Is there REALLY a nursing shortage?

lisal11 · Dec 14, 2006

To all unhappy school teachers thinking of switching into nursing:
The grass is always greener ... etc. How many evenings, nights, weekends, and holidays do you work? How many of you have mandatory twelve-hour shifts of work that can include hard, manual labor? How many of you can be sued and/or have your professional license revoked for making a mistake?

The grass is always greener: Absolutely people believe this.

Evenings and nights: I work 'em either at the school, playing field where I have to coach, evening in the library tutoring and my "take home" work at night.

Weekends: Planning, grading and curriculum. Not the entire weekend but at least 1 day.

Holidays: Nope. Or very rarely if I need to finish something "take home".

Manditory 12 hour shifts: Never.

Hard labor: I wouldn't describe what I do hard labor... but there is lifting on occasion (not on par with a nurse of course) and I'm on my feet running around all day. Also, like nurses, I frequently don't get lunches or pee breaks.

Can be sued or professionsal license revoked: Absolutely. I have comforted many teachers because parents or administration have threatened to take action against their license or sue them. Unfortunately, some of these teachers didn't even make a mistake, the problem usually originates from some attention starved kid who makes some false accusations. Of course, we always follow through with investigations 100% to make sure that everyone is on the up and up.

Your point is well taken and I'm not saying that teaching is harder than nursing or vice versa. I don't think the grass is greener in nursing, I just think it's more up my alley professionally and I would rather deal with the baggage in that job than in teaching. I've had the chance to really see what nurses do so I'm aware of the "pros and cons" in that field. Before I became a teacher I was a social worker for several years. Teaching as a social worker easily translated to teaching in the field of education. I've worked in several areas of health care and with different populations. Luckily, this has afforded me the chance to work and be friendly with tons of nurses (and other healthcare staff) and see what grief that job can drudge up. Spent much time charting at the nurses station and visting patients, seeing the nurses in action. I know there can be bad days in nursing but as I said before, all jobs come with baggage. I just think nursing is the job that speaks to me and hopefully that will help me enjoy my work regardless of the "cons" in the job.

all4schwa · Dec 14, 2006

nursing and teaching go hand and hand... there is tremendous teaching in nursing. everything i do i'm explaining to my patient what and why i'm doing what i'm doing and how that will effect them. then, there is the mandatory teaching (disease process, medications, self care). of course, there are educators that are called in (like for diabetes pts), but often this requires (like everything else taught) much followup and reinforcement. personally, i really enjoy this aspect of nursing and if i wasn't a nurse i would probably be a teacher. (science or biology)

hope3456, ASN, RN · Dec 14, 2006

Ive always been curious - what is the job market like for teachers? Is it competitive? When I got out of h.s. and first started college, i wanted to be a speech therapist in a school, or a teacher. But it seemed that what was what everyone was going into - and I heard it was getting hard to get jobs - so I changed to nursing.

But I still think about being a teacher - I have great respect for teachers!

jmeador · Dec 18, 2006

So many of us, yet very few write congressmen (...) Isn't there something we can do to secure our profession wages and workload at a prudent nurses ability.

K98 · Dec 18, 2006

Our unit has a revolving door...Thankfully, I'm now on the "out" side.

mvanz9999, RN · Dec 18, 2006

So many of us, yet very few write congressmen (...) Isn't there something we can do to secure our profession wages and workload at a prudent nurses ability.

Not until us selfish Americans learn to work together. Remember when France tried to make "getting fired" much easier, and the workers took to the streets? The lawmakers quickly reversed their decision, as the public would not support it, and wouldn't work until it was repealed.

Same thing would happen here. IF (and that's a HUGE "if"), all the nurses in America REFUSED to work, and instead marched in the streets.....

Or, a less demonstrative idea would be for nurses to flat out refuse to work for XXX dollars. If no nurse in the entire united states would work for anything less than $35.00/hr, employers would have no choice but to pay $35/hr. Unfortunately, there are a host of people willing to do the work for less pay than you, and those lower wage jobs will continue to be filled.

