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Mon Jul 21 21:02:59 BST 2008

I have to add my 2 cents as well.  The decision makers in the think tanks 
of the 80's assured that profound  spending cuts to medical and nursing 
education funding would be wise due to the glut in the system.  They were 
wrong, no one really listened and now patients,,docs and RNs are 
suffering.  It will take longer to fix than we have time.  Look at the 
paucity of programs for EM and FP docs.  Most nursing programs turn away 
double the number of students they enroll- and those are just the 
qualified applicants.  Pay does have a lot to do with the shortage, but so 
does working conditions and the constant reminder- verbal and non-verbal 
that a nurse can be replaced at any time.  Doesn't have to be the truth, 
but administration certainly seems to buy into it.
Just venting as well, I'll probably die in the ED-while working :)
Bif Fink, RN, MSN

"Be kinder than necessary, for everyone you meet is fighting some kind of 
battle...." 

"Errington Thompson " <errington at erringtonthompson.com> 
Sent by: ccm-l-bounces at lists.ccm-l.org
07/15/2008 04:38 AM
Please respond to
errington at erringtonthompson.com

To
"'Trauma &amp; Critical Care mailing list'" <trauma-list at trauma.org>
cc
Critical Care List <ccm-l at ccm-l.org>
Subject
Re: [CCM-L] Busy weekend - nursing shortage

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 â?? 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 â?? 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 

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[CCM-L] Busy weekend - nursing shortage