Nursing layoffs or difficulty getting jobs? 2011 wages?

U.S.A. Florida

Published

I am beginning to hear rumors of nurses being laid off in Florida and/or nurses having difficulty getting jobs. I am in the process of changing careers from my current one to go back to school for nursing. My current profession has a complete saturation of the job market and virtually no available jobs. I don't want to jump from one sinking ship to another. Anyone know what the employment market is like? Do the nurses out there have jobs? I would be going for a BSN at UCF, through their Accelerated program, and then sitting for the RN shortly thereafter. The UCF advisors tell me that all their graduates have jobs lined up before graduating. What is average starting salary for Central FL RN's with a BSN? Do the salaries go up over time or stay the same as when you start?

I'm from Greenville, SC. I have applied to over 130 jobs. Have had 1 interview over a month ago, 2 phone calls telling me I need more experience, and 2 interviews planned this week. I checked my app status' on web sites and for the local hospitals around here and they ALL say insufficient experience. I don't know what else to do. I need a job.

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Good luck to all of you still job hunting! :nurse:

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I am beginning to hear rumors of nurses being laid off in Florida and/or nurses having difficulty getting jobs. I am in the process of changing careers from my current one to go back to school for nursing. My current profession has a complete saturation of the job market and virtually no available jobs. I don't want to jump from one sinking ship to another. Anyone know what the employment market is like? Do the nurses out there have jobs? I would be going for a BSN at UCF, through their Accelerated program, and then sitting for the RN shortly thereafter. The UCF advisors tell me that all their graduates have jobs lined up before graduating. What is average starting salary for Central FL RN's with a BSN? Do the salaries go up over time or stay the same as when you start?

I have 4.5 years of nursing experience and I have been looking in the Michigan/Indiana area for 4 mos with over 50 applications and no luck yet....one word of advice...colleges will tell you anything to get you to go to their schools. The job market sucks right now...even if the schools tell you otherwise! Good Luck!

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I have 4.5 years of experience and have been looking for a job in Michigan /Indiana area for 4 mos...50 + applications and no luck. Things are tough out there. One word of advice....colleges/schools are businesses...they will tell you anything to get you to go to their school...even how great nursing is. Nursing is very stressfull, you never get to consider a Holiday and Holiday anymore cause you work most of them. You get terrible hours that literally make you sick. If you dont have a calling for nursing...dont become a nurse!

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Specializes in Agency: Med/Surg, Hospice, Rehab, LTC,...

Hi All,

I have been a nurse for 8 years, working for an Agency the past 4-5 years in Ohio, this has been the slowest year for me.. there are too many employees and not enough shifts to go around. Seniority rules and some nurses say they will apply for unemployment if they don't get shifts so that leaves the rest of us with left overs, as the staff will cater to the complainers. I basically for 3 months have been living shift to shift. No one is hiring where I live and I drive an hour to my agency jobs as it is. Sooooooo I am moving to Florida, Florida license is almost processed. Don't come to Ohio to the rural areas, big cities in Ohio might have work, I wouldn't come to Ohio anyaway because it is way too cold here.

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There are no jobs in the South Bend, Indiana area either!!! I am an RN with a BSN and I think I might have an offer in an ECF.....finally after 5 mos of putting apps in...at least its a job!

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Specializes in Agency: Med/Surg, Hospice, Rehab, LTC,...

Some of my co-workers who weren't getting enough hours with agency decided to look for non-agency jobs and that was difficult as well, per diem was all they could find. I decided to stick it out with my agency, although many of our clients are trying not to use "agency" and work their employees to the bone. I see there are a lot of Corrections Nursing jobs in Florida ! Does Florida corner the market on Corrections facilities? geez

shellydiane64 I wish you luck, doesn't look like Indiana is much better than Ohio.

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I am in the same boat Phantom. Right now I am taking nursing prereqs at SCC in the evenings and am currently working during the day at a publishing house. I have been plucking away at this for the past year and frequent this site to read other nursing students' experiences. I like to stay hopeful and positive but the more I read the more it seems like I would be "jumping from one sinking ship to another".

Does anyone know of a way to get in touch with the recent UCF, scc, or vcc grads via a facebook page? Or does anyone have tips on how to get "more experience" in nursing during nursing school or prior? I plan on volunteering at some of the hospitals in the area hoping that will help.

