Working Short...

On any day of the week it is not uncommon to go to work and find out once again were working short. It is not just the floor I work on regularly the whole hospital is dealing with this nursing shortage, and I'm sure it's not just the hospital I work at but hospitals all over the world. Nurses go to work to care for the patients. This becomes very difficult when your workload is increased due to not having enough staff. When your workload increases patient care tends to suffer, the patients do not get the attention they need and deserve. This creates a whir wind of events families get frustrated, nurses get exhausted. Nurses are getting more tired all the time from working short, having a larger work load, and working extra hours so that patient care does not suffer.
To make things even more frustrating in the last few years it is becoming even more difficult to become a nurse. The standards of becoming a Registered Practical Nurse is now a two year diploma which used to be a certificate. To become a Registered Nurse is has now went from a three year diploma to a four year degree. The difference from college diploma to a university degree is huge and so is the cost. When money is an issue with people trying to choose a career path it seems they would more likely choose the diploma nurse. I heard on the radio in the next five years the country is going to be short hundreds of thousands of RN's. This is just when the baby boom will be aging and suffering from more health problems and we will be in desparate need for nurses. So why is it so difficult to become a nurse? These are questions I hear discussed at work all the time. Who has the answer?...
See these websites for more information on the world wide nursing shortage.
http://http://www.cna-aiic.ca/CNA/issues/hhr/default_e.aspx
http://http://www.rnaoknowledgedepot.ca/strengthening_nursing/rar_the_nursing_shortage.asp
http://http://www.fims.uwo.ca/NewMedia2007/page299184230.aspx