Nurse Staffing Ratios Can Affect Outcomes for Cardiac Patients

A study published online in JAMA Internal Medicine finds that hgher nurse-to-patient staffing ratios may improve survival rates for cardiac patients and help reduce the incidence of inhospital cardiac arrest. The study, led by Lena Chen of the University of Michigan, found that one factor that was constant in hospitals with higher survival rates and lower arrest rates was higher nurse staffing.

The study included more than 100,000 patients at 358 hospitals, it is reported on in Medpage Today.

Several INQRI studies have focused on the impact of nursing staffing on patient outcomes. A study led by Mary Blegen and Tom Vaughn found that higher nurse staffing levels reduce rates of infection, mortality due to congestive heart failure, failure to rescue, and prolonged hospital stays.

These findings support the need to address the nursing faculty shortage and the projected nursing shortage by preparing a larger, more diverse and more highly educated nursing workforce. The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that by 2020, the nation will require an additional 1.2 million nurses to meet the need for health care. Developing that workforce is one goal of The Future of Nursing: Campaign for Action, which is working in all 50 states to advance nursing education, leadership and practice.

Opinion Piece on Addressing the New Jersey Nursing Shortage

John R. Lumpkin, senior vice president and director of the Health Care Group at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and chair of the Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital board of directors, and Susan Bakewell-Sachs, program director of the New Jersey Nursing Initiative (NJNI) and interim provost of the College of New Jersey, recently authored a piece for the Star-Ledger which provides some details about the way that NJNI tries to address the potential of a nursing shortage in New Jersey.

As noted in the blog post, since launching in 2009, NJNI has supported 61 New Jersey Nursing Scholars, providing tuition and other support while they pursue master’s or doctoral degrees that qualify them for faculty positions. Thirty-eight scholars have already graduated, with many now teaching in the state.

Click here to read the post.

Nurses Utilize Training and Education Outside of Health Care Sector

With nursing shortages being reported nationwide and new nurse graduates having difficulty finding clinical positions, nurses are now turning to other industry to utilize their training and education in the workplace. Lyn Dowling, reporting for Florida Today, detailed how nurses are being entrepreneurs as consultants, trainers, risk auditors, etc. outside of the health care sector.

To read more about nurses working outside of health care, click here.

Aging Baby Boomers Face Home Health Care Challenge

Over the weekend, John Seewer, reporting for the Associated Press, addressed the current and growing shortage of home health care aides. With geriatric care services being shifted from institutional settings to home-based care, the need for qualified home health care aides will be critical to care for the aging baby boomer population. Current pay scales for home health aides are equivalent to that of fast food employees, which is making it difficult for this health care sector to attract qualified applicants. Coupled with the cost of having to travel to patients' homes, home health care companies are predicting that there will be a greater deficit of workers in the next ten years as the economy improves and other sectors become more financially attractive.

To read the full AP article, click here.

Nursing Schools Brace For Faculty Shortage

Earlier this morning, National Public Radio's Morning Edition program discussed the looming faculty shortage facing nursing schools nationwide. The nurse faculty shortage issue was highlighted in the Institute of Medicine's report "The Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health" and has been a major focus of the Campaign for Action and other organization's efforts to bolster nursing faculty numbers. With nearly 8% of all nursing school faculty positions remaining vacant, continued efforts are needed to ensure that there will be educators for tomorrow's nurses.

To listen to the story as heard on Morning Edition or read the transcript, click here.

RN Labor Supply Bubble: What Does it Mean for Rural Health Care?

Over the past year, many studies have predicted that a temporary employment bubble is approaching for Registered Nurses in many urban areas. In response to one of the more recent articles discussing this trend, authored by Staiger, Auerbach, & Buerhaus and appearing in the April edition of the New England Journal of Medicine, the Online Journal of Rural Nursing and Health Care's editor, Pamela Stewart Fahs, DSN, RN, brought up the important question as to how this trend will effect rural nursing. Dr. Fahs discussed how the upcoming labor supply bubble may actually improve rural nursing by making these health care facilities more competitive with their urban counterparts. By having a tougher job market, new nurse graduates may be more willing to relocate than they have been in the past.

