Nursing Shortage Hits Hollywood Hard

Question: Which state ranks last when having too few nurses to care for its population? Well, if you guessed California you'd be right. According to the California Hospital Association the state is desperately struggling with the nursing shortage crisis. In the Inland area there are only 18,000 registered nurses for an estimated 4 million people. Nursing school graduation rates have climbed to about 6,600 a year from around 5,175 from a couple of years ago. However, that's less than the state's annual shortage that averages about 9,900 due to the aging population, retiring nurses and lack of enough faculty and spots in nursing schools. Even with millions of dollars in state funds, and hefty compensation packages California continues to struggle with its shortage.

Statewide, RNs earn between $50,000 and $85,600 annually, according to a report last year by the Hospital Association of Southern California. Nurses with an RN to BSN degree can earn $90,000 with bonuses, overtime and shift differentials. Many nursing program graduates in California already accept jobs before they even receive their certificates. Immediately upon graduation, graduates can go almost anywhere and earn more than $50,000 annually. Meanwhile, nursing schools still reject thousands of applicants every year because they don't have enough nurse educators to meet the demand.

In 2005, Schwarzenegger pledged $90 million in federal, state and private funds over five years toward nursing education and recruitment. Almost $43 million was budgeted to expand nursing school programs, plus boost efforts to retain nurses during the 2005-06 budget year. Schwarzenegger has said his plan will reduce the state's projected shortage by 25 percent within four years. However, Donna Gerber, the California Nurses Association's government relations director, said Schwarzenegger's initiative won't work because it involves one-time, $30 million federal grant money that requires raising a matching $30 million from community colleges and $30 million from private health-care groups.

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