Nursing shortage in Colorado (rated, deal, working)

[HIMgrad]

No surprise. They let anyone in nursing school these days. The work is very hard. Nurses are on their feet all day, deal with unhappy people and are berated by physicians, especially surgeons. I'm done with nursing. I left about 10 years ago and I'll never go back to it.

[SC123]

^^ Interesting. My daughter is in the pre-nursing BSN program at Colorado Mesa in GJ. From what we understand, the acceptance rate into the actual program is 50 spots per year and you must have stellar grades and great interview skills to make the cut. She got a B in her second semester of Anatomy and that is just barely good enough.

With the new community college 2 year nursing degrees (diplomas?) and the incredible shortage in Colorado, perhaps the BSN path isn't easy enough?

[brightdoglover]

One problem, I gather, is the lack of professors for those BSNs.

[Katarina Witt]

^^Colorado requires a master's degree to teach in "those" AAS programs. Shortage of nursing faculty is a national problem.

[rya700]

I got my ADN from Front Range Community College in FC in 2005. At the time it was very difficult to get a job as a new graduate in the northern CO hospitals (I did work at a few nursing homes with poor working conditions) so I relocated to Wyoming. Right now I am making $30.50/hr working night shift in a rehab facility which is, from what I have heard, comparable to CO with much cheaper COL here in Wyoming.

As far as the BSN argument, I have interviewed for many (nonacute care) jobs over the years and most hiring managers seem more interested in your working experience and availability than if you have a BSN. I realize that isn't the case everywhere but I think seasoned nurse managers know that there is more to a "good nurse" than the degree.

[DrDog]

Originally Posted by HIMgrad

No surprise. They let anyone in nursing school these days. The work is very hard. Nurses are on their feet all day, deal with unhappy people and are berated by physicians, especially surgeons. I'm done with nursing. I left about 10 years ago and I'll never go back to it.

Glad to hear it. We don’t need anyone with that attitude.

[grad_student200]

Originally Posted by Vision67

Colorado faces a staggering shortage that’s only getting “scarier”

https://www.csindy.com/coloradosprin...t?oid=13995176

"By 2025, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Colorado’s demand could exceed supply by 12,900 positions.

In the Colorado Springs metro area alone, there were 938 open positions with “nurse” or “nursing” in the job title on July 18, according to data supplied by the Pikes Peak Workforce Center. A good portion of those are openings at Children’s Hospital Colorado, which announced July 16 that it’s recruiting the first of 200 team members it plans to hire at its new facility in Colorado Springs. And all of the clinical nursing positions available at the Children’s Hospital require at least a four-year degree."



Healthcare is one area of the economy that keeps growing. All my children are employed in that sector. They all have excellent jobs.

One of the problems I observed years ago was the "caste system" at the Denver Health Sciences Center. It's brutal. The caste system goes like this:

year 1 med student < year 2 med student < year 3 med student < year 4 med student

Then it continues into residency.
year 1 resident < year2 resident < year 3 resident < attending physician

In general, there was a lot of bullying and snobbery. I witnessed an MD/PhD female who talked to medical students as if they were high school dropouts with ridiculous disrespect. These were students who had completed a grueling STEM program and oftentimes "lived in the library". But the MD/PhD still spoke to them pejoratively.

Within the specialties there is also a caste system. A specialist is usually higher up the ladder than a primary care physician. Hence, most graduating medical students avoid primary care.

But in terms of health economics the most cost-effective way of treating patients is through primary care and preventing medicine. This is how the US healthcare system differs from other countries. The focus here is on high-paying specialties rather than primary care.
https://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2018/06...mary-care.html

The nursing shortage is in primary care. The physician shortage is in primary care. Ironically, primary care is the most cost-effective way of treating patients. The specialties need to be scaled back. The caste system needs to be modified. It's brutal and rude. The surgeon portrayed by Alec Baldwin in "Malice" back in the day was fictional but in real life there are specialists like that who bully nurses into oblivion.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LqeC3BPYTmE

I highly doubt the culture will change at the Denver Health Sciences Center. Those snobby MDs have lost their leverage over the years though due to HMO/insurance and malpractice attorneys. Many doctors themselves do not want their children to go into medicine or would switch careers if they could.

I am glad I chose to stay in engineering when I was in Colorado. The US Healthcare System is a nightmare to navigate as a primary care clinician (nurse, MD, or allied health) trying to find recognition and equal pay.

[McGowdog]

Originally Posted by Vision67

Colorado faces a staggering shortage that’s only getting “scarier”

https://www.csindy.com/coloradosprin...t?oid=13995176

"By 2025, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Colorado’s demand could exceed supply by 12,900 positions.

In the Colorado Springs metro area alone, there were 938 open positions with “nurse” or “nursing” in the job title on July 18, according to data supplied by the Pikes Peak Workforce Center. A good portion of those are openings at Children’s Hospital Colorado, which announced July 16 that it’s recruiting the first of 200 team members it plans to hire at its new facility in Colorado Springs. And all of the clinical nursing positions available at the Children’s Hospital require at least a four-year degree."



Healthcare is one area of the economy that keeps growing. All my children are employed in that sector. They all have excellent jobs.

Seems to me that folks should eat more celery, put the fork down, and avoid those places like the plague.

[emm74]

Originally Posted by grad_student200

In general, there was a lot of bullying and snobbery. I witnessed an MD/PhD female who talked to medical students as if they were high school dropouts with ridiculous disrespect. These were students who had completed a grueling STEM program and oftentimes "lived in the library". But the MD/PhD still spoke to them pejoratively.

But yes, attending physicians outrank residents who outrank medical students. In law, partners outrank associates who outrank law students. That's basic common sense.

[Code Stemi]

Originally Posted by DrDog

BSN has become the new standard in most western states.

Originally Posted by brightdoglover

Yes, as in most places. But there's no good reason for it except maybe the magnet status.

Not really. CA, OR, and WA have a strong preference for it. But the entirety of the Intermountain West region all up and down the Rockies hire ADN nurses in a heartbeat. The only exception to that being Colorado. So if Colorado has a nursing "shortage" (which I doubt), this could easily be remedied by hiring associate degree RN's. Yet, hospitals look the other way. So they have themselves to blame.