A Solution to the Nursing Need

To fill the emptiness left by retiring physicians, the local medical centers and clinics kept on struggling but the nursing recruitment doesn’t add to the problem. At present, the average age of registered nurses in the country nearing retirement is increasing. In the year 2000, the average age of a nurse is 45.2 years, while in 46.8 years in 2004. This means that the nursing program at Umpqua Community College’s is producing adequate registered nurses to meet the local need. Last June, there were 48 students who finished the two-year nursing program at UCC's. All of the graduates are now engage in the nursing field, but not necessarily in Douglas County. According to Hendy, less than half of the graduates were hired locally last year. Another 50 students are set to graduate this June and hundreds of people will be needed for the vacated slots.
 
In the past few years, there were more than 220 people who tried the 63 slots in the UCC nursing program. But in some nursing schools in bigger cities, like Portland more applicants were rejected. While concern in nursing programs is overflowing, the number of nurses who like to engage in teaching is lacking. At UCC, Nursing instructors are required to have master's degree. Nurses with master’s degrees can earn $80,000 to $90,000 per year in the field while a CI earns $45,000 to $50,000 only.

For those graduating students with high student loans, practicing their profession will serve as a pay back to those loans faster. For those nurses who return to teach, the Oregon Nurses Association is introducing legislators for a loan-forgiveness program. The said program will provide loan forgiveness equivalent to 20 percent per year in a span of five years. This will alleviate some of the financial problem of obtaining the degree and will promote more nurses to become educators. [via]