According to the latest trends, there will be a 500,000 new nurse jobs made by 2018 and in order to meet these numbers 62,000 nurses will need to graduate every year.  At the moment, nursing schools do not have the staff to supply the number of nurses needed but some school are actually offering intense nursing programs to create more nurses in a shorter amount of time.

For nurses and nursing students, this is great news as it means that nurses who are willing to move can easily find a job by simply going online to job search sites like Monster.com and find several postions that a nurse qualifies for.

On the other end of the spectrum, hospitals and nurse placement agencies like the Aya Healthcare company are in a fierce competion to find nurses to fill job positions.  This is in turn is making nurse salaries and benefits more and more attractive for nurses.

In turn, this has even had an effect of the traditional nurse being female as 25% more males are now enrolling in nursing schools because of the salaries being offered.

The American Nurses Association (ANA) is hosting a major policy conference, Nursing Care in Life, Death and Disaster on June 20-22 in Atlanta, Georgia where experts in nursing, medicine, public health and disaster preparedness will discuss issues related to the standards of care provided during a major disaster. One of the goals of the conference is to develop guidance dedicated to improving patient outcomes and quality of care during a crisis.

"Nurses have always answered the call to service during times of war, epidemic and natural disaster," said ANA President Rebecca M. Patton, MSN, RN, CNOR. "But in the aftermath of a catastrophic event, registered nurses and other health professionals are often forced to make difficult decisions with regard to patient care. Nurses and other conference attendees will have a significant voice in shaping the policies that guide the health profession."

This conference brings together experts in nursing, medicine, public health and disaster preparedness to develop guidance dedicated to reconciling the professional, legal and regulatory conflicts that can occur during a major disaster. ANA is pleased to work in partnership with the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Association of State and Territorial Directors of Nursing (ASTDN) to bring together a diverse field of panelists and attendees. Other participants will include: representatives from the Department of Health and Human Services, CDC, Center for Biosecurity and Public Health Preparedness and the National Council of State Boards of Nursing.

Attendees will work together to identify key areas of risk to patients during less than optimal conditions and define actions to reduce that patient risk. "Dialogue sessions" will provide an opportunity for nurses to address specific policy questions related to the professional and legal obligations in providing patient care during a disaster. Attendees will also discuss the impact of disasters on vulnerable populations such as the elderly, children, and individuals with special health care needs. Finally, the conference will provide valuable, practical information for first responders, and a discussion on national, state and local disaster response systems.

Published today in the American Diabetes Association journal Diabetes Care, Ohio University College of Osteopathic Medicine researchers say that the care of elderly patients with type 1 insulin dependent and type 2 diabetes in extended care facilities fails to meet ADA Standards of Care.

Entitled "Diabetes Care in Extended Care Facilities: Appropriate Intensity of Care?", a study authored Jay Shubrook, D.O., assistant professor of family medicine at OU-COM; Frank Schwartz, M.D., assistant professor of endocrinology at OU-COM; and second-year medical student Rachel Holt, examined the quality of care that diabetic patients receive in nursing homes through a retrospective chart review of 108 residents at 11 extended health-care facilities in Ohio and West Virginia over a period of one year.

"Our study is based on the principle that there are guidelines on how to manage diabetes for the outpatient adult, and there are new guidelines for how to manage diabetes for patients in the hospital, but there are no guidelines for treating people in nursing homes," Shubrook said.

According to the study, only 38 percent of the patients monitored (98 percent) met blood glucose (sugar) goals. Only 55 percent of the patients monitored (94 percent) had satisfactory blood pressure levels. Only 31 percent of patients had lipids (serum total cholesterol) checks yearly, with 58 percent having acceptable levels. These three are critical areas that affect life expectancy for diabetics: control of hypertension (elevated blood pressure); cardiovascular risk factors, such as cholesterol; and blood sugar. Since heart disease is a most significant and common complication of diabetes, controlling hypertension and lipids are the number one and two treatment areas for the elderly diabetic. Blood glucose control is third.

Diabetes is expected to increase 336 percent by 2050 and will produce an enormous economic burden according to the study, making nursing home diabetes care a critical avenue to explore. The Centers for Disease Control estimates that one out of three people born in the United States in 2000 will develop the disease in his or her lifetime.

According to Holt, an analysis of the data revealed the lack of a systematic approach to diabetes treatment in the facilities studied. The findings demonstrated that practice guidelines for this population must be developed in order to offer optimal care standards to nursing home residents.

Research released by the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists indicates that three out of five people with type 2 diabetes have at least one other serious health problem related to their disease. These problems can be heart disease, diabetic retinopathy, kidney disease and foot problems.

