by Katerina Nikolas The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is cognizant of the ever increasing critical shortage of nurses, which is further compounded by the cost student loan debt that those who qualify as RN’s face upon graduation. In an effort to alleviate some of these problems the Nursing Education Loan Repayment Program is expanding to include more nurses each year, and helps to pay some of the associated qualifying costs by helping with loan repayment. However not all applicants will be able to benefit from the program as it is very oversubscribed. To address this The Bureau...

Andrew Lansley’s radical reforms will see GPs commission care for their patients, with no opt-out and no extra pay Randeep Ramesh, social affairs editor Andrew Lansley, the health secretary, will announce the biggest shakeup of the National Health Service since its creation in 1948 with radical proposals in a white paper on Monday. It will include plans to use markets, not targets, to improve performance, hand £80bn of taxpayers’ money to thousands of family doctors, and free foundation hospitals to leave the state sector and become “not for profit” companies. Read more…

The recession may have temporarily eased the nation’s nursing shortage, but experts say hundreds of thousands of nurses will be needed as the economy recovers and society continues to age. Anderson University hopes to be part of the solution by launching a nursing school in 2012 to produce more nurses in the Upstate. But it could face the same problems that keep other nursing schools from turning out enough nurses, including a dearth of faculty and clinical slots. Anderson University plans to convert existing space on the campus for the nursing program, said spokesman Barry Ray. Pending all approvals,...

By Faris Al-Qahtani RIYADH – Inspections carried out by Control and Investigation Board (CIB) teams in various hospitals found 572 non-Saudi doctors and nurses practicing medicine with forged qualifications. The CIB, in a report that is to be discussed at the Shoura Council, said that it discovered during its inspections that the laboratory in the Baish Hospital in Baish governorate had disposed of radiology waste in sewage. The CIB teams also discovered a number of shortcomings, including a lack or unavailability of necessary medical equipment, shortage of medical, technical and nursing cadres...

The Health Ministry is seeking to recruit between 200 and 300 foreign nurses to solve the “crisis” resulting from the shortage in the sector. Some operating theatres at Mater Dei Hospital have had to remain closed because the human resources are lacking, said the Parliamentary Secretary for Community Care, Mario Galea about the recruitment drive. In recent months, the health authorities embarked on a campaign to entice more students to consider taking up nursing, but the profession is competing with other areas of healthcare, such as social work and psychology, where there is also a...

By Jun Burgos MANILA, Philippines—The United States is experiencing a deep nursing shortage that is expected to further intensify in the face of the increasing need for health care primarily because of the aging American population. The shortage is compounded by the fact that nursing colleges and universities across the country, struggling to expand enrollment levels, have not been producing the number of graduates to meet the demand. According to the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN), there is indeed a deep shortage of Registered Nurses (RNs) in the US and it is thus working...

Scotland’s health minister faced accusations of risking patient care after announcing almost 4,000 NHS jobs will be axed this year. Nicola Sturgeon said about 3,790 posts will be scrapped in the health service, including 1,523 nurses and midwives and 1,053 administrators. She insisted patients will not be affected by the cuts and assured staff there will be no compulsory redundancies, with the final total only decided after trade unions have been consulted. But Labour and doctors’ leaders warned the cuts cannot be made without affecting front line services because the NHS is operating at...

Health authority accused of having ‘warped priorities’ By ADAM MORRIS NHS LOTHIAN has created a new £100,000-a-year human resources role as part of the same strategy which will axe 333 nurses, it can be revealed today. It has emerged that while health chiefs want to slim the workforce by 2,000 over the next two years, an assistant director of HR has been appointed – on the wage of four nurses. Patient groups and politicians, who have campaigned for frontline workers to be protected, are furious that a six-figure salary could be given for a role that has not existed for at least...

Manpower today released the results of its fifth Manpower Talent Shortage Survey, revealing persistent talent shortages in many countries and industry sectors. In the U.S., 14% of employers reported having difficulty filling key positions within their organization, down from 19% in 2009. Worldwide, 31% of employers are experiencing challenges finding the right talent, similar to the 2009 figure of 30%. The most difficult U.S. jobs to fill are Skilled Trades, Sales Representatives, Nurses and Technicians. These job titles have appeared on the U.S. survey in past years and closely mirror the global...

If you have ever wondered about being a nurse, what about starting your career as a certified nursing assistant? It is a job that does not require as much education as an RN (Registered Nurse) but can provide you with the education and experience on your way to being one. A Certified Nursing Assistant, or, CNA, is a position you can start to see if nursing is the right field for you. Let’s start out with salary basics and go from there. The average salary of a full-time CNA here in Colorado Springs is about $25,000. An RN’s salary is about $53,000. Salaries can go higher as you...