Nursed back to health
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f everything goes as well as we hope, Weber State University could be in line for lots of federal money to help train more nurses. In case you didn't know, Utah -- like the rest of the country -- is running low on nurses, especially in hospitals, and so success of this effort in Washington would be a great thing for us in Utah.
Sen. Bob Bennett, R-Utah, is pushing the legislation along, and is optimistic it will survive. The goal is $500,000 more for Weber's More Nurses Now program. As Chris Millard, director of sponsored projects at WSU, told our reporter, the money would be used to hire additional nursing faculty who would, in turn, teach an expanded number of nursing students.
According to Millard, part of the nation's nursing shortage stems from the job's high stress level, which leads -- as it does in any line of work -- to early burn-out. That, of course, causes a greater demand for new nurses, placing nursing schools like Weber's in a tough position: Millard says due to current funding constraints, the university rejects more than 500 qualified applicants a year because there isn't room for them in Weber's nursing program.
Study after study has confirmed what appears logical on its face: When hospitals are short-staffed with qualified nurses, the nurses cannot spend as much time with each patient. That has the potential to adversely affect patient care.
And, let's be honest, we're talking about mortality here -- patients can become more seriously ill or even die in greater numbers.
This is a problem that needs to be addressed from a few different directions. It's obvious that since nursing -- again, especially in hospitals -- is such a high-stress job, administrators need to figure out ways in which to lessen the negative factors confronting nurses. We understand, this is easier said than done.
Moreover, the shortage is a critical public policy issue. This isn't just about hospitals and state colleges handling the problem on their own. The nursing shortage is a significant factor in the larger health care crisis millions of Americans are dealing with on a daily basis. That's why federal and state governments have to make sure they are involved in helping to get as many qualified nurses as possible into waiting jobs.
Finally, as Weber's Millard told the Standard-Examiner, there's not only a shortage of nurses, but of nursing faculty: "We want bachelor degree-educated nurses to go on to get a master's and a Ph.D., then come back and be faculty."
This is no small order, but that $500,000 will help Weber getting a running start. Let's all keep our fingers crossed that it will survive the legislative process.
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