A press release from Michigan State College is one of the most frightening “solutions” to the nursing shortage that I’ve yet to come across. Like nearly all of the other so-called experts, their narrow vision of solving the late, great nursing shortage of the new millennium is to increase the number of nurses churned out every year.

A number of these brainstorms scream for enlarging class size, starting up new programs, and basically, do whatever is needed to mass produce and increase the nursing population. MSU has taken it seriously, deciding that an innovative method of pumping up the nurse supply is to simply boot them out of training faster.

A normal nursing program, regardless of its in a community college or 4 year university, takes 2 years. And even then, new grads are overwhelmingly unprepared to deal with the full reality of the job. But MSU thinks that competent nurses can be trained in a year’s time. Amazing. Solve the shortage by putting undertrained nurses on the job.

MSU College of Nursing programs respond to nursing shortage

11/28/2005

EAST LANSING, Mich. – The Michigan State University College of Nursing is offering a new degree program that could have as many as 50 new nurses working in hospitals, clinics and other settings within a year.

Through the Accelerated Second Degree BSN program, students who already have a bachelor’s degree can pursue a nursing degree. It’s an intensive program, designed to quickly get new, qualified nurses into the work force, said College of Nursing Dean Marilyn Rothert.

After completion of the prerequisites, students can finish the program in 12 months, graduate with a BSN and be eligible to take the licensure exam for a registered nurse.

Between classes and clinical experiences, Rothert said the average student would easily spend more than 40 hours a week working on the program.

“We can recruit mature students that are highly motivated to become professional nurses,” Rothert said. “These students can also move rapidly to graduate schools and faculty positions to address the nursing faculty shortage.”

In addition to the accelerated program, which adds 48 more students, the College of Nursing has also expanded its traditional BSN program from 80 to 100 students.

“Enrollments are increasing at the undergraduate level, but we’re still predicting serious nursing shortages,” Rothert said. “Our graduates are hired before they graduate and can go just about anywhere they wish. However, most do stay in Michigan.”

The development of the accelerated option program is being supported through the state of Michigan’s Medicaid Disproportionate Share Hospital Funds, a program designed to train more high-quality health-care workers at an accelerated pace. This funding is in partnership with Ingham Regional Medical Center, Oakwood Healthcare Systems, Sparrow Health Systems and William Beaumont Hospital. The program provides student stipends, support for clinical faculty and curriculum implementation.

Now let’s just briefly look at two major flaws in this press release. A student who has a BSN in another subject is not necessarily going to “learn nursing” faster than someone who doesn’t. Just because they already are a college grad doesn’t mean that they can absorb two years worth of learning in one. Nursing school can be overwhelming, and many students (including those with degrees in other subjects) often drop out. The attrition rate in nursing programs is high as it is, and there is only so much one can absorb.

The old hospital diploma programs took three years to complete, and those students had a huge amount of clinical time. After three years of intense clinical training, they were able to jump right into work upon graduation.

The second utterly ridiculous statment is when Rothert says that “these students can move rapidly to graduate school and faculty positions to address the nursing faculty shortage.” Duh, forgive me if I’m being a little dense, but why would these students be any more likely to go to grad school and then become teachers? The majority of nurses who do go on for advanced degrees do not teach because of the low pay (you can often make more working as a staff nurse without the higher degree), the stress of the job, and the often less than hospitable environment at academic centers. These students will not be any different, and Rothert is a bit naive if she thinks that she’s going to be churning more teachers as well.

Here’s one for you–why not shorten the master’s program to one year? Or even six months? Then in 18 months, you can turn an ordinary soul into a qualified, bonafide nursing instructor.

It seems that the articles I come across on the nursing shortage become increasingly more ridiculous with each passing day.

Is this too much? The hurricane season officially ends tomorrow, yet tropical storm Epsilon is making a last stand. According to the news, Epsilon was centered about 800 miles east of Bermuda and about 1,445 miles west of the Azores Islands. It was moving west near 8 mph. It is not expected to make landfall, so the only ones who may be endangered on those seafaring crafts.

These Greek letter names remind me of the bood Brave New World, where all of the test tube people has their places in life, and their intelligence, pre-ordained. You could be an Alpha-plus, the highest ranking and most brilliant, and undoubtedly where Einstein would be. Then at the bottom, were the Epsilon semi-morons, the class where several notable public figures could easily fit into.

So say hello to Epsilon semi-moron, storm number 26 in our record breaking season. Now who is that person who says the global warming is just a figment of the liberals’ vivid imagination, and has nothing to do with the heightened increase of storms?