The Circle of Life

An ancedote. News local to Alberta, the government is ramping up the nursing programs because we are quite short of them now. People not for emergency are being turned away and becoming frustrated, and nurses are working under less than ideal conditions: staff shortages as well as people who are rude and ticked off about the state of the care they are--or aren't--recieving. Many taxpayers of Alberta who visit the hospitals are upset at paying for services that they cannot use.

The reason there is such a shortage of nurses is that about 15 years ago the government decided to slash nursing education and funding becuase of apparent overpopulation in the nursing field. Thousands found themselves suddenly jobless--those who didn't were demoted.

"I am a 44 year old nurse who has been in
the health care field since i was 16 years
old. I first worked as a "candy stiper", then as
a "nurse's aide" and then took Registered
Nursing. I worked as an RN until
I moved to Alberta in 1992. Because of the
huge nursing cutbacks at that time, I was
unable to find work as an RN and I worked
as a nurse's aide again. In 1999-2000 I took
the refresher RN course and am now working
as an RN."(1)

The budgetary slashing was quite effective for reducing the number of nurses and their associated costs. In fact, from 1990 to 2000--this includes the period of the budgetary cutbacks--the number of new nurses entering the workforce dove by 40%.(2)

There were too many costs and/or nurses; introduce the cutbacks. Now there are too few nurses to deliver the level of care we need and we suffer shortages.

It makes me think of a bodily regulatory system (such as insulin regulation), but if you don't remember anything from your biology classes this anolgy will have no meaning for you. The problem exists, there is a delayed reaction as society realizes it exists and decides what to do about it. Then we perhaps overcompensate, and have to react to the new state of things.

All this to show just how life goes in cycles. I myself am a cyclical producer, that is to say, my productivity is greatly influenced by whatever cycles affect me, whether it be at work, in creativity with writing, photography, or general artsiness, or upkeep--regular haircuts, doctor's and dentist appointments, maintaining a clean home, etc. This past week especially I have had no motivation, and then the complete lack of desire motivated me to become better. Strange, isn't it?
Cycles everywhere....

(1) http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/francais/pdf/romanow/S.%20Mason.pdf
(2) http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3929/is_/ai_n9206897