When I was a kid, I used to admire those students in white uniforms. I find out what they are when I was in 6th grade – they are nursing students.
Though I didn’t have any idea what the areas of responsibilities and scope of work of nurses are, I decided to become one when I grow up. But, something convinced me that nursing profession is not the path I should take.
One afternoon as I was preparing to cook for dinner, I accidentally cut my finger and the moment I saw the blood coming out, I can still remember how the world seemed to rotate 360º!
Besides that, I noticed something about myself that I have a weak stomach for gross stuff, especially blood and wounds – very unlikely for a nurse!
That unforgettable incident plus the things I discovered about myself are enough to convince me that my ambition to become a nurse is out of the question!
Even though I did not pursue a career to become a nurse I know how great their jobs are when it comes to providing care despite physical and emotional exhaustion.
For most patients, they considered nurses to be their friends, someone to share their emotions and other issues they don’t feel talking to physicians. They may get for doing their job, but care, patience, and concern they give to their patients are priceless.
Before, it used to be women who were interested in nursing profession, but now even men can do the job as good as women and they, too, can be nurses after getting formal training.
However, the decline in the number of people who are interested to take up careers in nursing and the shortage of nurses are very alarming.
I believe that there is a reason for everything. In the issue of shrinking number of people wanting to become a nurse, there could be a lot of underlying reasons to support this problem.
Although it is not easy to exactly pinpoint certain factors that contributed to the shortage of nurses, still there are some factors that need to be examined.
Some nursing schools may have claimed that their enrollment numbers for nursing programs have increased; but, experts said that it is not enough to fill the shortage.
To meet the demand for nurses, there should have an increase, of approximately 40 % each year, in the number of enrollees interested in the nursing profession.
How can this projection be attained if the programs leading to nursing profession are met with impeding factors? If only the nursing schools are receiving enough funding to pay for qualified and competitive faculty and laboratories and clinical equipment, the chances of getting higher number of enrollees every year are greater.
Also, hundreds of qualified nursing students being turned down, because the nursing schools cannot provide the kind of education that nursing profession required.
Isn’t that sad to hear? It’s like depriving you of the things you want. But then again, since the schools are not capable of giving quality education, the potential applicants will have no choice but to look for other options.
If these problems can be addressed the soonest possible time, then the shortage for nursing professionals will no longer be a problem in the future.
