ÎDivine Secretsâ reviewer may have attention deficit disorder

Was Mark Bentacourt even aware in his June 5 critique of ãThe Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood,ä that the movie was based on two best-selling novels? If so, he didnât bother to mention that fact in his biased, sophomoric article. Itâs obvious that Mr. Bentacourt has some deeply seeded hatred for Sandra Bullock and, for whatever reason, has resorted to childish name-calling and other insults.

I understand that he is entitled to his opinion about this and other movies, but I disagree with whoever chose him to be the one that grades movies for the rest of us. On another note, this movie, based on both novels, was geared toward the mature female population. While it may be interesting to get a male opinion of a ãchick-flick,ä I donât think this movieâs review does service to its audience.

Next time, try to be a little more open-minded and to think of the core audience before spewing your attempts at creative writing. Oh, and another tip, if the movie is based on a book it might help to read it first. This may not be customary for the general population, but as a movie critic I would think it would be the professional thing to do.

T. M. Holt
Research Technician
Pharmacology and Toxicology Department

Retention can halt nurse shortage

I am a male RN in Louisiana. I work in the ICU of a New Orleans area hospital. We are experiencing the shortage here as everywhere else. I am tired of hearing about what the government is trying to do to correct the shortage.

All the articles I read are about the government giving money to the schools to increase class size or trying to think of a shortcut to graduate more nurses. Neither of these ideas will solve the ever-growing problem in the nursing profession.

It appears to me that no one has asked the people that are on the front lines, the experienced nurses.

It will not matter how many nurses graduate in the next few years the shortage will continue to grow without the retention of nurses.

Nursing is not a glamorous job by any means. No one is there giving meds and hanging drips trying to save the dying or very sick besides the nurse.

The doctors most of the time are there only minutes each day. The nurse has to paint the picture on the phone for the doctor who has to make the right decision from what the nurse is telling them. This type of experience only comes from years of working and from the knowledge of older experienced nurses.

Unlike most professions, the more experienced the nurse the more valuable they are to their peers. Retention should be the main focus to solving the shortage. Nurses are more likely to leave the profession within five years for a more glamorous job that they will have more of an opportunity to make the money they deserve. A nurse with 20-30 years of knowledge and experience only makes around $18,000-$20,000 more than a new graduate. This leads me to another issue that plagues nursing as a profession. Most working professionals will continually receive a raise each year based on performance. The problem with nursing is that a nurse can reach the top pay scale and canât switch hospitals to make more money. Hospitalsâ pay scale region wide is usually within one to two dollars. It may also take a nurse 20 years to reach this top that is only $10 more an hour than a new grad. A new nurse can make $20 per hour and a 20-year experienced nurse is only making $28-30 per hour.

If the government wants to start to solve the shortage it should try and retain what we already have. Our profession will only survive from the experience and knowledge of our more experienced nurses.

Rob Weisdorffer, R.N.

Research Support Office served valuable purpose

I am writing in support of Prof. Jim Fieldâs letter opposing the Research Support Office cuts. The announcement that Vice President Richard Powell has decided to eliminate one of the few positive tangible services that the University provides for researchers was stunning. It was a further demonstration of this universityâs lack of understanding of what it takes to compete successfully for extramural grants in todayâs environment.

In a time when funds in many disciplines are increasingly limited and all fields are increasingly competitive, the Research Support Office provides early announcements of funding opportunities through its ãResearch Reviewä and ãNew Funding Announcementä publications. The breadth of scanning, timeliness and cost of these announcements are unmatched by other services.

Additionally, there is a very important point of governance that is involved here. It is the faculty researchers that bring in the indirect dollars to the university by writing and winning grants. It is this same community that should have been consulted by the leadership prior to making such a draconian cut that will directly impact our success in finding and obtaining new funding.

This decision will only exacerbate the downward spiral of state support by, in all likelihood, decreasing our competitiveness in obtaining non-state budgeted money. This is a decision that is both counter-intuitive and counter-productive, and should be reversed.

Robert J. Freitas
Associate in Extension
Agricultural & Biosystems Engineering