Nursing Students in Demand
September 4, 2004

For students who are exploring career paths, the field of nursing, both in Canada and in the United States , offers many opportunities. In fact, up completion of a registered nursing course, with the appropriate scores, registered nurses could be guaranteed a number if posts across both Canada and the U.S. There is a nursing shortage in North America . The issue is so critical that the Canadian and U.S. governments are implementing plans to encourage new nurses into the field, and support existing staff in hopes of keeping them satisfied with there positions. Health Canada considers the nursing shortage of 1999 critically severe, due to the fact the need for nursing could not be met immediately and possibly in the future.

A study by Linda Aiken, nursing professor at the University of Pennsylvania, reveals that when a nurse take on four patients over the recommended four patients, for a total of eight patients, each patients risk of death increases by 31 per cent. To prevent such a disaster as the 1999 shortage from happening again, Health Canada issued a nursing strategy with suggestions for improvement such as higher enrolment into nursing schools, adequate placements available for clinical experience, education and specialization of existing employees to increase competency and improved management strategies. This plan is one solution to fall back on, but because of the aging population and workforce, the shortage of nurses in Canada looms as an obstacle, which only a new workforce can alleviate. The only action which can be taken when nurses are scarce – as the health-care systems now exist in Canada and the United States – is for hospitals to transfer patients to a facility which can accommodate their needs. For a long-term solution to this shortage, more students need to enroll into nursing schools, and these schools must accept more students to make a dent in the demand for health-care professionals in the future.

Completion if a registered nursing certificate is easier today than ever before with the development and growing popularity of distance education, including universities such as Jacksonville University. Athabasca University , and the university Alliance , Career colleges also offer nursing programs, providing conveniences through time, cost and location. For more information, visit www.uc411.com/nursing.asp

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