Global nursing shortages
BMJ 2002; 324 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.324.7340.751 (Published 30 March 2002) Cite this as: BMJ 2002;324:751
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After reading Prof. James Buchan's article on Global Nursing
shortages, I had the uncomfortable feeling that I was being conned into
believing that this was a problem of much greater complexity than I had
hitherto imagined.
It has always seemed to me that we underpay nurses and that if we wish to
compete successfully in the nursing labour market then we must offer an
attractive wage and career prospects. Instead we have, in large measure,
relied on a sense of vocation.
The result is what we see today, when despite having less than 50% of the
beds to nurse than were there 30 years ago, we are still markedly short of
nurses, so much so that we actively recruit nurses in 3rd. world
countries.
If attractive wages are good enough for professional footballers, why not
try a little of the same medicine on professional nurses?
I don't think that the problem is as complicated as Prof. Buchan tries to
make out.
Competing interests: No competing interests
A response on a purely personal level. Of course, things like various
working hour arrangements, CPD etc may help, but there can be a more
fundamental problems.
I nursed for some years but gave up in the mid 80s. I would have gone
back like a shot in the following few years *if* I could have worked
somewhere in the NHS which had adequate resources to do the job properly.
I have checked with another colleague who left the wards more recently,
and she shares this view.
In my own NHS experience as a student then staff nurse in oncology, I
had to leave patients who were dying, alert and terrified, alone. And be
late giving essential analgesia. And never had the time to offer any kind
of proper emotional support, or the care some very sick and/or scared
patients needed. A significant chunk of my time was wasted on endlessly
scavenging for scarce basic resources like pillows.
If anyone thinks the resourcing problems are new, they're wrong. I
got fed up with statements from the management at least once a year, along
the lines of 'there's a funding crisis- we know we've told you that
before, but this time its much worse'. After around 10 years of that, you
can loose hope.
I note that the references on nurse retention are from US and
Canadian studies. I hope there are, or soon will be, some UK NHS studies
too. And that their findings are acted on, or its just another waste of
money.
Two ex-nurses hope that maybe things have improved since we left, but
suspect not.
Fiona McLean
Competing interests: No competing interests
safety in nursing
my wife was a registered nurse for 16 years in new zealand before
finally stopping due to chronic staff shortages. at that time she was
working in paediatrics. they were so busy that they had children sleeping
on mattresses in the hall and no extra staff available. she realised
after a med error which she and another staff nurse made that she could no
longer work in a system where she could inadvertantly take a life!!
itsw not just about pay its about safety issues as well... both for the
client and the tenders..
Competing interests: No competing interests