Based on their findings, Shubrook and Schwartz are now developing treatment protocols for diabetes in nursing homes. These will be offered to medical directors of these facilities in order to improve the quality and consistency of patient care.

"Some things are done extremely well in nursing homes for instance, foot exams and influenza vaccinations," Shubrook said. "Others are not done as well."

Phase two of the study, which gets underway later this year, includes a second review of patients’ charts to determine if following the treatment protocols proposed by Shubrook and Schwartz results in quality of life changes for the residents.

"The fastest growing population of young people with diabetes is in this region," Holt said. "Imagine the implications of this."

And considering that the general population of Appalachia has two to three times the national incidence of diabetes, as diabetes rates increase, the number of elderly diabetics in nursing homes will also increase.

The mission of Ohio University College of Osteopathic Medicine is innovative learning, focused research and compassionate care for Ohio and beyond. Each year more than 100 osteopathic physicians graduate from OU-COM, Ohio’s only college of osteopathic medicine. Fifty-four percent of OU-COM alumni practice in primary care fields, and more than 60 percent of its graduates remain in Ohio, where they are more likely to practice in rural and other physician-shortage areas.

Ohio University College of Osteopathic Medicine
330 TEB, The Ridges
Athens, OH 45701
United States
http://www.oucom.ohiou.edu

The ANF is again calling on the federal Government to urgently make a commitment to solving the care crisis for Australia’s elderly by ensuring staffing levels, fixing the wage gap for nurses in aged care, and ensuring the licensing of all aged care workers.

ANF Assistant Federal Secretary Gerardine Kearney said revelations that nearly half of all aged care facilities audited in Queensland failed to meet accreditation standards is indicative of serious and ongoing problems facing the aged care sector around the nation.

Ms Kearney said the government should introduce minimum staffing levels in aged care facilities. Nurses and other care workers cannot provide quality care if they are continually short staffed.

"Those nurses still working in Aged Care are paid, on average, $250 per week less then their colleagues in other areas. They can earn up to $20,000 less per annum. How does Mr. Pyne (Federal minister for Aging) expect to retain quality nursing staff in the aged care sector under those circumstances and when will the federal government start putting mechanisms in place to ensure funding reaches the nurses working there, giving Australia’s elderly a better chance of receiving quality residential care?"

The ANF says another huge problem for quality care in nursing homes is the lack of licensing of aged care workers.

"All aged care workers should be licensed;" Ms Kearney said, "Licensing of nurses, doctors and other health professionals is undertaken for a very good reason - to protect the public."

The ANF reiterates its call to the Federal Government to urgently commit to solving the existing Aged Care crisis.

The ANF, representing 150,000 members, is the professional and industrial voice for nurses in Australia.

http://www.anf.org.au

Nurses who work in ambulatory care and telehealth settings are constantly challenged by advances in practice and technology. To help them stay up-to-date, the American Academy of Ambulatory Care Nursing (AAACN) will offer a comprehensive slate of education sessions at its 33rd Annual Conference, April 17-20, 2008, in Chicago, IL.

The conference, which will be held at the Hyatt Regency Downtown, is designed for RNs, LPNs, LVNs, administrators, clinicians, directors, managers, educators, nurse practitioners and clinical nurse specialists. It is also perfect for nurses who practice in military settings and for those seeking to hone their leadership skills.

The nation’s top experts will speak on a broad range of topics, from effective leadership and management techniques to new treatments for diseases. Attendees will earn continuing education credits, attend special events, network with colleagues and meet with vendors in the exhibit hall.

The complete registration brochure and full details about the conference are available at http://www.aaacn.org.

Program

Two pre-conference sessions will be offered Thursday, April 17. One session, Engaged Leadership: Making Progress Out of Chaos, will focus on ways leaders can use effective behaviors and strategies to boost the success of their organization while motivating employees.

The Ambulatory Care Nursing Certification Review Course will also be offered that day. It is designed to help RNs prepare for the Ambulatory Care Nursing Certification Exam being offered on Sunday, April 20. The course will provide an overview of the specialty and present topics in a problem-solving format so attendees may refresh their knowledge and pinpoint areas to strengthen for the exam.

On Friday, April 18, the conference will officially open with an address by AAACN President Charlene Williams, MBA, BSN, RNC, BC, and an awards presentation. Immediately after, Connie Curran, EdD, RN, FAAN, one of the country’s most prominent experts on nursing and health care leadership, will present the keynote address "Reflection or Reinvention? Nursing Leadership." Curran will explore the key issues facing ambulatory care nurses today and the skills required for leaders to succeed.

