Despite projections of a massive nursing shortage in the state, jobs are hard to come by because the recession has caused hospitals to cut back or freeze hiring and aging nurses who otherwise might be retiring are staying on the job.
A California Healthline Special Report by Deirdre Kennedy includes comments from:
- Kathleen Dracup, dean of the UC-San Francisco School of Nursing;
- Jan Emerson, vice president of external affairs for the California Hospital Association;
- Deloras Jones, president and executive director of the California Institute for Nursing & Health Care; and
- Brandy Logue, a nurse and instructor at Samuel Merritt University in Oakland.
“A lot of nurses who were expected to retire and leave the work force have not chosen to do so,” said Emerson, spokesperson for California Hospital Association. “A lot of nurses either look at their 401Kâs and decided that they were not yet in a financial position to retire, or perhaps their spouse lost a job and they needed to remain employed” (Kennedy, California Healthline, 2/12).