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Nursing shortage plagues state April 7, 2004 Due to the state's inability to attract and retain nurses, it's getting risky to be sick in New York, according to New York State United Teachers President Tom Hobart. NYSUT is calling on the governor and Legislature to immediately approve a comprehensive plan to raise nursing salaries and improve working conditions. The idea is to coax more students into the profession and curb the state's worsening nursing shortage. "There are simply not enough licensed nurses working in New York to deliver direct care to patients," Hobart said. Hobart cited low pay, poor working conditions and mandatory overtime as major factors driving many highly qualified nurses out of the profession. "This is a double-edge shortage," said Anne Goldman of Federation of Nurses/UFT, an RN who serves on NYSUT's Board of Directors. "New York needs morenurses and it needs more nurses to teach nurses." The State Education Department estimated in September that 38,000 of New York's registered nurses would leave the profession in the next five years. |
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