Although healthcare assistant jobs can take the burden off nurses by performing relatively unskilled tasks such as patient hygiene care, the nursing shortfall has placed a significant burden on existing nurses; in addition, as more nurses from the "baby boom" generation retire, the shortage is only expected to get worse.
Reason for this is that nursing school graduates are becoming less common and has been so for quite some time. Because nurses take on the bulk of patient care, and because this type of work is very labor intensive, the healthcare system really suffers when there are few nurses, perhaps even more than when there are few doctors. (This, unfortunately, is a major concern.)
Therefore, it is important to find the reason for this shortage, but most importantly, the word needs to get out that nurses are needed. Therefore, if you have any talent for this type of work, this may be a very good career to consider.
One of the reasons for nursing shortage is that while clinics and hospitals are struggling to attract nurses, nurses themselves seek other ways to be employed or to perform their duties, which are both more lucrative and more flexible schedules. Especially because many nurses have children at home, a flexible working environment is must for those whom need childcare.
To this end, hospitals and clinics have begun to figure out how to attract nurses to their environments once again. In addition, experts are beginning to address just why the shortage has occurred.
Reasons for the shortage
Lower enrollment in nursing programs
Fewer young people are enrolling in nursing programs than in previous years; this is compounded by the fact that older nurses are retiring, leaving a significant shortfall.
Unfortunately, many nursing programs cannot increase enrollment because nursing programs have certain constraints when it comes to enrollment. In fact, nursing candidates who are well qualified are turned away from nursing programs because they are not well funded, and cannot afford the tools necessary to teach properly. These tools include experienced teaching staff, clinical facilities and laboratories for study, and other materials. At present, it has been estimated that more than two thirds of nursing schools have turned away qualified applicants because they just did not have the tools necessary to train them. Therefore, greater funding is needed so that every qualified applicant who wants to go to nursing school can do so.
An increasing patient population
In addition, as the American population ages, the need for healthcare staff to care for them, including nurses, increases, too.
Nurses quitting because of retirement or for other reasons
As older nurses retire and fewer new nurses come on board to assume the workload, those who are left in the profession often experience extreme frustration and fatigue. This is because there are few people to get it done. This has left many with no choice but to leave traditional nursing roles and either quit the profession outright or to find alternative work that is less stressful, such as private nursing care.
As stated previously, in some cases, nursing assistants or other healthcare professionals with less professional training can still do much of the day-to-day patient care that does not require extensive medical knowledge. They have therefore begun to assume much of the workload nurses used to do.
Getting a job as a nurse
As you can see, the industry is in great need of nurses, so this is a very "hungry" profession to get into indeed. Despite, the previously stated difficulties with getting into qualified nursing programs, there are still some things one can do, to make sure you complete your education, and get the job you desire.
You can pursue a four-year bachelor's degree at an accredited university, but these programs are usually the most difficult to get into and you usually cannot work (other than fieldwork) while you complete your degree. On the other hand, an associate degree of nursing will take about two to three years to complete, which are offered by junior colleges and community colleges. In addition, once you complete your associate nursing degree, you have the option of beginning work on a nursing staff at a hospital, clinic, or nursing home. As you do so, you can complete your education and earn a bachelor's degree from a local college or university.
Training and education
Whatever the training you undertake, you do both classroom learning and then supervised medical care and instruction, under the supervision of experienced nurses and supervisors.
Outlook and compensation
As you work within your education, you can choose to specialize in areas like home health care, geriatric care, or critical care. In addition, preventative care is becoming an increasing focus of the healthcare system, so that nurses find jobs in such unlikely places as outreach facilities, family clinics, or schools. As stated previously, private home health care has become common with the older population as patients. This has made the nursing profession to be in great demand, and the outlook for medical healthcare jobs is very bright for those who choose to pursue this career.
Nurses across all specialties earned an average of $60,000 as of 2006.