Nurses are valuable to the nation’s health
If we’ve learned anything these past 18 months from dealing with the coronavirus pandemic and now the delta variant, it is that America should have learned that nurses are valuable. They are an essential component of the health care system. The news each evening convinces me a lot of people have not learned this.
Nurses are not robots. It is hard being a nurse. Shifts require being on their feet, thinking fast and making decisions. Nurse are humans with families to care for. Due to their hectic work schedule, nurses miss some family functions: school programs, holidays, regular vacation time. To be a nurse, a really good nurse, most of them care deeply for their patients and want the best outcome. It is no fun sending a patient to the morgue.
If a person decides to become a nurse, he or she doesn’t just walk up to a hospital and ask to be employed. These people put in years of academic and hospital experience to graduate from a program, take the state boards for their RN license to become registered. The person must pass a criminal background check, have fingerprints done and pay fees to the Board of Nursing. There will be future requirements for continuing education and fees when renewing the license.
To become a nurse, the person needs to qualify to be admitted to a program. The person needs to like the sciences: anatomy and physiology; chemistry; microbiology; and pharmacology. There could be courses in child development and psychology. Once into the clinical part of their education, nursing students do rotations through medical-surgical nursing, psychiatric nursing, obstetrics, pediatrics and gerontology. Each program varies in the classes required.
Recent reports revealed New Mexico has 20,971 in-state nurses. New Mexico is short by 6,000 nurses. I’m sure these statistics have changed because some nurses quit after dealing with a tragic COVID-19 year.
There are several nursing programs in the state, but I’m not sure how many students graduate yearly from these schools. There are two types of programs. There is the bachelor’s in nursing and associate degrees. Some programs are at universities and others at community colleges. Wages vary from state to state. New Mexico pays less than other states. These programs vary in tuition that range from about $2,000 a semester to $6,000 a year. Each school has its own fees.
The University of New Mexico received $30 million from the Bond C passed in November. University leaders plan to build a new building for the nursing and population health college. The information online doesn’t mention whether they will offer scholarships to deserving students.
So, what I’m saying is this: Protect our nurses. Without them, our health care system this winter will grind to a halt. Put away your foolish pride, all of you people who are anti-masks, anti-vaccines and anti-common sense. Yes, we all have individual freedoms, but not when they endanger other people.