorist attack. What are we waiting for? We need new strategies to enhance the image and awareness of what a professional nurse does for the community, for all of us, 24/7, nights, weekends and holidays. An investment in nurse education and retention programs now will produce significant results in the years ahead.

Hussey, R.N., B.S.N., O.C.N., lives in Port Orange.

Boomer Shortfall

· There are 2.7 million active licensed nurses in the United States today.

· The average age of a nurse today is about 50.

· More than 2.9 million R.N.s will be employed by 2012, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

· Despite that increase, the Department of Health and Human Services reports that a nursing shortage already exists and predicts it will grow as baby boomers age to 12 percent in 2010; 20 percent by 2015; and 29 percent by 2020.

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Conn. Projected to Have Second Worst Nursing Shortage in the Nation

noreply@blogger.com (Affordable Dental Plan) — Sat, 19 May 2007 00:48:00 +0000

Conn. projected to have second worst nursing shortage in nation

Posted May 17, 20074:45 PM
(Wallingford-WTNH)_Hospitals throughout Connecticut are experiencing vacancy rates of between 6 and 11 percent for critical healthcare professionals, a situation that is expected to worsen in the next decade.
According to a new report released today by the Connecticut Hospital Association, projections are that by 2020 Connecticut will be facing a shortage of 22,400 nurses. That would give Connecticut the distinction of having the second worst nursing shortage in the nation, second only to Alaska.
The shortage of critical healthcare professionals goes beyond nursing, however. Hospitals are also facing shortages of pharmacists, respiratory therapists, physical therapists, and other critical caregivers.
The report points out that the aging of the population is placing more demands on the healthcare system at a time when there is a shrinking and aging pool of workers. In fact, during the years 2004 and 2005, approximately 2,000 qualified applicants were turned away from Connecticut nursing schools due to a shortage of qualified faculty.

Is Victoria experiencing a nursing shortage?

noreply@blogger.com (Affordable Dental Plan) — Sat, 19 May 2007 00:37:00 +0000

Is Victoria experiencing a nursing shortage?
Average vacancy rate for registered nurses in Texas is about 11 percent
May 18, 2007 - Posted at 12:00 a.m.
BY GABE SEMENZA - VICTORIA ADVOCATE
Want the good news? If you're thinking about a Victoria nursing career, you'll have job security. The bad news? There's a reason for that.

"Texas faces a severe shortage of registered nurses," said Dr. Dan Stultz, CEO of the Texas Hospital Association. "The average hospital vacancy rate for registered nurses is about 11 percent, while specialty areas face even higher vacancy rates. The U.S. Department of Labor projects more new jobs for registered nurses than for any other occupation through 2012."

But nursing shortages can spur a decline in the quality of care to patients. Maybe that's why Texas lawmakers are wrestling with two versions of the state's two-year budget - a House plan that allocates $14 million to funding nurse recruitment and training, and a Senate plan that earmarks $6.7 million.

While lawmakers tussle, Victoria hospitals grapple with recruiting and retaining nurses of their own. Even so, local experts say Victoria has it pretty good.

"No, we don't have a shortage," said Diane Burke, nursing director at Citizens Medical Center. "I say we have just a handful of vacancies." more

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Bill to prohibit forced overtime for nurses

noreply@blogger.com (Affordable Dental Plan) — Thu, 10 May 2007 01:38:00 +0000

Bill to prohibit forced overtime for nurses
http://www.eveningsun.com/localnews/ci_5747300
Hospitals would be prohibited from forcing nurses to work overtime under a bill that won preliminary approval in the House last week.

Efforts underway to ease America's nursing shortage

noreply@blogger.com (Affordable Dental Plan) — Wed, 09 May 2007 01:24:00 +0000

Liz O'Connor, 24, of Brandon, Fla., has always enjoyed helping others. So when Liz reached college age, it seemed only natural that she would pursue a career as a registered nurse.

It's an excellent choice on her part, because nurses are in great demand and will continue to be for the foreseeable future. According to the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN), the United States has an acute shortage of nurses that is expected to intensify as baby boomers age and require more health care.

The latest projections from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics indicate that more than 1.2 million new and replacement nurses will be needed by 2014. The numbers are high, in part, because many nurses in the workforce are approaching retirement. In fact, a recent survey indicates that 55 percent of nurses working today intend to retire between 2011 and 2020.

Compounding the problem is the fact that nursing colleges and universities across the country are struggling to expand enrollment levels. According to AACN's report on 2005-2006 Enrollment and Graduations in Baccalaureate and Graduate Programs in Nursing, U.S. nursing schools turned away 41,683 qualified applicants from baccalaureate and graduate programs in nursing in 2005 due to budget constraints, and an insufficient number of faculty, clinical sites and classrooms.

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Maine, Other States Face Shortage Of Nurses

noreply@blogger.com (Affordable Dental Plan) — Fri, 04 May 2007 12:00:00 +0000

AUGUSTA, Maine -- As baby boomers age, a shortage of nurses across the nation is expected to get worse, according to a national nurses' organization.

