Comments on: Oppose HR 1358 http://morewhat.com/wordpress/oppose-hr-1358/ To build consensus on issues Sat, 11 Feb 2012 08:33:25 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.0.3 by: Stanford Matthews http://morewhat.com/wordpress/oppose-hr-1358/#comment-1913 Thu, 05 Apr 2007 03:57:31 +0000 http://morewhat.com/wordpress/oppose-hr-1358/#comment-1913 First of all, thank you for your time to post a thoughtful opinion. Second, surprisingly enough, I would like to challenge your belief that the shortage is artificial. In the eighties a trend to eliminate aides and orderlies and upgrade LPN's to RN's began the real shortage of staff. From that point, the nursing workload increased. Then the trend to have RN's complete a four year as opposed to 2 year program caused a need to attend a four year campus at a college or university rather than 2 year vocational institutions. That served two purposes. Propping up enrollment at universities rather than vocational schools and an artificial pay raise for nurses at the expense of lower paid aides, orderlies and LPN's. The advent of 'work when you want' agencies like Upjohn responded to the declining numbers of nurse's who had decided to start a family, etc. Again, raising pay to lure nurses back to a reduced work force. By the data available on things like careless errors giving meds and the out of control fatal infection rates at hospitals AND the false claim that malpractice suits are primarily frivolous indicate any increase in the quality of instruction has not been realized in the real world. But hey, I'm all for steppin' up a notch, providing documents and references to support my opinion if you would like to continue this discussion. And I don't believe I am unfairly biased against the medical community. My daughter is a practicing R.N. who is finishing her post grad and will be teaching her craft. Her mother is an R.N. with over 30 years experience and I have a long list of acquaintances in the profession as well as a long personal history and family history of atrocious health care experiences. I have to take a breath now. Thanks again for stoppin' First of all, thank you for your time to post a thoughtful opinion.
Second, surprisingly enough, I would like to challenge your belief that the shortage is artificial. In the eighties a trend to eliminate aides and orderlies and upgrade LPN’s to RN’s began the real shortage of staff. From that point, the nursing workload increased. Then the trend to have RN’s complete a four year as opposed to 2 year program caused a need to attend a four year campus at a college or university rather than 2 year vocational institutions.
That served two purposes. Propping up enrollment at universities rather than vocational schools and an artificial pay raise for nurses at the expense of lower paid aides, orderlies and LPN’s. The advent of ‘work when you want’ agencies like Upjohn responded to the declining numbers of nurse’s who had decided to start a family, etc. Again, raising pay to lure nurses back to a reduced work force.
By the data available on things like careless errors giving meds and the out of control fatal infection rates at hospitals AND the false claim that malpractice suits are primarily frivolous indicate any increase in the quality of instruction has not been realized in the real world.

But hey, I’m all for steppin’ up a notch, providing documents and references to support my opinion if you would like to continue this discussion. And I don’t believe I am unfairly biased against the medical community. My daughter is a practicing R.N. who is finishing her post grad and will be teaching her craft. Her mother is an R.N. with over 30 years experience and I have a long list of acquaintances in the profession as well as a long personal history and family history of atrocious health care experiences. I have to take a breath now.

Thanks again for stoppin’

]]> by: David Welch, RN http://morewhat.com/wordpress/oppose-hr-1358/#comment-1909 Thu, 05 Apr 2007 02:57:10 +0000 http://morewhat.com/wordpress/oppose-hr-1358/#comment-1909 This is not a simple issue. The limits on nursing grads in this country are not "artificial" but are a function of several things: because nursing schools require much more instensive teacher student ratios than say English or History classes, they are MUCH more expensive to run. Nursing students also require clinical experience in hospitals, which can absorb only a limited number. Finally, there is a serious and worsening shortage of qualified faculty. This is exacerbated by the fact that market forces have pushed nursing salaries uphigh enough that a staff nurse can usually make more (here in California much more) than a beginning college professor. So where is the incentive to go back for an advanced degree so you can teach? It would be a better thing for all if we trained enough nurses to meet our own needs, but it will take big tax dollars to do it. This is not a simple issue. The limits on nursing grads in this country are not “artificial” but are a function of several things: because nursing schools require much more instensive teacher student ratios than say English or History classes, they are MUCH more expensive to run. Nursing students also require clinical experience in hospitals, which can absorb only a limited number. Finally, there is a serious and worsening shortage of qualified faculty. This is exacerbated by the fact that market forces have pushed nursing salaries uphigh enough that a staff nurse can usually make more (here in California much more) than a beginning college professor. So where is the incentive to go back for an advanced degree so you can teach? It would be a better thing for all if we trained enough nurses to meet our own needs, but it will take big tax dollars to do it.

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