America's Nursing Shortage

Make it a safe environment for the nurse and for the patient. A smaller nurse-to-patient ratio would allow for the nurse to give good quality time to a patient. It would allow time for better patient care to be given by the nurse. In a recent survey done by American Nurses Association, seventy five percent of nurses surveyed said that with the environment they work in, their quality of patient care had declined and fifty six percent surveyed that their time for patients had decreased (Retrieved 22 October 2002 from http://www.op.nysed.gov/nurseshortage.htm). It is sad to think that nurses are not able to give good quality care to their patients.
             Improving the nurse-to-patient ratio means the need to hire more nurses. Some places are offering high competitive wages and wonderful benefit packages. Others are offering sign on bonuses, while this incentive varies, the amount can be high. I personally know that Wishard Hospital in Indianapolis was offering a fifteen thousand dollar sign on bonus a few months ago. Methodist Medical Center in Dallas, Texas, is offering to any nurse that is hired by the end of the year, a brand new Volkswagen Beetle (Retrieved 22 October 2002 from http://abcnews.go.com/section/living/DailyNews/nursingshortage020807.html).
             Another way hospitals are trying to beat their nursing shortages is by using "travelers." Travelers are nurses that move from city to city and take assignments at a hospital for a few weeks http://80-library.cqpress.com.indianapolis.libproxy./document.php?id=cqresrre200209200).
             Travelers are paid higher than the staff nurses that they work along side of and receive other incentives such as free housing, travel expenses, and health insurance http://80-library.cqpress.com.indianapolis.libproxy./document.php?id=cqresrre200209200). Although these nurses fill in gaps on some units, the cost for a hospital is much higher because not only are they paying for the nurse to be there, they are also paying the company the nurse works for to supply that nurse.