Relevant

Harrisburg:  Recently, the Pennsylvania State Nurses Association (PSNA) announced its support in the creation of the LPN Forum. The Forum will foster the development of the Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) role, provide educational opportunities to support professional growth, and encourage interdisciplinary collaboration opportunities between LPNs and Registered Nurses (RNs). The LPN Forum will foster the development of the role of the LPN through assisting its members to meet their personal and professional aspirations and mounting workforce needs.

It is the intent of the Forum to: (1) cultivate the role of LPNs in their delivery of nursing care in a variety of settings as defined in the Nurse Practice Act; (2) engage in dialogue concerning nursing issues, patient care, and nursing education; (3) provide educational opportunities for the professional growth and development of LPNs; (4) foster networking opportunities among members of the Forum; (5) improve interdisciplinary collaboration with other professional groups; and (6) promote activities that increase public awareness of the role of the LPN.

"Daddy," he murmured softly as his fingers nimbly pushed each pearly button through its hole, "you can usually do this yourself, can't you?" He continued cajoling his father, as he cinched the old man's belt and patted the haphazard pleating that appeared around his waistline. "You can even feed yourself if I help get your food on the spoon, can't you?"  My patient nodded absentmindedly, smiling at the fluorescent lights on the ceiling and tapping his fingers against his drooping mouth.  I felt as if I had just witnessed a scene that played itself over and over again every morning.

Later outside the exam room, the son pulled me aside. I noticed the dark circles around his eyes. "You're tired, aren't you?" I asked him.  The man's dark eyes began to fill with tears. I immediately, reflexively almost, started apologizing for not being able to do more for his father. But he stopped me.  "No, no," he said, wiping the tears away with the back of his hand. "It's not that. It's not that at all." He paused and looked toward his father, still lying on the table in the room and smiling at the lights. "It's just that no doctor has ever asked me if I was tired."

Harrisburg:  In a report released last week, the PA Center for Health Careers, a program of the PA Workforce Investment Board, unveiled its projections for the Registered Nurse and Licenced Practical Nurse workforce through 2014.  The report uses a model that was developed by the Center for Workforce Information and Analysis of the PA Department of Labor and Industry using past occupational data and assumptions about the future that are derived from a surveying process that the PA Board of Nursing conducts during nurse relicensure.  The predictive model has been in place for roughly five years and has been proven to be accurate in past performance.

Overall, the projections continue to show a continuing shortage of RNs and  LPNs through 2014 with a deficit of between 5,000 and 11,700 RNs and 8,300 and 12,300 LPNs in that period.  In addition, the statistics indicate...

• A narrowing of the shortage for RNs as the nurse education system in PA has doubled its graduation rate over the last several years;
• A dramatic increase in the shortage for LPNs as the demand-side usage of LPNs in long-term care continues to grow;
• Major difference around the Commonwealth in the shortage of nurses with the larger population centers in the south central, southeast, northwest, and Pittsburgh leading the way.

As the Center discussed these results this week, it affirmed its commitment to grow the nursing workforce in Pennsylvania while acknowledging the need to examine its policies regarding career paths for direct care workers, LPNs, and RNs in the Commonwealth.  To download a copy of the RN report, click here...for the LPN report, click here.  For more information, contact Scott Sheely, Co-Chair of the Supply Demand Committee at 717-735-0333.

Harrisburg:  After nearly four years of study, the PA Center for Health Careers, a program of the PA Workforce Investment Board, passed a package of recommendations from its Direct Care Committee on Thursday that moves forward the conversation about minimum standards for all Direct Care Workers.  Recommendations include upgrading training from 80 to 120 hours, consolidating regulations to one department of state government, addressing the need for faculty for the proposed training, and the development of competencies and scope of work statements that can guide the PA Department of Education in getting the training into the education system.

In addition to the recommendations, the report includes an initial statement of the competencies that should be included in any curriculum for direct care workers that may include certified nursing assistants, home health aides, personal care assistants, and other direct caregivers.  To download a copy of the report, click here.