Getting new grads to stay beyond a year is difficult, so the pool of nurses willing to become specialty nurses is really dwindling. And finally, Bunch said there is no centralized body with the power to look into and solve the current and future emergency care needs of this rapidly growing area. Crisis management Emergency Nurses Association President Benny Marett, MSN, RN, CEN, CNA, COHS-S, knows that what's happening in Las Vegas is not unique. He can't be admitted right away, because the insurance company wants the ER staff to observe him for 24 hours to see if his condition improves. Then there is the issue of ICUs and progressive care units either being full or short-staffed, so patients who should be admitted are kept on hold in ER beds, he said.
Nurses do have solutions to the shortage of specialty nurses.
One approach is to change the way nurses enter specialty practice. But given the nursing shortage, emergency department heads are now rethinking whether that experience is indeed necessary. Many new grads today are older, and they already have the level of maturity needed for emergency nursing. But they still need solid clinical skills. Nurses say that the key to making a successful transition into emergency nursing is a strong mentoring program that is strongly backed by hospital management.