Where’s My Crystal Ball?
Nurses are intelligent people. We use our critical thinking skills to solve all types of problems but, from time to time, we all wish that we owned a crystal ball. Meet Nurse Sue Whittier. She had a clouded future and boyfriend problems, so her friends gave her a crystal ball. Check out her boyfriend. He’s cute. You don’t need a crystal ball to figure out that she lives happily ever after.
I know that a lot of people who are involved in health care see a clouded future, and they wish that they had a crystal ball. According to a news report by the Associated Press, new data indicates that hospitals are ailing due to the poor economy. It’s a vicious cycle. People lose their job and their health insurance, so they don’t go to the hospital, and when they do, they can’t pay their bill. This trend is disastrous for hospitals, and everyone is wondering what’s going to happen next.
It doesn’t take a rocket scientist or a crystal ball to know that somewhere down the health care food chain, nurses are going to take a hit. Nurses were laid off in many parts of the country during the last two major recessions when hospitals combined half full hospital units in order to save money. Back in the early 1980s I remember finding hospital administrators on my unit when I came into work. They were making ice cream sundaes for us. They thought it would soften the blow when they told us that we no longer had our jobs. It was very insulting. My unit was closed down the next day. I worked three PRN jobs in area nursing homes and I cleaned houses in order to make ends meet. Nursing jobs aren’t bullet proof during a recession, and history has a funny way of repeating itself when the economy tanks.
The best way to survive an economic downturn is to not ignore the potential lay offs. Cross train in specialty areas, go back to school and get your nursing degree, and get as many certifications as you can. Your nursing skills are your best friends during hard times. Don’t get discouraged. Economic downturns don’t last forever.
