more money for nurses coming

Nurses, I've got good news and bad news.

Good news: Chances are you are going to be making more money in the next five years.

Bad news: The healthcare system is going to be so overwhelmed with people that you will be even more stressed than you are now.

In two years Obamacare starts. This means 30-40 million people who never had healthcare before will now be able to have it. They will feel free to go to the doctor, the emergency room, etc. And they will. Of course, there won't be enough doctors, so they won't be able to get in and where will they head? Why, the ER, of course. They will, in fact, overwhlem the doctors office and emergency room as the nations healthcare system tries to absorb them.

There will be a shortage of all healthcare workers. Guess what? That means more money for us. Now you are probably going to say: Where will all the extra money come for more nurses when healthcare is already financially strapped? I don't know. Maybe they will have to fire some redundant bereauocrats. (what a concept) The money WILL come from some where, I guarantee it. You have to have nurses. There is no way around it. Ifthe money doesn't come, nurses will quit and go to temp agencies which will explode with need.

Healthcare is going to change so much. It will have to. Otherwise, it completely collapses. Roles within healthcare are going to change. NPs will become the foundation of primary care and be paid better. Healthcare employers will try to "supplement" nursing staff with other less expensive workers. Here's the thing, nurses will still be needed with the increasingly complex technology based medical care we provide.

However, nurses better wake up. We need to prepare for a time when employers will try to replace us with less skilled workers to save money. It we don't recognize this and be prepared to prove our worth, stand up for ourselves, we might be on the losing end of change.

Show me the money.