To read Dr. Fahs' editorial, click here.

To read more blogposts relating to nursing workforce issues, click here.

The Health-Care Sector is Booming. So Why Are Nurses Having Trouble Finding Jobs?

Over the weekend, Sarah Kliff, writing for the Washington Post's WonkBlog, discussed the difficulty that many new nurse graduates are having in finding full-time employment. Despite the nursing field continuing to grow, Ms. Kliff highlighted how nurse graduates are often unwilling to relocate and thus hinder their own job search.

Are there any new nurse graduates that are blog readers who have had similar experiences?

To read more about the struggle for nurse graduates to find full-time work, click here.

Qualified Nursing Students Turned Away Due to Lack of Faculty

A recent report by the American Association of Colleges of Nursing has found that while nursing school enrollment increased by 5.1% in 2011, over 75,000 students were not accepted due to a lack of faculty and teaching sites. The the Institute of Medicine (IOM) report Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health, addressed this issue with their fifth recommendation that aims to increase the number of nurses with doctoral degrees by two-fold in order to boost the dwindling number of qualified nurse faculty.

Click here to read more about the nursing faculty shortage from the AACN.

Men Shoring Up Nursing Shortage in Female Dominated Career

Following up on previous posts (covered here and here), Barry Carpenter, of CW33 in Dallas, TX, discussed how a greater number of men then ever are now entering the nursing workforce as their second career. Mr. Carpenter emphasized how men initially trained in the business, accounting or physical labor field are now looking toward the nursing sector for job security and a position that benefits them both financially and personally.

Click here to read the full article.

New York Times: More Men Trading Overalls for Nursing Scrubs

Last week, Tess Vigeland, reporting for the New York Times, detailed the transition many men [and women] are making into the nursing workforce from other sectors of the economy. Interestingly enough, Ms. Vigeland discussed issues plaguing the nursing workforce, such as the lack of doctorally prepared nurse faculty to meet the rising demand of nursing education.

Click here to read Ms. Vigeland's article.

Click here to read other blogposts regarding the nursing education.

Nursing Shortage Is Temporarily Over in U.S. Until 2020

A study recently published in the New England Journal of Medicine has found that the nursing shortage in the United States that led to a decade-long push for more nursing graduates is temporarily over. The study, which was led by Douglas Staiger, an economist at Dartmouth College, highlighted the fact that between 2005 & 2010, the increase in the nursing workforce was the largest of any five-year period during the last 40 years. However, the authors also warn that even larger shortages than previously experienced are projected for 2020 and beyond.

Nicole Ostrow, of Bloomberg News, wrote in great detail about this topic, including interviews with Dr. Staiger and other respected scholars in the nursing workforce field.

Click here to read Ms. Ostrow's article.

Click here to read Dr. Staiger & colleagues' article in NEJM (subscription required).

Click here to read other blogposts relating to nursing shortages.

Nursing Programs: Shortage of Qualified Faculty Burdens Eager Students

Over the weekend, Laurel Scott, of gosanangelo.com, discussed the ongoing issue of the lack of nurse faculty throughout the country. Ms. Scott reported on local issues within the state of Texas in regards to the lack of doctorally prepared instructors to train the next generation of nurses. With the baby boomer generation beginning to retire, it is imperative that a new breed of nurses be adequately trained and educated so that they may care for the growing elderly population in the United States.

Click here to read the full news article.

Why The Florida Nursing Shortage Matters

Earlier today, Kathleen Long, Dean of the University of Florida College of Nursing, was featured as a guest columnist in The Gainesville Sun. Dr. Long discussed the future implications of the nursing shortage in Florida, citing the work of University of Pennsylvania's nurse staffing expert, Dr. Linda Aiken, as well as the IOM's Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health report.

Click here to read the full article.

Click here to read other blogposts relating to the IOM's report.

