The American Association of Colleges of Nursing has neatly summarized the ongoing trouble that is the cause and effect of the nursing shortage. For instance, insufficient staffing makes the job more stressful for nurses in the workplace and drives many out of the profession. The AACN also documents that a high nurse turnover and vacancy rates are affecting access and quality of health care for patients. Nursing school enrollment is not growing fast enough to meet the demand for RNs and lack of faculty is part of the vicious cycle.

On a positive note for nurses and other practitioners, the federal economic stimulus package earmarks $200 million to support training programs for health care professionals, including $80.2 million for scholarships and loans; $39 million will be earmarked for nurses and nurse faculty, and $47.6 for primary care, among many other endowments. Also, the American Nurses Association is re-launching its Nurses Career Center, now a part of the National Healthcare Career Network (NHCN), a health care association job board network. (See DM 9873.)


Biomedical Engineering Moving In-House

The U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics projects a 21% increase in biomedical engineer employment through 2016, which is much faster than average growth compared to other occupations. More anecdotally, DOTmed's community of biomedical service and support companies reports an overall trend toward bringing medical equipment service in house at U.S. hospitals.

"There is no question that hospital systems are taking on more accountability for managing equipment and resources," said Rob Piconi, President and Chief Executive Officer, ReMedpar. "The pendulum is swinging toward an in-house trend. People are saying we can do equipment maintenance and repair more cheaply by bringing this inhouse and getting off some of the expensive service agreements."

The trend suggests that biomedical engineers will be highly sought by hospitals in the near future. Apart from reducing costs, another objective for in-sourcing is to improve repair service response. Conversely, challenges to in-sourcing include technical staff and education, managing and monitoring equipment performance, and finding parts.

"As administrators look to effect these strategies toward moving service in-house, they have to be cognizant of the skill-base within the hospital to do maintenance service agreements on machines, which requires ongoing capabilities training," Piconi said.

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