By Hilary Matheson – The Journal-Standard Freeport, Ill. — Four northern Illinois community colleges were recognized with a state award for their collaboration and development of the Northern Illinois Online Initiative for Nursing (NIOIN). This online nursing program was created in response to a regional shortage in skilled nurses. The shortage was identified years ago in the Workforce Investment Act’s “Critical Skills Shortage Initiative.” Nancy Shuler, NIOIN program coordinator, said along with a shortage in skilled nurses, there was also a shortage of nursing instructors with...

Eastern Newfoundland has hired 17 nurses from India to address a chronic shortage, even after a large percentage of graduates have agreed to stay in the province. Thirteen of the 17 will work at Dr. G.B. Cross Memorial Hospital in Clarenville, about 190 kilometres west of St. John’s. Four of the recruits have already started working, in St. John’s at the Clare’s Mercy Hospital. “Our international recruitment efforts have proven to be successful in filling positions in areas where we have experienced staffing challenges, such as our facilities in rural areas of the province,”...

By SUSAN W. SALMOND and WILLIAM L. HOLZEMER On Nov. 30, the National Summit to Advance Health through Nursing launched a nationwide effort to implement recommended changes to assist Americans facing health care reform. New Jersey will be one of five target states for initial action and results. We strongly support these recommendations, presented in the Institute of Medicine (www.iom.edu) report. They represent an urgent call for transformational changes in how we manage and provide health care. The IOM, after a two-year study, concluded that nurses have the capacity to be a major catalyst for...

By Sophie Borland Tens of thousands of doctors and nurses are facing the axe despite Government promises to protect the NHS from cuts, a report suggests. Almost 100,000 hospital posts could be at risk across the country, the vast majority of them frontline staff who are caring for patients. At the same time trusts are wasting tens of thousands of pounds on unused hi-tech equipment and drugs and leaving televisions switched on in empty wards. The Royal College of Nursing has identified almost 27,000 jobs under threat in 100 hospitals. If the figure is extrapolated across all 400 primary care trusts,...

TOKYO, Wednesday 25 August 2010 (AFP) – Japan will provide English translations in a professional nursing exam to remove a language hurdle for foreign applicants after almost all of them failed the test this year, officials said Wednesday. Hundreds of nurses and care-givers from Indonesia and the Philippines have been allowed to work temporarily in rapidly ageing Japan, but they have to pass the Japanese-language test if they hope to stay longer than a few years. To respond to rising complaints that the tests are discriminatory, the health ministry has also decided to simplify the wording...

By Robin Williams Adams WINTER HAVEN | Polk County, like Florida, faces a major shortage of nurses in the coming years as a huge group of baby boomer nurses retires. Florida’s shortage has eased somewhat as the recession causes nurses to delay retirement and work longer hours, according to the Florida Center for Nursing, but the center’s research still points to an impending crisis. “We can’t be misled into thinking there’s no longer a nursing shortage,” said Janet Fansler, vice president and chief nurse executive at Lakeland Regional Medical Center, which employs...

by Tessa Hoffman A $5000 cash incentive to attract maternal and child nurses to Moreland appears to be working. A state-wide maternal nurse shortage, compounded by a baby boom, has left parents waiting up to a month to get their child in to see a nurse at some of Moreland’s maternal and child health centres. The sign-on bonus was first advertised in July to recruit one full-time and a part-time nurse. Social development director Jenny Merkus said the incentive “seems to be helping” with a number of queries leading to four applications from nurses who were now being interviewed. Acting Mayor...

Carol Sorgen For years now, we’ve been hearing about the nursing shortage in this country. Is that still the case? On the whole, yes, say nurse recruiters throughout the Washington metropolitan area, though there has been a temporary “blip” as a result of the recession. “The economy has certainly had an impact on the job market for nurses, as nurses who were planning to retire have delayed those plans, part-time nurses have requested additional hours, and full-time nurses have sought additional shifts,” says Dennis Hoban, Senior Director of Recruitment for Washington...

The Scottish government is being urged to safeguard vital services as nurses and midwives are forced to fight to secure NHS jobs. In a bid to save money, health boards are resorting to “unsustainable tactics” including not replacing people and freezing posts, which is affecting available positions for newly trained nurses, the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) Scotland said. The measures could have “devastating consequences” for future patient care, the union warned. This year nearly 4,000 NHS posts will be cut, including 1,500 midwifery and nursing jobs, Health Secretary...

By N.C. Aizenman The Obama administration awarded $159.1 million in grants Thursday to educational programs that train nurses and geriatric specialists as well as those that recruit and support students from minority groups that are underrepresented in those fields. The grants, which include new and continuing funding, build on multimillion dollar investments called for under the new health-care overhaul law in order to address a growing shortage of primary care workers. A 2008 report by the Council on Physician and Nurse Supply said schools would need to produce 30,000 nurses annually to offset...