Maine will not avoid that shortage. Dr. Barbara Higgins is chairwoman of nursing at Husson College in Bangor. Higgins said there's a shortage now, but it will hit the hardest in the next 10 to 15 years.

That's because the graying baby boomer generation will need more care. At the same time, current nurses, and those who teach nursing, are getting older as well.

The American Association of Colleges of Nursing said the shortage of registered nurses will increase to 340,000 by 2020. The good news is that the number is much smaller than earlier projections of more than twice that figure.

The nurses' association also said enrollment across the country has been increasing for the past six years. That's the case at Maine's Husson College, which is also seeing more than a 50 percent increase in its graduation rate.

Oregon Nursing Shortage Addressed in Senate

noreply@blogger.com (Affordable Dental Plan) — Wed, 02 May 2007 14:50:00 +0000

(SALEM) - The Senate Health Policy Committee, chaired by Senator Laurie Monnes Anderson (D-Gresham), unanimously passed out legislation yesterday that will address Oregon’s nursing shortage by integrating higher education with the workforce needs of local communities.

Senate Bill 4, which Monnes Anderson co-sponsored with Senator Richard Devlin (D-Tualatin), will help Oregon confront the estimated need for 59,000 new healthcare workers by 2014.

“Senate Bill 4 will provide Oregon schools with the resources they need to educate more nurses and deliver the quality medical care Oregonians deserve,” said Senator Monnes Anderson, who has been a working public health nurse for over 25 years and has seen patient wait time increase for non-emergent care.

“Senate Bill 4 is an investment in Oregon education, Oregon communities, and Oregon’s long term future,” said Senator Devlin.

“This bill is a win-win situation. We can support living wage jobs that are vital to an economically sustainable future and, while doing so, we can provide better healthcare for Oregonians,” said Senator Alan Bates, a family physician and supporter of the bill.

Senate Bill 4 creates the Oregon Nursing Shortage Committee, which is charged with adopting criteria and awarding grants to increase the capacity of Oregon’s nursing workforce and the capacity of nursing education programs statewide.

[url=http://technorati.com/tag/[nurses]][nursing shortage][/url]

Related

Nursing Shortage Expected To Get Worse

noreply@blogger.com (Affordable Dental Plan) — Wed, 02 May 2007 14:47:00 +0000

Web Editor: Aaron Roberts, Reporter
Created: 4/30/2007 5:25:31 PM

Maine is not immune to the shortage of nurses across the country. Maine hospitals and healthcare providers have fewer nurses now than they did in years past.

It is estimated that between now and 2020, half a million to one million new nurses will be needed to fill the shortage.

Dr. Barbara Higgins, Husson College's Chair of Nursing, says there is a shortage now, but that shortage will hit the hardest in the next 10 to 15 years.

Higgins says not only will the baby boomer generation need more care, but current nurses are aging, and so are those who teach nursing.

Still, enrollment across the country has been on the rise for the last six years, according to the American Association of Colleges of Nursing. Husson College is seeing increased enrollment, and a more than 50% increase in its graduation rate.

Higgins says Husson and other nursing schools work together with local hospitals and healthcare providers to help new nurses fill the job vacancies.

2nd Nurse Charged With Taking Narcotics

noreply@blogger.com (Affordable Dental Plan) — Tue, 01 May 2007 01:37:00 +0000

A temporary-help agency nurse at SynergyHealth St. Joseph's Hospital in the town of Polk has been charged with possessing narcotic drugs without a prescription, which were found in her purse during a search on hospital grounds.
Christy Bauer, 36, of Greendale has been formally charged with two separate controlled substance possession charges, according to a criminal complaint filed in the matter, which carry a penal weight of up to three-and-one-half years.

This is is the second time in the last few months a nurse affiliated with the hospital faces felony drug charges.
Barbara Hansen, 45, of Random Lake was charged in February with six felony drug charges after she admitted taking morphine from hospital supplies to feed her addiction. She is expected to enter guilty pleas to some of those charges during an arraignment in May.
Hansen was terminated immediately after an investigation was completed, as was Bauer, said Janet Ford, a SynergyHealth spokeswoman.
In the Bauer case, according to the complaint, hospital officials became suspicious of Bauer after she allegedly checked out a large amount of hydromorphone, which is similar to morphine, and then not properly documenting when patients were given their doses.
An ensuing conversation be-tween Bauer and Mike Murphy, the head nursing official, indicated it was possible Bauer had "possibly taken seven (drug) vials," the complaint stated.
Bauer gave a Sheriff's Depart-ment investigator permission to search her vehicle parked on hospital grounds, according to the report, and a pill crusher, a small amount of Oxycodone and two straws containing trace amounts of another controlled substance were found in her purse.
Ford said the hospital has filed a formal complaint with the state Regulation and Licensing Board against the agency that Bauer was working for, and it was her understanding that that entity has begun an investigation.
The hospital’s pharmacy screens transactions from automated dispensing machines on a routine basis, according to a hospital official. The transactions are compared with electronic medication administration records for controlled substance accountability. This procedure led to the detection of some unusual activity by the external agency nurse on Dec. 5.
The external agency nurse was immediately relieved of her duties and law enforcement officials were notified. The nurse staffing agency was also notified immediately and the report filed with the Wisconsin Department of Regulation & Li-censing.
"We have zero tolerance for this type of behavior," said Michael Laird, president of St. Joseph’s Hospital. "The systems and pro-cesses we have in place were effective in detecting the unusual activity and we took immediate action to remove this agency nurse from duty."
A court date for Bauer has not been set.
This story appeared in the West Bend Daily News on April 6, 2007.

