Desperately Seeking Nurses

It seems lately like the news can't be stressed enough: there is a shortage of nurses in the United States, making health care among the most recession-proof career choices in the nation. From adding new programs to broadening their class sizes, Nurse schools everywhere are working hard to bring in more students to fill the growing vacancies to counteract the many factors that have led to this situation.

"The concern is, do we have enough faculty" said , Finlandia University Nursing Department Chair, Fredi DeYampert. "The average age of nursing faculty members is in the 50's. So, of course there could be a major exodus of nursing faculty members at or earlier than the nurses."

In addition, some nurses aren't happy with their working conditions and are leaving the profession mid-career. Others are going back to school to help fill the physician shortage.

"There's more and more pressure to utilize what are called mid-levels, Nurse Practitioners and Physicians Assistants", said Portage Health, Medical Director, Kirk Lufkin. "Many nurse practitioners were nurses first."

Another reason for the nursing shortage appears to be a lack of interest in nursing for young people. The average age for nurses at the moment, the article states, is 48 -- dangerously close to retirement age.

As alarming as it may sound, every nurse school in the country is working hard to find ways to catch up, especially putting emphasis on attracting more students with aspirations of teaching nursing themselves one day.

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