Unhealthy numbers

While President Barack Obama and Congress bicker over private insurance and tax funding in Washington, closer to home the question of who will provide our nation’s health care has a more direct, and important, meaning.

A growing shortage of doctors and nurses already affects many Americans’ ability to get the care they need. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation reports the current registered nurse shortage already is more than 250,000, and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that more than a half-million new nursing jobs will be created between now and 2018. Analysts predict the shortage of nurses could grow to 1 million by 2020.

The University of Texas-Pan American and University of Texas at Brownsville-Texas Southmost College both have nursing programs, and smaller vocational schools in the area also prepare students for jobs ranging from nursing assistants to fully registered nurses.

There’s no shortage of people looking to become nurses; classes generally fill up. However, there aren’t enough teachers to train them.

“Nurses can make more money in private practice than in teaching,” explains Dr. Carolina Huerta, chair of UTPA’s nursing department. She said the school currently has enough educators for current classes, but can’t expand to meet the growing demand.

Our national economic woes only worsen the problem. The UT System has asked all member universities to cut their budgets by at least 5 percent across the board.

The university’s increasing number of nursing graduates has brought special funding from the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board for faculty, and the school fills many openings with part-time instructors, Huerta said.

Limited money, and the teacher shortage, hinder the universities’ ability to grow.

“They want us to expand our programs,” Huerta said of the Coordinating Board and the university, adding that such expansion requires not only more teachers, but also more classrooms and offices.

Complicating the issue is a growing debate over nurse training. Many people say we should depend more on trained nurses, and give them more decision-making authority, in order to mitigate the shortage of doctors. But a recent study by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching concludes that two years of study aren’t enough to properly train nurses. All registered nurses, the study states, should have at least a bachelor’s degree. The study also notes, however, that many nursing schools’ curricula are outdated.

Arguments over the quality of health care need to focus more on ensuring that we’re producing enough medical professionals, and that they’re sufficiently trained to do their jobs well. If people don’t survive the treatment, the method of payment becomes irrelevant.