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Specializes in Managed Care, Onc/Neph, Home Health.
I have 4.5 years of experience and have been looking for a job in Michigan /Indiana area for 4 mos...50 + applications and no luck. Things are tough out there. One word of advice....colleges/schools are businesses...they will tell you anything to get you to go to their school...even how great nursing is. Nursing is very stressfull, you never get to consider a Holiday and Holiday anymore cause you work most of them. You get terrible hours that literally make you sick. If you dont have a calling for nursing...dont become a nurse!

You hit the nail on the head, shellydiane64, with your statement, "if you don't have a calling for nursing...don't become a nurse!" As an RN, who truly have a passion for the profession, 28 yrs at it, so many of these "career change" nursing grads are doing alot of the complaining about not getting a job. They felt it was going to be easy to just hop into the field after graduation, seeing the attractive pay, and over abundance ads for jobs. Oh, and already having a degree, therefore, getting accepted into the accerleated RN program...and having that coveted 4.0 GPA. So for many, you are back at square one, after graduation, I hate to say it. Going from IT to nursing. Or teaching kindergarden to nursing or even being a CPA, that was another profession i have read on this board. It amazes me. Yes, studying material....A&P, chemistry and the rest of the pre-reqs, anybody can study and ace the classes, but its the experience of the down and dirty is what matters and whats on that RESUME employers are looking at!! Thats why you are being looked over. I am applauding these hospitals. I just don't feel the true desire is there to feel the shoes of a nurse. Sorry. I just don't see the love of the profession.

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Specializes in Med/Surg, ICU, ER, Peds ER-CPEN.

I left FL for MI, started the week after Thanksgiving at UofM in the Mott ED (lots of PICU and NICU jobs listed & Quite a few in main units as well) and took a healthy pay raise to boot (almost 4 yrs with the same facility and I got a total $0.80 in raises in FL), pay in FL is among the lowest in the nation and it isn't going up in SW FL, however the cost of living was rising steadily every month, I had fabulous coworkers and a wonderful unit, but sometimes it isn't enough when you can barely squeak out the basics, even with a husband working full time. Florida Hospital is building a new hospital in Wesley Chapel by Tampa, not sure when it's projected to finish, good luck with your searches!

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Specializes in Corrections, Psych, Med-Surg.

Came the dawn!

Nurses have been saying these exact things for 20+ years now and guess what? Nurses are not good at organizing against "the man," and "the man" isn't going to may them a dime more than they can get away with, nor treat them better.

From your account of how you deal with MDs and decide which drugs to "push" or not, you'll not last long in this job or in any future ones until you get with the program. Meanwhile, I'd strongly recommend you get professional insurance, since a future patient or family member is likely to sue you.

Money-grubbing nursing schools train WAY too many people (hey, it's a living for them!), foreign-born and trained nurses are shipped in from everywhere else who will work for less money AND put up with more BS than domestic ones who are the very ones talking about "organizing."

Of course no one listens, nor ever will. And why should they?

At any rate, good to see you are finally waking up and seeing some realities. Now it will be up to you what to do with that information.

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Specializes in Corrections, Psych, Med-Surg.
LET ME TELL YOU, IT'S ALL ABOUT MONEY. IN PLANT CITY FL, DOCTORS HIRE OFF THE STREET FOR VERY LOW PAY, TEACH THEM TO GIVE SHOTS ( AND NOT THE CONSEQUENCES THEREAFTER), AND TAKE VITALS, PUT THEM INTO SCRUBS AND VOILA, U HAVE NURSES.

AT LEAST THAT IS WHAT THE PUBLIC CALLS THEM EACH TIME THEY VIVSIT THE MD OFFICE. I MADE A COMPLAINT TO THE NURSING BOARD AND THE OFFICE INVOLVED ABOUT THIS, TO NO AVAIL.

AND EMPLOYERS TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE FACT THAT IF U WANT A JOB, U'LL TAKE WHAT THEY GIVE U. THERE IS ALWAYS SOMEONE WAITING IN LINE IF U REFUSE. I HAVE 17 YEARS EXPERIENCE IN A LOT OF DIFFERENT SETTINGS, ER, ICU, ACLS, TELEM, NURSING HOMES, AND I AM FAST APPROACHING THE SAME MONEY I WAS MAKING WHEN I GRADUATED. WHAT'S WRONG WITH THAT PIC?

