What Will Obamacare Do To Nursing?

What will Obamacare do to the nursing profession?  This is a question on a lot of people's minds with the election just one day away now.  If President Obama is elected his Affordable Healthcare Act will continue on its current path.  The full effects will not be felt until 2016, but I feel there are two paths we could be lead down.  Either one will affect current and future nurses.

One scenario is that people will not get to see doctors when they want to.  They will not be denied healthcare, but instead will have to see a nurse before being allowed to see a doctor.  This plan would be used to save money.  Obviously with a registered nurse not being able to prescribe medications, this would be a of little benefit to the patient.  I personally would not like to be in the position of diagnosing a patient either.  The only way I can see this working is a patient being sent to see a Nurse Practitioner.  However, I don't see any cost benefit there.  I don't see this scenario working out in a good way, but a local MD did forecast this situation.  In any event, this would increase the demand for nurses.

The next scenario is a decrease in the demand for nurses.  Hospitals across the nation are already starting to close and this is a trend I see continuing.  Staff usually comprises about 50 % of a hospital's expenses.  That makes cutting back the nursing staff the easiest way to decrease spending.  HCAPS already decreases reimbursement for hospitals.  Some hospitals even feel that in the future they will be given a lump sum of money at the beginning of the year and they will either make money or lose money.  This could lead to more closings.  This type of change isn't acceptable.

I am hoping that neither of these scenarios play out.  However, these are the two extremes that we could be face in the future.  Let's hope money doesn't get in the way of patient care.

Online Nursing Schools: Are They Right For You?

Online nursing schools like other online college programs have grown in popularity over the past several years.  After all, you can do almost anything from shopping to paying bills online now.  It stands to reason that you should be able to obtain a degree online by logging onto the World Wide Web.  It can be a great choice for several different types of people.  Those who have young children that have to be watched after or those that just have to have a full time job to survive in this rough economic time.  Online nursing schools sound great, but I think there are some things that you need to know and consider before you make a choice.

Before you get ready to sign up at one of the online nursing schools and pay tuition there are some things that you need to take into account.  This type of degree isn’t for those that put things off until the last minute.  After all the only reason you are probably considering an online program is because you have a busy life that doesn’t allow you to take regular college courses.  You will have to find time to listen to several hours of lecture and read text books.  It is like a full time job in itself.  Another thing to consider is that it takes longer to get the degree.  Many colleges make the associates degree program seven semesters long instead of the normal five semesters that students take when attending classes at the college. 

If you have a job you need to make sure that your workplace is flexible with you.  Just because you are taking an online course doesn’t mean that you will not have to go to campus and clinical rotations.  Besides tests that will be taken at the college, you will also have to practice skills and have skill check-offs.  On top of that, you have to consider that you will have to go to area healthcare facilities for a clinical rotation at least once a week.  After all you have to practice your skills, right? 

One last thing I want to go over is picking a college or university.  You will be able to search for nursing schools online and find a lot of information.  However, you do need to be aware of scams.  If you decided not to choose one of the well known universities, you need to check them out thoroughly.  I would start by looking at their rating with the better business bureau.  If they are just taking people’s money you may find it reported here.  Next I would either check online with your state nursing board or try to contact them to see what their student’s results are for passing the NCLEX.  If the school doesn’t teach its students the material needed to pass the national licensure exam, the degree is useless to you.

Online nursing schools are something that will probably continue to grow.  With technological advances made in the ability to communicate over the internet, more colleges will probably start to consider this as an option.  I’m not trying to discourage anyone from this option, but I do believe that you need to put in the proper research before you make the decision to take a nursing degree online.