There isn’t a state in the nation that isn’t facing a shortage of medical personnel across the board, but Iowa has been especially hard hit. News for the past several years has gone from bad to worse and when Iowa newspapers and online journals are saying that the shortage is ‘serious,’ what they really mean is critical. There are a number of reasons why nurses are in short supply but perhaps if healthcare itself was fixed, more young people would be interested in entering the medical profession.
What started out as a bad situation 8 years ago has gotten progressively worse because of Obamacare, and once that is ‘fixed’ there is every likelihood that we will see an influx of nursing and medical students entering the arena again. Here is some of what ails Iowa and the rest of the nation as well.
First, a Look at Obamacare
Without whipping a dead horse, there is no denying that the Affordable Care Act, ACA, was a complete failure. Not only is healthcare still beyond the reach of the average working person due to high deductibles and co-pays, there is a cap on what can be paid for services which means nurses and doctors have had to stay stagnant in earnings and in some cases, they have taken a cut in pay – a very BIG cut in pay. Fix that and you’ll get more interest in the profession. Major universities will see a rise in the number of applicants to nursing programs; it’s almost a guarantee.
An Aging Population
One of the real shortages in nursing is in MSN administration. As Boomers are reaching their senior years, there is a much bigger portion of the population that needs ongoing medical treatment in facilities as well as at home. There simply aren’t enough nurses and home healthcare agencies to care for an aging population of this size. It would be a wise investment in the future of any nurse to take an RN to MSN online degree course of study. Once complete, it would be possible to step into an administrative position to begin working on making changes so necessary to provide the amount and type of care needed at this point in time. Only a nurse knows how to juggle nurses’ schedules so that the floor is covered and that’s why there is a real need for nurse administrators.
Rural Populations Not Being Served
One of the ‘fixes’ the new administration could look at once the power is handed over in Washington would be how to incentivize nurses and doctors to practice in rural areas. Iowa has a huge portion of the country that is rural and lacking adequate healthcare. Whether offering scholarships and grants to students who would contract to work two or more years in rural areas or offering government stipends once they were licensed, something needs to be done to provide care in areas where hospitals and doctors are few and far between.
Although Iowans are facing a critical shortage in nurses at this time, the problem goes well beyond the borders of this state. The entire country is plagued by this shortage and so it has become critical everywhere. Fix healthcare and the shortage should start to rectify itself. January can’t come soon enough.