Concurrent sessions will run from April 18-20. Topics include:

- Ambulatory care nursing in the digital age - understanding and using today’s technology
- Ethics and mentoring - approaches to resolving conflict in clinical situations
- Immunization updates - review of recommendations for new and old vaccines
- Health in the workplace - improving employee health and wellness
- Telehealth nursing across state lines - examining regulatory issues and concerns
- Pediatric obesity and Type 2 Diabetes - the disease, its comorbities and treatments
- Research in ambulatory care nursing - implementing research findings and evidence-based practice

AAACN Past President E. Mary Johnson, BSN, RN, CNA, will deliver the closing session, Silver Linings Inside Leadership, on Sunday, April 20. Johnson, one of AAACN’s most respected and beloved leaders, will examine how career twists and turns can have silver linings that enhance nurses’ lives personally and professionally.

Special Interest Groups

AAACN’s Special Interest Groups (SIGs) will also meet during the conference. Participants interested in a subspecialty within ambulatory care may attend SIG meetings representing Tri-Service Military, Pediatrics, Telehealth, Staff Education, Veterans Affairs, Leadership and Patient Education. In addition, there will be two full-day military pre-conferences: Wednesday, April 16, a Tri-Service Military seminar will examine military nursing issues and the varied roles of the military ambulatory care nurse; on Thursday, April 17, an Air Force Health Care Integrators pre-conference will focus on the challenges affecting delivery of health care to Air Force beneficiaries as well as the role of Air Force nursing in the future.

Special Events

On Thursday, April 17, AAACN will host a session to welcome new members and explain how they can get the most out of their membership. The welcome session will be followed by the Opening Reception and Silent Auction. Money raised at the Silent Auction will benefit AAACN’s Scholarship Program.

Certification

The American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) will administer the Ambulatory Care Nursing Certification Exam on Sunday, April 20, 2008. A separate application and registration fee are required for the exam. To download an application, visit www.aaacn.org and click on "Certification." The application deadline is February 20, 2008.

Continuing Education

Participants may earn up to 16.5 contact hours during the three day-conference, and additional hours will be awarded for poster sessions and the pre-conference workshops. This conference is co-provided with Anthony J. Jannetti, Inc. (AJJ).

AJJ is accredited as a provider of continuing nursing education by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation.

AAACN is a provider approved by the California Board of Registered Nursing, Provider Number CEP5366.

Registration
Complete conference information is available on AAACN’s Web site, http://www.aaacn.org. For additional registration information, contact the AAACN National Office, East Holly Avenue Box 56, Pitman, NJ 08071-0056; phone: 1-800-AMB-NURS; fax: 856-589-7463; e-mail: aaacn@ajj.com.

Conference CDs

Audio CDs of individual sessions, a full conference CD-ROM, and an on-line library will be available following the conference at http://www.prolibraries.com.

The American Academy of Ambulatory Care Nursing (AAACN) is an association of registered nurses and other health care professionals who identify ambulatory care practice as essential to the continuum of high quality, cost-effective health care. As the premier nursing organization for this specialty, AAACN is devoted to advancing the art and science of ambulatory care nursing.

American Academy of Ambulatory Care Nursing

Despite the effort by the House Ways and Means Committee to spin the hastily-crafted Children’s Health and Medicare Protection Act of 2007 (CHAMP Act) as beneficial to "America’s Greatest Generation," new Congressional Budget Office (CBO) data, in fact, has determined that the nation’s oldest, highest acuity nursing home residents will suffer Medicare Part A budget cuts of $2.7 billion over five years, prompting the American Health Care Association (AHCA) to question why this highly vulnerable population has been singled out for the highest level of cuts.

"The CHAMP Act, as it now stands in the House Ways and Means Committee, is highly detrimental to the long term care needs of ‘America’s Greatest Generation’ as well as future generations - contrary to the claims being made by its proponents," stated Bruce Yarwood, President and CEO of AHCA. "Cutting funding for America’s oldest, sickest seniors by $2.7 billion over five years, as CBO has determined, is the wrong way to finance the broader objectives of the legislation. It is incumbent upon the bill’s supporters to explain why this highly vulnerable population must suffer from the highest level of cuts."

Yarwood also said the CHAMP Act, in its current form, will have "negative repercussions" on the nation’s more than 15,000 skilled nursing facilities, every one of the nation’s nearly 1.5 million nursing home residents, and every one of the nation’s more than 1.7 million caring employees who work to provide quality care to U.S. seniors. Cuts of this magnitude could restrict the profession’s capacity to hire and retain well-qualified nursing staff who provide essential high quality care at the bedside.

