Study: Poor pay, staffing fuel health-care crisis By SHERRY HALBROOK The nation’s need for skilled health-care professionals is growing rapidly, but poor staffing, pay and working conditions are undercutting the labor supply, especially among registered nurses. That’s the finding of a new national study of the health care work force conducted last year by the American Federation of Teachers’ Program and Policy Council. PEF members were represented on that council by Glendore Ulerie, a registered nurse and a PEF trustee at that time. “The State of the Health Care Work Force 2001” finds the national shortage of health care workers is approaching crisis proportions. “The demand for health care workers in general, and registered nurses, in particular, is expected to increase substantially over the next several years,” the study finds. But, it says, the number of people willing to work in health care has dropped sharply. RN shortage getting worse “The demand for RNs in the near future is expected to increase substantially. From 1998 to 2008, it is anticipated there will be a need for (nearly 451,000) additional RNs and (nearly 136,500) LPNs,” according to the study. But it adds that, “an aging work force, coupled with declining nursing-school enrollments makes it unlikely there will be enough nurses to meet this need. It finds 64 percent of RNs in the 35 to 54 age bracket, compared to 49 percent for all occupations.” “In just one year, from 1999 to 2000, the number of employed registered nurses dropped by 17,000,” the study states. Half of nurses fed up As part of its study, AFT commissioned a nationwide survey in 2001 of RNs employed in direct patient care, and also nurses who had left the profession but who continue to maintain their RN status. Half of the nurses surveyed reported they had considered leaving their profession — for reasons other than retirement — within the past two years. In addition to those retiring, another “one in five RNs is likely to leave the profession in the next five years.” The top reason given was a “desire to find a less stressful/physically demanding job and to have regular hours or a regular schedule.” Poor staffing was cited as the biggest problem by both those nurses likely to leave and those likely to stay, according to the study. If job conditions improved, nearly three-quarters of the potential leavers said they would consider staying in direct care. But the industry will have to increase pay and improve working conditions, or it won’t be able to hire enough new employees to significantly improve those staffing ratios. “Comparing today’s wages with those of five years ago,” the study states, “RNs have seen an increase of only 0.8 percent, while real wages for the general work force have risen 6.6 percent.” Other professions begging “The need for other health-related occupations is also expected to increase, some by as much as 42.6 percent,” the study finds. Again, demand could fast outstrip the supply. From 1999 to 2000, the number of employed respiratory therapists dropped by 12,000, while the ranks of occupational therapists and medical scientists each lost 16,000. Not all that long ago, the health-care professions were thriving. But in the late 1990s, many of these professions began a sharp downward spiral. “This was ... a period when wages were cut for these occupations, which spurred a decrease in employment in these fields in future years,” the study states. AFT found the number of clinical lab technicians “dropped off in the past three years, about the same time the federal Balanced Budget Act of 1997 became law.” And, it says, “The BBA appears to have led to drops in the numbers of employed therapists, largely due to decreased or eliminated reimbursements.” Union membership pays While the study shows pay levels vary by profession, region and by profit versus not-for-profit employers, it finds at least one consistent trend. “Among all workers, unionized employees earn an average of $695 per week, compared to $542 for non-unionized employees,” or 28.4 percent more, the study finds. “There is also a significant difference between union and non-unionized health-care workers. Unionized RNs, for example, earn $828 per week, compared to $732 for non-unionized nurses.”

CLICK ON BUS FOR MORE INFO Nurses plan spring training, lobbying PEF’s nurses are going to be a force to be reckoned with if the union’s Nurses Committee has anything to say about it. The committee is leading PEF’s pursuit of legislation and policy changes to improve life for nurses and their patients at state facilities. “PEF nurses should circle Tuesday, April 23 on their calendars now, and plan to join us then in lobbying state legislators in Albany,” says PEF Executive Board Member Debbie Egel, co-chair of the Nurses Committee. The nurses who attend will receive training on the issues before meeting with lawmakers. To register, call PEF’s legislative office at 1-800-724-4997 or 518-432-4003. You can put that training to good use again during National Nurses Week, May 6-12, when PEF nurses will meet with state legislators in their district offices to discuss nursing issues. More information on district lobbying will be provided in April. The Nurses Committee has one more important date for you to reserve now — Friday, May 17. That’s when the committee will hold a Nurses Conference in downstate New York. “We hope to offer speakers and workshops on a wide range of topics, such as: recertification for infection control nurses; dealing with the media; violence in the work place; and how to become more active and effective in political and legislative campaigns,” Egel said. For more information about the conference, call Egel at 718-264-3745, Nurses Committee Co-Chair June Edwards at 315-464-8926, Dee Dodson at 631-444-3705 or Joyce Degenhardt at 716-853-3100. — Sherry Halbrook