Now here’s some news to the woe-is-me-we-have-a-nursing-shortage crowd. I have long contended that the shortage is of tolerable workplaces, not nurses. It has nothing to do with nursing schools needing to put out more nurses, it has to do with keeping nursing in the profession and on the job.

Listen up: Hackensack Medical Center in New Jersey has an 8% turnover rate, and is primarily NOT due to job dissatisfaction. You know, people leave jobs for a variety of reason unrelated to workplace dissatisfaction, such as relocating, return to school, etc. And now…drum roll….they have more applicants for jobs than they know what to do with. A waiting list of nurses who want to work there. They haven’t used outside registries in years, and have their own in-house pool to fill gaps due to sick calls, vacation, admissions, etc.

Hackensack Medical Center is located in a busy metropolitan area and are not the only job on the block. Nurses come there because they are well paid, respected, and treated well.

So now if Hackensack can “solve” the nursing shortage, what’s keeping everyone else from doing the same? Aside from Hackensack, there are several other facilities about which I have read similar things–low vacancy, low turnover. No nursing shortage.

I just spoke with someone at Hackensack Medical Center today, for an article I am writing, so this information isn’t second or third hand. So instead of all of these “focus groups” and endless studies of studies, and hair-brained and idiotic ideas and schemes to “solve” the shortage, why don’t facilities (who are serious about it) go and talk to the people at places like Hackensack Medical Center, and see what they’re doing right. And then duplicate it.

Sound simple enough? I think so.

That’s right, this is what is has come to. I have had so much spam on my blog these past two days, that I am cutting off access to comments for a little while. At least until the spammers redirect their garbage somewhere else. Or just curl up and die. Or skewer themselves on hot coals.

Yesterday I was bombarded with more than 150. This morning, I woke up to 88 already sitting and waiting to be approved. It is overwhelming.

So for now, the comments are turned off so I can have some peace and get some work done. And not have to waste time deleting spam. I’m hoping to upgrade, so that more of this spam is just deleted automatically or filtered better.

I’ll keep you all posted. In the meanwhile, let’s all affirm for spammers to rot in hell and then some.