"The more one looks at the financing details of the CHAMP Act, the more one can see that rural, urban and suburban seniors - and those who care for them - have an enormous stake in ensuring these Medicare cuts are rescinded," he concluded. "When Medicare funding for skilled nursing services is stable, quality of care and services improves. When Medicare funding is cut in a manner similar to the CHAMP Act, our nation’s long term care infrastructure deteriorates - to the detriment of the Greatest Generation as well as future retirees."

The American Health Care Association represents nearly 11,000 non-profit and proprietary facilities dedicated to continuous improvement in the delivery of professional and compassionate care provided daily by millions of caring employees to 1.5 million of our nation’s frail, elderly and disabled citizens who live in nursing facilities, assisted living residences, subacute centers and homes for persons with mental retardation and developmental disabilities.

http://www.ahca.org

Reacting to comments made by Lord Mancroft about the standard of nursing care he received recently, Royal College of Nursing General Secretary & Chief Executive Dr Peter Carter said: "These comments are extremely unhelpful and grossly unfair on nurses across the UK who work extremely hard to provide patients with the highest standards of care.

medicalnewstoday.com 

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Published today in the American Diabetes Association journal Diabetes Care, Ohio University College of Osteopathic Medicine researchers say that the care of elderly patients with type 1 insulin dependent and type 2 diabetes in extended care facilities fails to meet ADA Standards of Care.

Entitled "Diabetes Care in Extended Care Facilities: Appropriate Intensity of Care?", a study authored Jay Shubrook, D.O., assistant professor of family medicine at OU-COM; Frank Schwartz, M.D., assistant professor of endocrinology at OU-COM; and second-year medical student Rachel Holt, examined the quality of care that diabetic patients receive in nursing homes through a retrospective chart review of 108 residents at 11 extended health-care facilities in Ohio and West Virginia over a period of one year.

"Our study is based on the principle that there are guidelines on how to manage diabetes for the outpatient adult, and there are new guidelines for how to manage diabetes for patients in the hospital, but there are no guidelines for treating people in nursing homes," Shubrook said.

According to the study, only 38 percent of the patients monitored (98 percent) met blood glucose (sugar) goals. Only 55 percent of the patients monitored (94 percent) had satisfactory blood pressure levels. Only 31 percent of patients had lipids (serum total cholesterol) checks yearly, with 58 percent having acceptable levels. These three are critical areas that affect life expectancy for diabetics: control of hypertension (elevated blood pressure); cardiovascular risk factors, such as cholesterol; and blood sugar. Since heart disease is a most significant and common complication of diabetes, controlling hypertension and lipids are the number one and two treatment areas for the elderly diabetic. Blood glucose control is third.

Diabetes is expected to increase 336 percent by 2050 and will produce an enormous economic burden according to the study, making nursing home diabetes care a critical avenue to explore. The Centers for Disease Control estimates that one out of three people born in the United States in 2000 will develop the disease in his or her lifetime.

According to Holt, an analysis of the data revealed the lack of a systematic approach to diabetes treatment in the facilities studied. The findings demonstrated that practice guidelines for this population must be developed in order to offer optimal care standards to nursing home residents.

Research released by the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists indicates that three out of five people with type 2 diabetes have at least one other serious health problem related to their disease. These problems can be heart disease, diabetic retinopathy, kidney disease and foot problems.

Based on their findings, Shubrook and Schwartz are now developing treatment protocols for diabetes in nursing homes. These will be offered to medical directors of these facilities in order to improve the quality and consistency of patient care.

"Some things are done extremely well in nursing homes for instance, foot exams and influenza vaccinations," Shubrook said. "Others are not done as well."

Phase two of the study, which gets underway later this year, includes a second review of patients’ charts to determine if following the treatment protocols proposed by Shubrook and Schwartz results in quality of life changes for the residents.

"The fastest growing population of young people with diabetes is in this region," Holt said. "Imagine the implications of this."

And considering that the general population of Appalachia has two to three times the national incidence of diabetes, as diabetes rates increase, the number of elderly diabetics in nursing homes will also increase.

The mission of Ohio University College of Osteopathic Medicine is innovative learning, focused research and compassionate care for Ohio and beyond. Each year more than 100 osteopathic physicians graduate from OU-COM, Ohio’s only college of osteopathic medicine. Fifty-four percent of OU-COM alumni practice in primary care fields, and more than 60 percent of its graduates remain in Ohio, where they are more likely to practice in rural and other physician-shortage areas.

Ohio University College of Osteopathic Medicine
330 TEB, The Ridges
Athens, OH 45701
United States
http://www.oucom.ohiou.edu

About the Author

The author, Brian Stevens, is a former insurance agent and financial consultant who has written a number of articles on Florida individual health insurance.