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| Vol. 24, No. 8 |
| May 1, 2002 |
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Taking Action Against the Nursing Shortage by DELORIS W. LEFTRIDGE, R.N., M.S.N., C.N.A.A., Chief Nurse Executive, Clinical Practice Office Houston VA Medical Center Despite 2.5 million registered nurses in the United States today, a shortage of nurses with needed specialties, skills, and experience, exists. The Houston VA Medical Center staff is aware of this problem and is working to ensure their patients are affected as little as possible. The Veterans Administration was created in 1930. The veterans served by the organization are special, and so are the nurses who care for them. Many nurses working for the hospital are veterans and reservists themselves, so they understand the unique needs of patients seen by the VA. The Houston VA Medical Center’s Clinical Practice Office, which has primary responsibility for the recruitment of nursing staff, is taking action to counter the nursing shortage. Staff members regularly visit registered and licensed vocational nursing schools in Houston to give presentations about the benefits and job opportunities offered by the VA. They also participate in numerous job fairs throughout the year. To increase the number of qualified nurses in Houston, the VA is actively involved in nursing education and training. Currently, seven Houston nursing schools including Alvin Community College, Houston Baptist University, and Houston Community College have clinical rotations through the hospital. Last semester, 10 students from San Jacinto College received clinical supervision in mental health at the VA Medical Center. Unlike many hospitals, the VA Medical Center’s nursing staff has a low turnover rate, averaging less than 3 percent. Nurses credit the excellent benefits and satisfying work environment as their reason for staying. The care and support of disabled veterans has been the province of the federal government since the Revolution. Today’s VA nurses continue to be strongly committed, and practice these words once spoken by Abraham Lincoln: "To care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow and his orphan."
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