By
Richard Clark
Arizona Daily Wildcat
Lack of professional caretakers means more opportunities for employment
A shortage of qualified nurses on the national level has left UA students with a cautious sense of optimism about their careers.
Three factors - insufficient recruiting, an increase in patients and a change in health care environment - have helped create the national shortage, said Suzanne Van Ort, University of Arizona College of Nursing dean.
Van Ort said the first problem indicates that nursing agencies need to start recruiting at an earlier age. The second problem is the aging of the existing nursing work force because most nurses are in their early 40s. And while the work force is getting older, the general population is doing the same, meaning more nurses will be needed when the baby boomers age, she said.
The third problem revolves around a shift in the health care environment.
"Twenty years ago, almost all nurses worked in hospitals - now only about 60 percent of nurses work in hospitals," she said.
All these factors, though, could mean good news for UA nursing hopefuls. Mindy Friedlander, a nursing senior, said that while jobs are almost guaranteed, the work will be more difficult because of the low nurse-to-patient ratio.
The ratio of patients to nurses is also one of the larger concerns for Lucia Esparaza, a nursing junior.
"Ten years ago, the average nurse had six to eight patients at a time - now there are up to 10 patients at a time," she said.
But several of the students see opportunities in the shortage.
"Most students start in positions they don't want - now there are more choices to start from," said Carrie Bowden, a nursing junior.
"Despite problems and the shortage of nurses, the work is worth it in the end," said Kristy Keating, a nursing senior.
"It is a lot of hard work for not a whole lot of money - I love taking care of people," Keating said.
Recruiting is one of the factors that determine the quantity of nurses available, Van Ort said.
Some students, though, are concerned about the changes in the health care system and hospitals trying to replace nurses with patient care technicians and certified nursing assistants.
"They (certified nursing assistants) don't have the same physiological knowledge nurses have," Friedlander said.
Several solutions are available to help alleviate the crisis, Van Ort said.
"Improving salary and rewards for nurses will make the hospital a more attractive place to work," she said.
Van Ort is working with deans of nursing colleges around the country to improve recruiting efforts. She wants to recruit more people from the Hispanic community because of existing low numbers.
One area they will also target are women, as 90 percent of nurses are women, and the new opportunities for women in the professional world make it difficult to recruit females because of the low pay, Van Ort said.
A new fast track program for nurses with associate degrees is also being developed.
"It will create a new pathway for students to move from an associate's degree to a (BA) in nursing in a shorter amount of time," Van Ort said.
In her career, Van Ort said she has seen several shortages that have all been resolved.
"It goes in cycles," she said.
