Well, the Motowner’s are none too happy with that accolade, but apparently, that’s how they were labeled in the October issue of Men’s Health magazine. The magazine said that, “In fact, if it were possible to hold a microscope up to Detroit, you’d see that it’s literally crawling with the critters. The Motor City is now the easiest place for an STD to hitch a ride.”

In a story that appeared in the Detroit Free Press, Dr. Noble Maseru, health officer and director of Detroit’s Department of Health and Wellness Promotion, referred to the article as “tabloid science.”

So how does Detroit really measure up? Well, in 2002, the city reported 384 cases of syphilis. The number decreased to 178 in 2003, and this year, only 92 cases have been reported.

Detroit had 6,849 cases of gonorrhea in 2002, 5,556 in 2003. and so far, 4,090 cases have been reported.

There were 11,523 reported clamydia cases in 2002, 10,389 in 2003, and so far, 8,000 this year.

I would say that they’re doing a good job. The numbers have been steadily dropping over the past two years, so why pick on Detroit?

Actually, several cities have been seeing increased rates of syphilis. In 2002, 6,862 syphilis cases were reported in the U.S., an increase of 12.4% over 2001. That number may be higher, as many cases go unnoticed and undiagnosed. Estimates show that about 40% of all syphilis cases are among gay or bisexual men, and the cities where outbreaks have occurred include Los Angeles, Seattle, New York City, Chicago and Miami Beach. Not Motown.

An interesting twist to the nursing shortage is the growing lack of qualified teachers. No other profession seems to be suffering, to such an extent, from a lack of instructors, so why is nursing so beleagured?

The shortage of nursing instructors is nationwide, but this particular article appeared a few days ago on MSNBC.com, and is from the Dallas Business Journal, focusing on the situation in Texas. But really, it is not much different elsewhere.

According to a new report by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, a lack of qualified faculty applicants, as well a lack of budgeted faculty positions, were common problems. Without enough faculty, more students cannot be admitted to nursing programs. No teachers, no students. No students, no new nurses.

Of course, if you read this article, it is not surprising why there is not a mad rush to sign up to work as a nursing instructor. You need to have at least a master’s degree, and preferably a PhD, to teach nursing at a four year university. If a nurse does decide to get a higher degree, she can make a helluva lot more money working in clinical practice, than as a teacher.

A nurse practitioner can earn $80-$90,000 a year in private practice. A nurse educator working in a hospital can earn around $55,000, a director of nursing about $90,000. In Texas, a nine month instructor’s contract at a four year university was $49,054 in 2003, and a 12-month contract averaged $65,242. Salaries in community colleges were even lower. So do the math–why would anyone, after putting in the time and shelling out a fortune to get a master’s degree or higher, work as a teacher?

Plus, working as a nursing instructor is a headache. You have to teach lectures, plus take clinical groups into the hospital, where you are responsible for each of your students. Some people do love to teach, but the lure of autonomy (as in working as a practitioner, consultant or nurse anesthetist) plus the higher salary, generally wins out.

This particular article points out that the Tarrant County Community College District has three full-time faculty positions open for psychiatric nursing instructors. They are looking for nurses with ten years experience and a master’s degree. For that they are willing to pay $45,000. Is it any wonder that these positions have been vacant for months?

Nursing schools are going to have to offer something more than the glory of educating future nurses, if they wish to attract quality teachers. But so far, it’s just been whining and complaining about the lack of teachers, and not much in the way of offering more money. It would seem that their best bet, for now, is to just stock up on part time instructors who may want to teach, but who have other sources of income. Or another route may be to offer more perks with the job, if they can’t come up with cold cash–like free tuition at their university for the instructor and her family, a stellar pension plan, or something to that effect.

Sure beats whining and bitching.