Abstract
Many rural areas in the United States face a legitimate shortage of nurses.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 71-77 |
| Number of pages | 7 |
| Journal | Nursing Outlook |
| Volume | 43 |
| Issue number | 2 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - 1995 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:Although some have contended that the turnover of health personnel in rural areas is unavoidable and that the focus should be on the continuity of services, rather than on the continuity of the individual practitioner, 43 this assessment should not be meant to imply that any factor constitutes an insurmountable barrier to successfully staffing adequate numbers of nursing personnel. In many instances, creative and well-implemented recruitment and retention programs can conceivably overcome even the most seemingly insurmountable barriers faced by rural providers. 36, 44 We should help those states that contain significant nurse shortage counties to address the problem by formulating strategies that extend beyond merely nurses and nursing. Policies aimed at easing the shortage of nursing personnel in rural areas must recognize the structural barriers that inhibit rural settings from attracting and retaining their fair share of available nurses. Equally serious attention must be paid to related rural issues, such as economic development, the shortage of other health care providers, hospital viability, Medicare/Medicaid reimbursements, and vulnerable populations. Only when these related factors are realized and addressed in rural areas will it truly be possible to speak of the nursing shortage in the past tense. • Supported, in part, by funding from the Office of Rural Health Policy, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (Grant No. CSR000005"0 I-0).
Funding
Although some have contended that the turnover of health personnel in rural areas is unavoidable and that the focus should be on the continuity of services, rather than on the continuity of the individual practitioner, 43 this assessment should not be meant to imply that any factor constitutes an insurmountable barrier to successfully staffing adequate numbers of nursing personnel. In many instances, creative and well-implemented recruitment and retention programs can conceivably overcome even the most seemingly insurmountable barriers faced by rural providers. 36, 44 We should help those states that contain significant nurse shortage counties to address the problem by formulating strategies that extend beyond merely nurses and nursing. Policies aimed at easing the shortage of nursing personnel in rural areas must recognize the structural barriers that inhibit rural settings from attracting and retaining their fair share of available nurses. Equally serious attention must be paid to related rural issues, such as economic development, the shortage of other health care providers, hospital viability, Medicare/Medicaid reimbursements, and vulnerable populations. Only when these related factors are realized and addressed in rural areas will it truly be possible to speak of the nursing shortage in the past tense. • Supported, in part, by funding from the Office of Rural Health Policy, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (Grant No. CSR000005"0 I-0).
| Funders | Funder number |
|---|---|
| Federal Office of Rural Health Policy | |
| U.S. Department of Health and Human Services | CSR000005"0 I-0 |
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- General Nursing