The Technological Opportunity for Nurses

The Technological Opportunity for Nurses

Introduction: The Nursing Shortage

One of the dilemmas that the United States has to face is caring for aging baby boomers. People born during the baby boom period are now thinking of retirement, and as the United States once saw seemingly exponential population growth in the 1930s and 1940s, we will see similar growth in the retirement rate in the next five-10 years.

Nurses are among many of those retiring and needing care (Facts, 2001, p.1). Indeed “by the year 2010, 40% of the nurses will be 50 years old or older” (Nevidjon, 2001, p. 1). Many nurses share the sentiments of Susan Farrel, who is a 55-year-old nurse in Vermont and says that “she’ll be ready to retire or at least cut back on her hours in the next five years” (Lack, 2005). In 2020, “the U.S. will need 1.7 million nurses,” while the supply is likely to be only 600,000 (Tremel, 2004, pg. 63).

What is to be done to remedy the situation of our aging and retiring nurses? Some states are taking innovative steps by starting “shift-bidding” for part-time nurses (Smith, 2005, p. 1), requiring mandatory reduction of nurse-to-patient ratios (Leighty, 2004, p. 1), changing the nurses’ image to the public (McPeck, 2004, p.1), raising scholarship money for students, repaying student loans, offering signing bonuses and higher salaries, and offering continuing education for current nurses (Feldman, 2003, 17-20). Also, some nurses are opting to go back to school in order to further their education (Scott, 2005, p. 1). Those who opt to go back to school to get an advanced degree usually benefit from increased money and respect. Nurse practitioners receive “two to three times the amount” of what a starting faculty member...

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.... Not only that, some schools do not have enough classroom space or equipment to teach a massive amount of students to their best ability. Then the article lists some solutions to these problems like encouraging nursing professors to engage themselves in clinical settings.

Smith, J. (2005). ‘Shift bidding’ eases nursing shortage. The Monitor. Retrieved from

the web on March 24, 2005 from http://themonitor.com/SiteProcessor.cfm?

Template=/GlobalTemplates/Details.cfm&StoryID=6100&Section=Local

This article explains the process of shift-bidding, which allows nurses to bid on a shift to take a month in advance. Some complain that this only favors part-time nurses and other nurses with more flexible schedules, but it is a way the Rio Grand Regional Hospital is working to lower their nurse-to-patient ratios while not wearing down their full-time nurses.