Skilled Nurses

Re “Hospitals Offering Incentives in Bid to Hire Skilled Nurses,” Dec. 2.

While the current nursing shortage is indeed causing havoc with hospitals throughout the state, the shortage is not simply a result of laying off nurses as the CNA spokesperson implied.

There are several factors affecting the current shortage. There are fewer graduates from nursing schools. The nursing work force in California is aging, with the average age of experienced nurses being 47. More jobs options are available for registered nurses outside acute care hospitals.

Nurses have received one benefit from the shortage: Hospital administrators and consumers are beginning to understand how important and complex the nursing role is.

It would be helpful to both nurses and hospital providers if organizations like CNA would support and facilitate the changing role of nurses instead of blaming hospitals for why things must be different.

SUSAN ODEGAARD TURNER, RN, Thousand Oaks

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Last year an area hospital came within minutes of killing a friend of mine.

An undertrained nurse’s aide did not properly monitor how much fluid he was losing. Luckily, his son had medical training and sensed something was going wrong. He checked the chart and ran to get the head nurse. His father went into full arrest but was saved by cardiopulmonary resuscitation.

You can thank the HMO system. Demand that our legislators stop the circus in Washington and deal with some real problems.

ALEX MAGDALENO, Camarillo