Oregon's Economic Crisis and the National Nursing Shortage: A Transformational Opportunity for Rural Areas

Authors

  • Wendy A. Mason Tillamook Family Counseling Center

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.14574/ojrnhc.v4i1.213

Abstract

Oregon’s drastic budget cuts and the national nursing shortage pose severe barriers for consumers and providers of human services and health care in rural areas. Because of the unique culture, demographics and a deficit of human service and health care providers, metropolitan based decision and policy making aimed at improving human service and health care delivery, may actually cause harm in rural areas. This time of crisis must be viewed as a transformational opportunity for nurses. Creative alternatives must be explored to decrease the higher rates of human service and health-related disparities for individuals, families, and communities in rural areas compared to those in metropolitan areas. In addition, nurses must invest in furthering the development of the field of nursing to reverse the nursing shortage and prevent shortages in the future. This paper will explore the effect of Oregon’s economic crisis and the national nursing shortage on human service and healthcare delivery and economic development in rural areas. In addition, the effects of the unique culture of rural areas and metropolitan-based decision and policy making on recruitment and retention of nurses in rural areas will be explored. Finally, solutions will be explored to reverse the nursing shortage, prevent future nursing shortages and further the field of nursing.

Downloads

Issue

Vol. 4 No. 1 (2004)

Section

Articles

License

Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:

  1. Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share (for non-commerical purposes) the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
  2. Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
  3. Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).