THERE IS ZERO UNITY IN THIS FIELD HENCE RESULTING IN IT BEING JUST BLUE COLLAR A JOB, AND NOT A PROFESSION. THE SOONER EVERYONE REILIZES THIS, THE SOONER IT MAY BE SAVED.

MDS DON'T CARE, AS LONG AS THEY MAKE THEIR MILLIONS ON OUR BACKS, THEY'LL CONTINUE TO OPERATE AS THEY ARE. SHOULD THEY HAVE TO GET DOWN AND DIRTY AND MAKE HOUSE CALLS ETC,, AND BE LIABLE FOR HIRING NON LICENSED INDIVIDUALS, AND I REALLY DON'T SEE THAT HAPPENING, DO U? I WONDER WHAT COLOR PIC WOULD DEVELOP THEN...

IF WE DON'T STAND TOGETHER AS ONE PROFESSION, WE ARE SCREWED. THE SYSTEM NEEDS US!

BUT WE NEED TO BE UNITED.

MONEY IS NOT WHY I GOT INTO NURSING AND RELATED FIELDS... BUT U KNOW WHAT? TELL THAT TO THE BIGGEST PONZE SCHEME EVER DEVICED BY MAN, THE BANKING SYSTEM. MY HOUSE PAYMENTS STILL NEED TO BE MADE, AND I CAN NOT CONTINUE TO TAKE IT IN THE CABUSE. I DON'T KNOW ABOUT ANYONE ELSE, BUT I CAN'T.

WE R THE LICENSED PROS, WE MUST BE THE ONES TO SET THE PRICE AND NOT THE EMPLOYERS. DOCTORS DO IT, BIG PHARMA DOES IT, PLUMBERS DO IT... BUT NOT NURSES.

HELL... MASSAGE THERAPISTS, SIX MONTHS WORTH OF SCHOOLING, CAN HANG THEIR SHINGLES AND CHARGE INSURANCES, SET THEIR PRICE FOR THEIR SERVICES, AND MAKE MORE MONEY THAN NURSES, CAN NURSES? NO!

I HAVE YET TO SEE NURSES WORK ONLY 9 TO 5, AND NO WEEKENDS AND HOLIDAYS AND WHAT ABOUT NIGHT SHIFTS? NO PT'S, OT'S, ETC WORK WEEKENDS, HOLIDAYS AND **** SHIFTS, BUT NURSES DO.

AND UNLESS U BECOME ARNP TO HANG THE SHINGLE. U STILL GOT TO LIVE WHILE GETTING THERE. AND ONCE ALL NURSES ARE ARNPS... THEN WHAT?

I ONCE TOLD A DOCTOR, FRIEND OF MINE, THAT I SAW BIG FARMA AS CRACK HOUSES, DOCTORS AS THE DEALERS OF DRUGS, AND NURSES THE PUSHERS. AND DAMN IT, I WANT MY CUT ALSO OR HE CAN PUSH HIS OWN DRUGS. HE THAUGHT THAT WAS AN INTERESTING ANALOGY. I REPLIED THAT IT IS FACT! HE CHOCKLED. SO, NOW I WORK IN HOME HEALTH AND REFUSE TO PUSH DRUGS. I TEACH MY PTs ABOUT MAN MADE DRUGS VS NATURAL ALTERNATIVES, AND LET THEM MAKE THE DECISIONS. SOME DOCTORS DO NOT LIKE THAT, HMMMM... I WONDER WHY.

I AM SIMPLY DOING MY JOB. I TEACH PATIENTS. AND THAT IS PART MY JOB AS A NURSE.

THERE, I'VE SAID MY PEACE. THANK YOU

Came the dawn!

Nurses have been saying these exact things for 20+ years now and guess what? Nurses are not good at organizing against "the man," and "the man" isn't going to may them a dime more than they can get away with, nor treat them better.

From your account of how you deal with MDs and decide which drugs to "push" or not, you'll not last long in this job or in any future ones until you get with the program. Meanwhile, I'd strongly recommend you get professional insurance, since a future patient or family member is likely to sue you.

Money-grubbing nursing schools train WAY too many people (hey, it's a living for them!), foreign-born and trained nurses are shipped in from everywhere else who will work for less money AND put up with more BS than domestic ones who are the very ones talking about "organizing."

Of course no one listens, nor ever will. And why should they?

At any rate, good to see you are finally waking up and seeing some realities. Now it will be up to you what to do with that information.

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