That’s essentially, what the expert talking heads are saying about nursing. In these economic downtimes, nursing suddenly becomes an attractive profession. But when the going gets good, and things improve, the floodgates reopen and nurses pour out of the profession and enrollment in nursing programs whittles away to a trickle.

So what does that say about nursing? Not much.

From the Wall Street Journal:

For the past few decades, nursing has been a kind of reverse economic indicator. In periods of economic weakness or recession — including in the early 1980s, the early 1990s and earlier this decade following the technology-company bust and the Sept. 11 attacks — the number of full-time nurses grew at an average annual rate of 3.5%. By contrast, in times of healthy economic expansion, the increase has averaged just 2.4%, according to an analysis of government data in “The Future of the Nursing Workforce in the U.S.,” a book by Peter Buerhaus, director of the Center for Interdisciplinary Health Workforce Studies at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Douglas Staiger, a Dartmouth College economics professor, and David Auerbach, a principal analyst in the Health and Human Resources Division of the Congressional Budget Office.

In other words, nursing isn’t a first choice of profession, but something people turn to when the economy sucks and its hard to find a job. So why are there always jobs in nursing? Because working conditions suck and nurses get out of it if something better comes along.

Well, I guess this solves the nursing shortage. Just keep the nation in a recession, and we’ll have all the nurses that we’ll ever need.

In a blog, someone commented on this article and wrote that: This easing could be temporary, of course; one hospital administrator quoted in the article notes that as soon as the economy picks up, nurses could leave the field again.

Hey, no kidding. It’s not that nurses “could leave the field again,” it’s they “will leave the field again,” unless hospitals get their act together and make some real changes.

Today is Memorial Day, and for most of us, a holiday. For those who have to work, it may be a day to earn time and a half and bulk up the bank account. That was one of the few perks of nursing–working on holidays like this one, where I really didn’t celebrate it (veggies aren’t much into barbecues), and it was an opportunity to be paid extra. Closer to what I was worth, as opposed to the normal pay.

But the real purpose of having this holiday, which was carved out of VE Day (Victory in Europe) and VJ Day (Victory in Japan) at the end of WW II, was to honor our military. In particular, to honor those who died.

I’m not going to give a history lesson here, but as you can see, the photo is of the Vietnam Memorial which sits on the mall in Washington DC. Well, I tried to upload a photo but it didn’t seem to take. Anyway, Vietnam. A controversial war, a dirty war (as though any war is ever clean), and one which threatened to tear this country apart. However, it is notable in the annuals of nursing history as the first war in which MEN were allowed to serve as nurse. That’s right, the first war where nurses of the male persuasion could actually tend the wounded and sick, and not have to pick up a gun.

In previous wars, and in the military in general, a male nurse was a non-entity. If you were a man and a nurse, you were not permitted to serve as such. Granted, there weren’t all that many male nurses in WW II and Korea, but the military was certainly in dire need of them. There were plenty of able bodied men to draft as soldiers, but the supply of nurses was rather scant. And yet, rather than allow these men to nurse, they gave them a gun and sent them to the front. A poor use of personnel and skill, considering the dire need for nurses, especially towards the end of WWII.

So I thought a photo of the Vietnam War Memorial was fitting. Nurses served and died in every war that this country has fought, so here’s a toast to the brave.

I know that I bitch and complain a lot about the spam, but as I was deleting it a few minutes ago, a gem caught my eye. Now you really have to wonder about the mentality of the people sending this stuff. Is it safe for them to be playing with computers, let alone walking the streets? Too bad all of those mental health institutions were closed down. I think the beds could very easily be filled…

Weird anal insertions

Frog Sex

Weird anal insertions–I can’t even begin to think of the pain associated with that. Hey, if you want some asshole pain, just grow a few hemorrhoids. That should give you all the anal enjoyment you’ll ever need. And frog sex. Do frogs have sex? Are there really people around who are interested in two frogs getting it on, or in having sex with a frog.

So about those mental health beds…

Now how could I have possibly missed National Nurses Week. I mean, why wasn’t it highlighted on my calendar in dayglo green, or why didn’t I have some sort of alarm system chiming…”We are now entering National Nurses Week, please put a smile on your face.”

National Nurses Week is one of those things, something that some dweeb thought up to “honor” nurses. It runs from May 6-May 12, this year, to coincide with the birthday of the grand-dam of nursing herself, Florence Nightingale. It would be one thing if it was a sort of May Day type thing, where nurses all over the country dropped their bedpans and took to the streets. It would be one thing if facilities thought to actually honor nurses during this sacred week, by doing something that shows that nurses are respected and considered an important member of the team, instead of something they figure that they can work to death, and toss out the door if they think they need to make cuts somewhere.

This is from the American Nurses Association:

As we celebrate National Nurses Week 2008 (NNW) May 6 - 12, the American Nurses Association (ANA) and its constituent member associations (CMAs) salute nurses across the country with the theme Nurses: Making a Difference Every Day. Nursing is often described as both an art and a science; this year’s theme reflects the commitment nurses make every day for their patients and the compassion and quality of care they provide for their community.

Today’s nurses must have the strength to care for patients during times of disaster and crisis; the commitment to remain involved in continuing education throughout their careers; and the compassion to provide hands-on patient care at the bedside – as they have done throughout the centuries. Moreover, at 2.9 million strong, nurses represent the largest group of health care workers in America, and we have the power to achieve much-needed reform in nursing and in health care. That is why it is important to take time out during National Nurses Week to thank nurses for what they do and to remind the public just how vital our nation’s nurses are to patients, their families and society.

It shows you just how out of touch with reality they are. Nurses don’t want to be thanked, they want to be treated as professionals, respected, and paid what they are worth. Of course, far too many nurses still believe that it’s okay to be abused on the job, okay if a patient hits them or a physician smacks them around….hospitals tend to think so as well. It would be really nice if the ANA was an organization akin to the American Medical Association, and had real clout and a real vision.

But less than 10% of all nurses belong to the ANA, and it’s not hard to understand why. They do nothing, have no vision except to throw around fancy rhetoric, and tend to skim over real issues. Like last week, which was supposed to honor nurses. How about getting a little more militant, and striving to motivate nurses to stand up for themselves, to organize and fight abuse?

I guess that would go against the spirit of National Nurses Week, though. Nurses are supposed to be sweet and compassionate. They should be thankful that their employers don’t kick them in the ass more than once a day. Right?

You know things are getting really bad when your spam starts coming in Russian. And Chinese. And in alphabets you never knew existed.

Anyway, posting has been a little lax, due to my travel schedule. I’m going to be getting back on track, in addition to doing never ending battle with spam. I think I may just close off comments again, as that seems to work best. When the box is loaded with spam, I generally don’t have time to sift through it for legitimate comments.

But I guess it’s National Nurses Week? Or was last week? You can see how much interest I take in that silly ploy to make it seem like nurses are appreciated.