Comments

Health Affairs encourages readers to engage in discussion via comments on our Web site.

• To RESPOND to a particular article: Click on the link "Submit a response to this article" in the box at the top right-hand corner of the article.
• To READ responses to a particular article: Click on the link "View responses" in the box at the top right-hand corner of the article.

Comments to:

David I. Auerbach, Peter I. Buerhaus, and Douglas O. Staiger Better Late Than Never: Workforce Supply Implications Of Later Entry Into Nursing Health Affairs, January/February 2007; 26(1): 178-185. [Abstract] [Full Text] [Figures Only] [PDF] [Reprints & Permissions]

Comments:Submit a response to this article

Comments published:

Older Nursing Students

William R. Whetstone, CSU Dominguez Hills   ( 11 March 2008 )

Older Nursing Students 11 March 2008
William R. Whetstone, Professor of Nursing , CSU Dominguez Hills Send comment to journal: Re: Older Nursing Students wwhetstone{at}csudh.edu William R. Whetstone, et al.	The reason older students are coming into nursing is simply for expanding job opportunities. The health care market for nurses is one job where these older students can make decent money, work 12-hour shifts, never have to worry about being laid off, etc. I think some of these students leave a lot to be desired. I have one student who worked as a tow truck operator, bartender, valet parker, and a variety of other dead-end jobs. Now he wants to be a nurse! I don't see him as the exception. When you interview these prospective students, you rapidly realize why they want to be a nurse: job security, not professional interest. This is nothing more than the continued dumbing down of nursing. No other health program has compromised its standards like nursing has over the years.