Traci Powell

05/29/03

 

 

Current Shortages

Past Education and Experience

Expenses

 

I would like to request financial assistance for my educational expenses. I am currently working on my registered nurse license through Excelsior College.

The nursing shortage in the United States is at a critical level. This situation is only going to get worse as the baby boomers reach geriatric age. The following information from the website of the American Association of Colleges of Nursing shows just how severe the nursing shortage is:

Current and Projected Shortage Indicators

bullet According to a July 2002 report by the Health Resources and Services Administration, 30 states were estimated to have shortages of registered nurses (RNs) in the year 2000. The shortage is projected to intensify over the next two decades with 44 states plus the District of Columbia expected to have RN shortages by the year 2020. The report, Projected Supply, Demand, and Shortages of Registered Nurses: 2000-2020, is available online at http://bhpr.hrsa.gov/healthworkforce/rnproject/default.htm.
bullet According to the latest projections from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics published in the November 2001 Monthly Labor Review, more than one million new and replacement nurses will be needed by 2010. The U.S. Department of Labor projects a 21% increase in the need for nurses nationwide from 1998 to 2008, compared with a 14% increase for all other occupations. www.bls.gov
bullet According to the National Council of State Boards of Nursing, the number of first-time, U.S. educated nursing school graduates who sat for the NCLEX-RN®, the national licensure examination for registered nurses, decreased by 31.3% from 1995-2002. A total of 30,152 fewer students in this category of test takers sat for the exam in 2002 as compared with 1995.www .ncsbn.org

Number of Candidates Taking the NCLEX-RN® Exam
First-Time, U.S. Educated Candidates Only

Program

1995

1996

1997

1998

1999

2000

2001

2002

Diploma

7,335

6,346

5,240

3,978

3,161

2,679

2,310

2,223

Baccalaureate

31,195

32,278

31,828

30,142

28,107

26,048

24,832

24,421

Associates

57,908

55,554

52,396

49,045

45,255

42,665

41,567

39,642

Total

96,438

94,178

89,464

83,165

76,523

71,392

68,759

66,286

bullet According to American Hospital Association's June 2001 TrendWatch, 126,000 nurses are needed now to fill vacancies at our nation's hospitals. Today, fully 75% of all hospital vacancies are for nurses. www.aha.org
bullet According to a study by Dr. Peter Buerhaus and colleagues published in the Journal of the American Medical Association on June 14, 2000, the U.S. will experience a 20% shortage in the number of nurses needed in our nation's health care system by the year 2020. This translates into a shortage of more than 400,000 RNs nationwide. http://jama.ama-assn.org

Because of the nursing shortage, nurses are being overworked, resulting in burnout and fatal errors. The growing shortage of nurses in America's hospitals are placing patient lives in danger and requires immediate attention, according to an urgent call for action released today by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO).

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My past education and experience includes an associate degree in applied science from Hocking College and working as a Certified Medical Assistant (CMA) for the last eighteen years. While at Hocking, I complete the two-year program in one and a half years and was on the Dean’s List every quarter. During my career as a CMA, I have been given continuous superior ratings on my yearly evaluations. I hold both CPR and pediatric advance life support certifications and am co-founder of our local chapter of the American Association of Medical Assistants. My past experiences prove that I am dedicated to the healthcare field. My plans are to do emergency room and intensive care nursing. I plan on practicing in Ohio for the next thirteen years, and then after my husband retires, I will continue my work in North Carolina.

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My GPA at Excelsior is currently at 3.36. I have continued to work full-time as a CMA while working on my RN. I plan on finishing my courses and being eligible to sit for the RN boards by next June.

I have already paid over $1500 in educational expenses and anticipate another $3500 to finish my degree. The expenses are as follows:

Books                     $1500

Enrollment Fee           $895

Clinical Fee              $1500

Graduation Fee          $495

Testing Fees             $1050

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Any financial assistance you can offer me would be greatly appreciated. The investment you make into my education will be rewarded many times over by the years of service I can offer the country as a registered nurse.

 

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