State sees rise in doctors, shortage of nurses

The national nursing shortage is nothing new – it’s been going on for the better part of a decade.

But at the same time, Texas is seeing another phenomenon: an increasing number of doctors. While the dearth of nurses is linked to education, the sudden rise in doctors is partially due to Texas state legislation.

In 2003, Proposition 12 was passed, which put a $250,000 cap on the monetary award litigants could win for pain and suffering in a health-care lawsuit. Prior to 2003, people could be awarded millions of dollars for pain and suffering.

Doctors protected themselves with liability insurance. Dana Leidig, vice president of communications and advertising with the Texas Medical Liability Trust, said since Proposition 12, rates have dropped dramatically.

In 2004, the trust dropped its rates by 12 percent; in 2005 and again in 2006, there were 5 percent drops. This year, there was a 20 percent drop, Leidig said.

“All of this is really a result of a decreased claim intake,” Leidig said.

Jill Wiggins, public information officer for the Texas Medical Board, said Proposition 12 has meant a surge in doctors coming to Texas.

“[Texas] is just seen as a more welcoming environment,” she said.

Physicians of all sorts want to come here. In the 2003 fiscal year, the board received 2,561 applications and licensed 2,513 physicians, Wiggins said. In 2006, 4,026 applications were received but only 2,516 licenses were given.

The board canÂ’t deal with the influx of applications because it still has other duties of which to attend, like conducting investigations and overseeing disciplinary actions, Wiggins said. An emergency appropriation was just passed to give the board additional staff for this fiscal year, she said.

Jon Opelt, executive director of the Texas Alliance for Patient Access, said hospitals can more aggressively recruit doctors now that, like physicians, theyÂ’re not paying high rates for liability coverage.

“Texas is in the mix more now,” he said.

Prior to Proposition 12, Opelt said, Texas ranked 48th in the number of physicians per capita and now it ranks 41st. He estimated that by the time the backlog of applications is taken care of, Texas will rank in the mid-30s.

Opelt said the higher number of applicants means the medical board can be more selective in choosing its physicians.

Better education, incentives

Of course, no number of physicians will replace the need for nurses in health care. Recently, state Sen. Jane Nelson introduced a package of bills designed to address the nursing shortage by encouraging better education for nurses and incentives to stay in Texas.

Local hospitals also have programs to help employees through nursing school or to continue their education with additional certifications. Harris Methodist Fort Worth offers the Ladders in Nursing Careers program, for example, and Baylor All Saints gives its employees funds to continue education, and will pay for specialty certifications.

As baby boomers get older, the need for nurses will become more pronounced, said Shelley Faber, a registered nurse and the nurse educator for neonatal and newborn nursery at Baylor All Saints. Her program currently has 14 interns, she said.

“Obviously we don’t need 14 rookies right now, but if we can get them for six months and train them … then they can really be of help when we need to open those doors,” Faber said.

Phyllis Norman, vice president of patient care services at Harris Methodist Fort Worth, said the cost of putting an employee through nursing school is less than the cost of recruiting a new nurse.

“When you really look at the amount of money we spend per student, it’s such a minimal investment to help groom future nursing talent,” Norman said.

Amy Jeter, a labor and delivery nurse at Harris, said that while getting students through nursing school is important, getting into a program can be difficult. The lack of faculty and available student spots in nursing schools prevents potential nurses from entering the work force, she said.

“There are a lot of people who want to go to nursing school and they have the heart there and they’re intelligent people, but they may not be able to get in because it’s so competitive,” Jeter said.

Sequilla Gant, director of clinical services at Regency Hospital Fort Worth, said thereÂ’s no financial incentive for people to teach when they can make as much or more nursing.

“It’s unfortunate because we’re feeling it here in the hospital and then the patients are feeling it,” Gant said.

The solution to the nursing shortage will take diligence and time to address, Norman said.

“It’s not something that happens quickly,” she said.

Contact Bassett at ebassett@bizpress.net