Mediblogopathy - A Nurse Blog

noreply@blogger.com (Affordable Dental Plan) — Tue, 01 May 2007 00:32:00 +0000

Mediblogopathy - A Nurse Blog

Resources For Agency and Independent Contractor Nurses

Nursing shortage has providers scrambling to fill shifts

noreply@blogger.com (Affordable Dental Plan) — Mon, 30 Apr 2007 01:24:00 +0000

Susan Goodwin’s mailbox is full of job offers.

Recruiters call regularly, dangling money, laptop computers and trips if she will work for them.

Goodwin isn’t a Donald Trump-style executive.

She is a registered nurse.

"Anywhere you want to go, they’ll relocate you," said Goodwin, an admissions nurse at Bristol Regional Medical Center. "They’re all offering all kinds of incentives and things."

Competition among health providers isn’t just about hospitals – it’s about nurses.

With a nationwide shortage of registered nurses, the story is no different in the Tri-Cities.

Amy Dyer, a nurse at Bristol Regional Medical Center, said she notices the shortage when not enough people are available to work a shift.

"You do see effects of it – you have to pull people from other floors because you don’t have people in your department," she said. "We don’t have enough people going into nursing."

The need is so great, hospitals are willing to make big moves to fill the gaps, from unique advertising to offering incentives.

In January, Mountain States Health Alliance hired a plane to tow a banner around the Tri-Cities for four hours.

The 100-foot-long banner read: "Join Mountain States. Great Pay and Benefits."

Whitney Calhoun, nurse recruiter for MSHA, said the airplane...more

Affordable Health Plans For Agency Nurses

Emory Nursing Leader Urges U.S. to Adopt Strategies to Cure National Nurse Shortage

noreply@blogger.com (Affordable Dental Plan) — Thu, 26 Apr 2007 01:39:00 +0000

The future health care of millions of Americans will be compromised if the U.S. doesn’t develop innovative strategies to tackle the national nursing shortage, says Emory University nursing leader Marla Salmon, ScD, RN.
"Most of us assume that when we need nursing care, someone will be there to provide it," says Dr. Salmon, dean and professor of Emory’s Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing. "The assumption that nurses will be there when we need them is simply no longer true. For the first time ever, this country is facing a shortage of nurses that threatens the health of each of us. And unless urgent measures are taken, this shortage will become increasingly more severe over the next 15 years."
Dr. Salmon will address the severity of the U.S. nursing shortage and what can be done about it at the National Press Club in Washington, DC on April 25 (more information on the WHSC web site).
The national deficit of registered nurses is expected to rise to 29 percent by the year 2020, leaving a gaping shortage of more than 400,000 nurses by 2010, according to estimates.
New methods for addressing the supply, utilization and support of nurses must be adopted if the U.S. is to continue to provide quality health care in the near and long-term future to people at home and abroad, says Dr. Salmon. She supports boosting student recruitment efforts and expanding academic options available for individuals interested in nursing careers.
The U.S. is facing an unprecedented shortage of nurses that is projected to increase significantly over the next decade. That deficiency coincides with the growing care needs of baby boomers and those with chronic diseases such as diabetes and high blood pressure. The shortage also is compounded by a shift in nurses leaving the workforce and fewer nurses entering the field to replace them. In addition, the demand for nurses who deliver specialized care also has risen, she adds.
To address the shortage, some U.S. hospitals and health care systems have recruited nurses from the United Kingdom and Canada, and in recent years, from the Philippines and even South Africa, where the supply of nurses is already depleted. The American Nurses Association, which represents the country’s 2.6 million registered nurses, has discouraged aggressive recruitment of foreign-trained nurses, calling it a shortsighted strategy.
Dr. Salmon agrees. "This more and more of a push to recruit less and less well-prepared nurses from countries that don’t have systems like ours," she says. "I think there is great danger in that."
Dr. Salmon has played significant national and international leadership roles in health policy and workforce arenas. She is former director of the Division of Nursing and Chief Nurse for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services where she led key federal programs aimed at shaping the nation’s nursing work force. Dr. Salmon also chaired the National Advisory Committee on Nursing Education and Practice and was a member of the White House Task Force on Health Care Reform. (Full bio on the WHSC web site.)
Related Links
Source:www.whsc.emory.edu/press_releases2.cfm?announcement_id_seq=9785