A recent Canadian article looks at changes to health care facility and government spending in order to solve two serious issues facing them:
- A shortage of registered nurses (RNs)
- A health care budget deficit over $15.1 million
The solution proposed by a research and consulting firm is to hire more registered practical nurses (RPNs – similar to LPNs in the U.S.) along with brining in more personal support workers (PSWs), unlicensed but trained health care support assistants like CNAs and techs in the U.S.
Some nurses are not happy with the changes but the government is able to save significant money since the replacement workers cost 1/2 or less the salary of RNs and save the RNs for specific positions and jobs in the facilities.
What do you think? Will a system like this work in the U.S. where there are shortages of LPNs as well as RNs?
