Demand for nurses growing and growing

Tulsa hospitals turn away two to three patients a day according to EMSA. Ambulance drivers are often diverted from overcrowded emergency rooms. <br><br>Part of the problem is a shortage of nurses, and

Wednesday, February 20th 2002, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

Tulsa hospitals turn away two to three patients a day according to EMSA. Ambulance drivers are often diverted from overcrowded emergency rooms.

Part of the problem is a shortage of nurses, and it's only expected to get worse. News on Six reporter Tami Marler explains what's being done to meet the demand.

The American Medical Association says by the year 2020, hospitals will be short 400-thousand nurses. It's a challenging profession that nurses say you have to love. â€œAre you having much pain?" Brenda Stiverson has been helping patients at St. John Medical Center for about eight years. She says she's been fascinated with nursing since childhood. "A lot of times people go into the medical field because they think it's exciting with the drama or the excitement, the thrill of it all. But to me it was a calling; it's just what I was supposed to do. And I think that makes the difference."

Stiverson says a nurse's challenge is to balance administrative duties with the needs of several patients at a time. "And above all being an advocate for her patients." A national study reports nearly one out of three nurses under age 30 plan to leave the profession in the next year, an aging baby boom generation will demand more medical treatment.

Hospitals aggressively recruit with signing bonuses and other perks. "You see more and more ads for nursing positions but yet it hasn't turned into more opportunities of people coming into the nursing programs at this point." TU Nursing instructor Jim Blonsky says local enrollment in some nursing programs is down 30 to 40%, even though schools provide a variety of financial aid options. "Nursing can be difficult with all the science requirements; anatomy, physiology. And that may have drawn away some of the people who would've applied in the past."

Women make up 94% of the nation's nurses, and Blonsky says they're drawn to higher-paying professions that don't require as rigorous an education. Hospitals from other states are recruiting these fourth-year TU students, who chose nursing for more than the excitement and drama.

"After I got in the program I started enjoying it; I would say also my personality because I'm very sensitive and I care about people. And that's a good feature of mine. It's just something that I've been called to do. I enjoy it very much."

The TU students we spoke with say they're being offered anywhere from $15,000 to 25,000 as a starting salary. That's regardless of whether you have a 2-year or 4-year degree.

The average salary for Oklahoma nurses is a little more than $40,000 a year.