areas with the worst nursing shortage

[smartnurse1982]

i know this has been posted a million times but what are the areas of the us with the worst shortage? in the nj/ny area it seems there are too many nurses. everybody on this site talks about being recruited in school or as a new grad but it has not happened for me, even with being an lpn prior to that, so i am convinced 1. i have to move to another area of the country.

any info would be appreciated

[TheCommuter, BSN, RN]

South Texas, more specifically the Rio Grande Valley, has a dire nursing shortage and very competitive wages. I have seen sign-on bonuses as large as $50,000.

The cities in this region include Brownsville, Edinburg, Harlingen, and McAllen. Be aware that this area is not the prettiest or most desirable place to live and work.

[northwestwind]

The shortage is widespread across this country. You need to just think about where you want to live. No matter where you go, there is a shortage.

[TheCommuter, BSN, RN]

The shortage is widespread across this country. You need to just think about where you want to live. No matter where you go, there is a shortage.

Actually, some regions suffer from an overage of nurses. This is evidenced by the low wages in certain areas, as well as the inability of new grads to find jobs until several months after completing nursing programs.

Believe it or not, but a few job markets are oversaturated with nurses.

[elkpark]

The shortage is widespread across this country. You need to just think about where you want to live. No matter where you go, there is a shortage.

There are areas of the US with shortages, but there are also areas (typically, the more popular, desirable areas to live) where the nursing market is completely saturated, new grads can't find jobs at all and even experienced RNs have trouble finding jobs. There are numerous threads on this board addressing this. According to our state government agency that tracks nursing workforce issues, my entire state officially does not have a nursing shortage, and has not for several years. I'm sure there are other states in a similar situation.

[suzanne4, RN]

There is also a big difference if one is a new grad vs. one that has several years of experience under their belt. For the new grad, it is getting more difficult all over the country. There are only so many new grad orientations available in the more desirable cities and not all are finding jobs where they want.

[medsurgrnco, BSN, RN]

Suggest you think about where you want to live and research hospitals in the area, which can be done online or through phone calls. Often rural areas have more of a shortage, but if there is a nursing program in the area they may not have new grad openings.