KQED ‘Health Dialogues’ Program to Examine State Nursing Shortage Tonight
KQED's "Health Dialogues," a live monthly call-in program sponsored by the California Endowment to examine health care issues in the state, tonight will address the state's "critical" nursing shortage. According to "Health Dialogues," about 16% of hospital nursing positions in California "remain vacant," and 12 of 13 clinical nursing programs in the University of California system "don't have enough room" to accept a number of qualified applicants. Tonight's "Health Dialogues" will examine a state regulation issued in January that established mandated minimum nurse-to-patient ratios for acute care hospitals and claims from the California Nurses Association that state hospitals hope to "weaken" the rule. Guests on tonight's program include Kathleen Dracup, dean of the School of Nursing at UC-San Francisco, co-editor of the American Journal of Critical Care and fellow of the American Academy of Nursing; Geri Jenkins, a registered nurse at the UC-San Diego Medical Center and a three-year member of the CNA Board of Directors; and Kristine Yahn, senior vice president and chief nurse executive for the Kaweah Delta Health Care District in Visalia. The program will air at 7 p.m. PT. Check local radio listings for availability. The program will be available online in RealAudio within one day of the broadcast (KQED, "Health Dialogues," 4/10).
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