Nursing Shortage Cuts No Slack for Arkansas Hospitals
By: Import User
Updated: January 7, 2009
A nationwide shortage of nurses isn`t letting up on Arkansas hospitals.
Saturday, Arkansas Children`s Hospital hosted an open house to give nursing recruits a chance to look around.
Hospital administration says they have about 40 empty nurins jobs to fill.
Barbara Johns says the problem doesn`t lie with recruiting nurses, but advances in the field have created more opportunities, like advanced degrees and specialized nursing jobs.
"I think it`s changed because it`s not just a career for women, it`s for men and women...You can stay at bedside and clinical practice, get an advanced practice degree, so you`re working as a nurse practitioner," Johns said.
"They tell us all the time how we`re needed, how we can go anywhere, everywhere needs nurses," said nursing student Mary Kathryn Temple.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts that more than one million new and replacement nurses will be needed in six years.
Children`s Hospital says they help promote interest in the field by working with high schools and nursing schools to get more nurses in the door.
