Busy weekend - nursing shortage

Jane Harper janeharper at mac.com
Tue Jul 15 14:39:31 BST 2008 

It's easy to say that physicians and nurses should stand together -- but
which of the two professions can better survive a work stoppage, a new
graduate nurse who (in this crappy economy) is sole support for a husband
and three children or a physician making $400,000 a year?

Jane


On 7/15/08 6:37 AM, "Errington Thompson" <errington at erringtonthompson.com>
wrote:

> This is nothing new.  It has been going on for the past 10 - 15 years.
> Doctors have grumbled but haven't put up a concerted effort to stop this
> practice.  

Finally, I would add that experienced nurses like yourself are
> between a rock and a hard place.  I know in the ICU and in the ER, when green
> nurses drop the ball, it is the experienced nurses who pick up the ball.
> Because of this mortality and morbidity is lower than it would be if the green
> nurses were allowed to stumble on their own.  The hospital administrators can
> then point to little or no change in morbidity or mortality and say that their
> cost cuts has had no impact on patient care.  

Until doctors and nurses stand
> together to confront these terrible practices of hospital administrators
> across the nation, this will continue to happen. 

E

Errington C. Thompson,
> MD, FACS, FCCM
Trauma/Surgical Critical Care
Mission Hospital
Asheville,
> NC
Author - A Letter to America
www.whereistheoutrage.net 

Everyone deserves
> to make an informed decision

                                - Errington
> Thompson, MD

-----Original Message-----
From: trauma-list-bounces at trauma.org
> [mailto:trauma-list-bounces at trauma.org] On Behalf Of ofiara at comcast.net
Sent:
> Monday, July 14, 2008 10:03 PM
To: Trauma &amp; Critical Care mailing list;
> Trauma &amp; Critical Care mailing list
Subject: RE: Busy weekend - nursing
> shortage

There is and has been a nation wide nursing shortage in the U.S.  It
> will get even worse as I believe the ave age of a nurse in the U.S. is in
> their late 40's . At the E.D./Trauma center I work in the Chicago-land area,
> we have lost  a number of great experiences nurses due to management. The have
> been replaced by "new grads' ( cheaper labor) and are very green.  Management
> doesn't seem to care because they are saving Salary money.  They also are very
> eager to send staff home when the census is low, not based on pt. acuity, but
> when we are going " crazy" we can't get extra help because it will be
> overtime.  I still love my job and I have a great working relationship with
> the doc's I work with and I like working with the E.R. residents and  yes.
> Trauma can be exciting, but after 20 plus years I find myself enjoying a
> beverage after work more often. Just some venting.

Larry Ofiara, R.N.
> 




-------------- Original message -------------- 
From: "William Bromberg"
> <brombwi1 at memorialhealth.com> 

> Tim, 
> 
> Same here in Savannah, GA.
> Hospital is licensed for ~500 beds, staffed 
> for only ~400. We routinely
> close beds for staffing issues. 
> 
> BTW — as far as I'm concerned this is
> a result of price controls on 
> medical care. If you can't raise the price of
> a widget to cover the 
> variable cost of making one more, you just won't make
> any more. 
> Basically in any sane industry if demand outstripped supply,
> prices 
> would rise to allow wages to increase to attract more workers,
> thereby 
> increasing supply. In medicine we can't increase nursing wages much
> so 
> we raid emerging countries for nurses instead, worsening their staffing
> 
> shortages (NYC hospitals would cease to function overnight if not for 
>
> Phillipino (sp?) nurses — best imperialism ever). 
> 
> Bill 
> 
> >>>
> Richard van der Kleyn 7/14/2008 6:40 AM >>> 
> 
> Dear Tim, 
> 
> A recent
> survey here in Catalonia (north east spain) showed that we 
> were short of
> 15,000 nurses, Spain as a whole needs 3000 more ER docs. 
> in our hospital in
> the summer months we always have 1 ward closed (about 
> 40 beds) due to a
> lack of nurses...even though in the summer our 
> catchment area populacion
> triples. Its much the same all other europe, a 
> lot of spanish
> nurses/doctors go to the UK ( better pay), most of our 
> new doctors come
> from south america (better pay), a lot of african 
> doctors now go to south
> america (better pay)......finally the well paid 
> western doctors go to
> africa as charitable organisations because of the 
> lack of doctors...it
> looks like money is the way to atract personal. 
> 
> Richard van der Kleyn 
>
> 
> > > -----Original Message-----> From: Timothy Craig Hardcastle > Sent: 
>
> 14 July 2008 07:40> To: 'trauma-list at trauma.org'> Subject: Busy weekend 
> -
> nursing shortage> > Hi all> > We had a rather hectic weekend - but 
> were
> even more curtailed by a> shortage of nurses; had to close ICU beds 
> and
> refuse some patients from> the EMS. Is this just a South African 
> problem or
> is this really an issue> in the USA, Europe and UK as well? 
> Do you have any
> ideas about how to> attract dedicated trauma nurses to 
> one's unit?> > Tim>
> Dr Timothy C Hardcastle> M.B., Ch.B. (Stell); M. Med 
> (Chir) (Stell); FCS
> (SA)> Principal Surgeon-Lecturer / Sub-specialist: 
> Trauma and Critical
> Care> Deputy director: Trauma Unit and Trauma ICU> 
> Inkosi Albert Luthuli
> Central Hospital / UKZN> 800 Bellair Road> 
> Mayville, Durban> > Postal:
> PostNet Suite 27> Private Bag X05> Malvern, 
> 4055> KwaZulu Natal> >
> timothyhar at ialch.co.za > > > --> trauma-list : 
> TRAUMA.ORG> To change your
> settings or unsubscribe visit:> http://www.tr 
> 
>
> auma.org/index.php?/community/ 
>
> _________________________________________________________________ 
> Express
> yourself instantly with MSN Messenger! Download today it's 
> FREE! 
>
> http://messenger.msn.click-url.com/go/onm00200471ave/direct/01/ 
> -- 
>
> trauma-list : TRAUMA.ORG 
> To change your settings or unsubscribe visit: 
>
> http://www.trauma.org/index.php?/community/ 
> 
> -- 
> trauma-list :
> TRAUMA.ORG 
> To change your settings or unsubscribe visit:
> http://www.trauma.org/index.php?/community/ 

--
trauma-list : TRAUMA.ORG
To
> change your settings or unsubscribe
> visit:
http://www.trauma.org/index.php?/community/

-- 
Jane Harper, PhD(c), RN, APN
Trauma Nurse Practitioner, Rockford, IL

More information about the trauma-list mailing list