Camille Goodnight, a registered nurse in Colorado Springs, says that "girls com-ing out of high school today are asking themselves, “Why should I go into nursingwhen I could go into business or engineering and make a lot more?”“ No one, she con-tinues, "wants to do the job we do and get paid as little as we do."Question of Respect For many women, though, the availability of better wages in other fields is onlyone factor in what they see as the broader problem of a lack of respect and recognitionfor nursing as a profession.<br> “When I tell people I am an import buyer,” Barbara Fisher says, “I get a lot bet-ter response from people than when I used to say I was a nurse, and I had a lot moretraining and was better at being a nurse than I am as a buyer.”<br> Past Shortages Have Promoted Wage IncreasesMrs. Fisher recalls one particularly vexing indicator of what she sees as a lack ofrespect for her former profession. "Hospitals provide parking for doctors and for visi-tors. You never see parking for nurses. Having to walk several blocks in the dark forthe night shift may not be a big deal, but it sends you a message that gets through: Youdont have much status. Thats the sort of message that, along with working week-ends, holidays, and nights, just burns people out. ”<br> Market Adjustments<br> Economic theory suggests that a shortage should produce rising prices, increasing thequantity supplied and decreasing the quantity demanded until the shortage is eliminated.The Outlook None of the factors that have contributed to the rising demand and falling supplyof nurses seems about to be reversed. "Were going to have to find ways to make theprofession more attractive," says Ms. Young.<br> That will require still higher wages. Average starting salaries for nurses jumped6.9 percent Perhaps more significantly, hospitals are trying to keep nurses like Mrs.Fisher in nursing; the average maximum wage available to registered nurses soared10.6 percent after the adjustment of nurses salaries. As wages continue to rise, nursesmight also get more of the other factor Mrs. Fisher was seeking: respect.
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