Counting on Nurses to Fill New Jersey's Primary Care Gap

During the holiday break, Patricia A. Barnett, Chief Executive Officer of the New Jersey State Nurses Association & Institute for Nursing, wrote an editorial that detailed how allowing nurse practitioners to practice to the full extent of their training will ease the upcoming primary care shortage plaguing New Jersey. The suggestions made by Ms. Barnett align with the recommendations made by IOM's Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health report, which seek to bolster the nursing field while improving health care in the United States.

Click here to read Ms. Barnett's editorial.

Click here to read all blogposts relating to the IOM's report.

Newly Licensed Registered Nurses' Geographic Immobility

The December issue of Health Affairs featured two articles highlighting surprising trends related to the nursing workforce. We have already posted about one of the studies that investigated the growth in the nursing workforce among young adults, which you can access here. The other research article, which we are sharing with you today, discussed the relative immobility of recently licensed Registered Nurses and the issues that may arise from the lack of new RNs unwilling to relocate for employment. The study found that 52.5 percent of newly licensed RNs work within forty miles of where they attended high school, which can potentially affect rural areas that may not have an adequately trained workforce in their local area.

Click here to read the article as it appears in Health Affairs.

Study Finds Surge In Young Nurses Over Past Decade

Yesterday, the USA TODAY reported the results of a recent study that found between 2002 & 2009, the number of full-time-equivalent registered nurses ages 23–26 increased by 62 percent. This research, which was recently published in the December issue of Health Affairs, shows that the nurse workforce is projected to grow faster during the next two decades than previously anticipated and in turn, help close the looming nursing shortage that many in the healthcare industry have been anticipating.

Click here to read the USA TODAY article.

Click here to read the manuscript as it appears in Health Affairs.

Nebraska Still Grappling With Nursing Shortage

Last week, Joanne Young, reporting for the Lincoln Journal Star, detailed Nebraska's efforts to reduce nursing shortages that are plaguing 73 of the 93 counties within the state. One of the most pressing issues for the state is the lack of available nurse educators to train and mentor nursing students. Many of the issues Nebraska is experiencing are addressed in the IOM's Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health report, which is also cited in the news article.

Click here to read the full news article.

Click here to read other blogposts relating to the IOM's report.

Health Care Taps The Brake On Job Creation

On Monday, Reed Abelson & Katie Thomas, of the New York Times, wrote an interesting guest piece in The Seattle Times discussing the health care industry's reliable job growth during tough times. The journalists also point out that although the industry has continued to grow, looming Medicare & Medicaid reimbursement cuts will have an affect on hospitals' expansion and hiring plans. The article concludes with a few paragraphs regarding the current and future need for nurse assistants, registered nurses and nurse practitioners & midwives.

Click here to read the article.

Nursing Programs Continue To Expand To Meet The Needs Of The Changing Roles Of Nurses

Last week, Elizabeth Donald, of the Bellville News Democrat, reported that Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (SIUE) has established a new doctorate of nursing practices degree. Ms. Donald explained how the nursing program was formed to meet the needs of nurses seeking to use their doctorate degree in a clinical setting. The article also mentioned the importance of lifelong learning and how the nurses of the future will not only have to fill the looming nursing gap due to the expansion of the medical sector but also fill the gap left by the baby boomer generation retiring over the next twenty years.

The establishment of the new doctorate program as well as continuing to engage nurses in life-long learning align with the recommendations made by the IOM's Initiative on the Future of Nursing committee's report: "The Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health."

Click here to access the news article.

Click here to find other blogposts related to the IOM's groundbreaking report.

Nursing Industry Facing A Critical Shortage

The looming nursing shortage is a topic of interest we have covered in the past, yet news stories covering this topic still make their way onto the blog. Why do we continue to still cover this topic? Because of the sheer importance of the critical issue at hand.

Yesterday, Dana Hunsinger, of the Indianapolis Star, described the dire situation that Indiana medical practices are facing. Ms. Hunsinger discussed how ~54% of all nurses in Indiana are over the age of 45 and when polled, 52% of those aged 55-64 stated they would retire within the next 4 to 9 years. The article continued to explain how there will be over 2,000 openings in 2011 for the nursing sector, with no near term solution in sight.

Click here to read the news article.

You may access similar stories from different states experiencing the same nursing shortages here and here.