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Sep 7, 2021

Traveling nurses and short-staffed hospitals are in a vicious cycle

Also on today’s program: Aluminum prices soar, the Labor Department hopes to modernize unemployment benefits and why one woman quit her lab job to become a “mosquito hunter.”

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TORRANCE, CALIFORNIA - JANUARY 21: (EDITORIAL USE ONLY) Registered nurse Alisha Thiebert cares for COVID-19 patients in a makeshift ICU (Intensive Care Unit) at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center on January 21, 2021 in Torrance, California. The hospital is over its ICU capacity due to the coronavirus and has been forced to treat multiple COVID-19 patients who require ICU level care together in rooms which were designed for lower levels of care. California has become the first state in the nation to record 3 million known COVID-19 infections. Los Angeles County reported more than 250 COVID-19 fatalities on January 21. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)
Mario Tama via Getty Images

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Segments From This Episode

As federal unemployment benefits end, many states’ UI systems remain janky
by Meghan McCarty Carino
Alex Edelman/AFP via Getty Images
Some crash, others don’t work on mobile devices. In some states, workers have to wait to receive new passwords by mail to access their accounts.
High pay for traveling nurses a symptom and cause of staff shortages
by Blake Farmer
Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images
Traveling RNs make far more money than full-timers in the same job, stirring frustration at hospitals. Governments often foot the bill.
Leaving the lab to hunt mosquitoes in the swamp
by Sean McHenry
Courtesy of Mel Glenn
Mel Glenn, based in the Denver metro area, on why she decided to leave her lab job to become a seasonal mosquito control technician.
Retailers work around supply snags to fill shelves ahead of holidays
by Marielle Segarra
Scott Heins via Getty Images
Grappling with shortages as holiday shopping season approaches, merchants focus on products that are available.
How did aluminum get so expensive?
by Amanda Peacher
Justin Sullivan via Getty Images
The 10-year high in prices is due to unrest in Guinea, where a key component is mined, and the surge in demand for the green economy.
Machiavelli’s lessons for women in the workforce
by Stacey Vanek Smith
Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images
An excerpt from “Machiavelli for Women,” a new book by NPR’s Stacey Vanek Smith.