Geography may be a significant factor in why a recent study shows that nearly one-third of nurses have difficulty finding jobs, according to a Washington Post editorial.
More than half of the unemployed nursing school graduates surveyed said they were unable to secure employment in the geographic region they preferred, wrote policy reporter Sarah Kliff. "In health reform, there's a lot of talk about impending doctor and nurse shortages," she wrote. "But some would argue our problem is less of a shortage and more of a poor distribution of resources: healthcare professionals end up concentrated in metropolitan areas, with few to serve those in rural communities."
Approximately 83 percent of nurses live in large metropolitan areas, for example. Graduates may encounter more demand looking in more rural areas, such as Nevada, which has one of the lowest counts of nurses its population: 604 nurses for every 100,000 people. "The nursing jobs may be available, but not necessarily where they're desired by recent nursing graduates," Ms. Kliff wrote.
State Medical Boards Enhance Scrutiny, Discipline for Physicians
Negotiating Reimbursement in Office-Based Surgery Centers: Q&A with Dr. Cory Lessner and Dr. Andrew Shatz of SightTrust Eye Institute
More than half of the unemployed nursing school graduates surveyed said they were unable to secure employment in the geographic region they preferred, wrote policy reporter Sarah Kliff. "In health reform, there's a lot of talk about impending doctor and nurse shortages," she wrote. "But some would argue our problem is less of a shortage and more of a poor distribution of resources: healthcare professionals end up concentrated in metropolitan areas, with few to serve those in rural communities."
Approximately 83 percent of nurses live in large metropolitan areas, for example. Graduates may encounter more demand looking in more rural areas, such as Nevada, which has one of the lowest counts of nurses its population: 604 nurses for every 100,000 people. "The nursing jobs may be available, but not necessarily where they're desired by recent nursing graduates," Ms. Kliff wrote.
Related Articles on Business Office / Accounting / HR:
More Physicians Turn to Cloud Computing for Faster Data SharingState Medical Boards Enhance Scrutiny, Discipline for Physicians
Negotiating Reimbursement in Office-Based Surgery Centers: Q&A with Dr. Cory Lessner and Dr. Andrew Shatz of SightTrust Eye Institute