So that's the way we could actually get higher wages. It's a dream, though. Not at all very likely to happen.

lisal11 · Dec 19, 2006

Ive always been curious - what is the job market like for teachers? Is it competitive? When I got out of h.s. and first started college, i wanted to be a speech therapist in a school, or a teacher. But it seemed that what was what everyone was going into - and I heard it was getting hard to get jobs - so I changed to nursing.
But I still think about being a teacher - I have great respect for teachers!

The market depends on where you live and where you are willing to work. I've been certified as a teacher in both IL and WA. I can attest that both of those states are pretty competitive in highly populated suburban areas. A couple of people in my graduating class, back in IL, have been looking for teaching positions for about 2 years. Several gave up and went into jobs that they could use their master's in, like human resources and training programs. If you were willing to work in an urban setting or go very rural you may have an easier time finding work as a teacher.

Spech therapists are a different story. They usually have an easier time finding jobs in school districts because there are less speech therapists in general. However, there are also less positions for those and maintaining that position is dependant on the schools budget and need. Some people are not comfortable with that.

Perhaps, if you would like to teach, you might look into teaching at a local community or 4 year school? I know that undergrad level institutions in my area are dying for experienced nurses who want to teach future nurses.

jmeador · Dec 19, 2006

I invite you to become part of your state's nurses association- You seem to share the same ideas that nurses collectively share.

Last year I attended the Kansas State Nurses Association (30th Annual Day at the Legislature), it inspired me to be an advocate for me and all other nurses. Usually, we are so aware of being advocates for pts that by the end of the day we have forgotten about ourselves. To keep nurses strong we have to keep ourselves happy.

Okay enough soapbox---

caliotter3 · Dec 19, 2006

One of the major attractions to nursing for me when I was a youngun was elder care, the LTC facility. And back then, I knew a whole lot less about anything than I do now, and I don't claim to know a lot now, even with all my years and experience. But I will say this, if I had one forewarning about what was to happen to me with "nursing" I would have made a life choice which probably would not have made me "happy" or "content" or "peaceful" in the knowledge that I am doing the Almighty's will for me, but I would not be dwelling in the hell I'm in today. Just because one thinks they have a "calling" in life does not mean that life will give one a reason for existence.

I can go on and on about experiences like the other posters, most of us have seen one thing or many; you can't refuse to take responsibility for your own little area to improve, then expect that the world will be a better place by the efforts of others.

Retired R.N. · Dec 19, 2006

I invite you to become part of your state's nurses association- You seem to share the same ideas that nurses collectively share.
Last year I attended the Kansas State Nurses Association (30th Annual Day at the Legislature), it inspired me to be an advocate for me and all other nurses. Usually, we are so aware of being advocates for pts that by the end of the day we have forgotten about ourselves. To keep nurses strong we have to keep ourselves happy.
Okay enough soapbox---

Maybe you could do all of us a favor and explain exactly how the Kansas State Nurses Association is an advocate for all Kansas nurses. The last time I checked it was a member of ANA, and most of us feel that ANA is not considered to be an advocate for all U.S. nurses.

sharkbaitdz · Dec 22, 2006

Actually, it isn't in the best interest for hospitals to have revolving door and new nurses. New nurses usually need 3 months on the job training with a preceptor. So everytime that a new grad fills an empty spot, the hospital has to pay that salary, as well as the preceptor because that preceptor is not going to be taking care of different patients.

Im not sure it happens everywhere, but at our facility its rare that the preceptor doesnt have patients, different ones than the new grad, at least after just a few weeks, not months, of "training".

I say "training" because when the facility finally hires out of desperation in times of high census, the actual training often falls by the wayside and turns into "here, you can take 4 patients of your own, they're easy" and progresses to having 2 new grads and one crying "experienced" nurse who has been there a year on a night shift with 30+ patients on the floor.

They wonder why they can't keep nurses, or at least pretend to wonder why, but I think the revolving door is in the best interests of the facility sometimes since they can staff "up" during high census with new hires who get tossed to the wolves and then start cutting their hours when census drops so they quit.

Lather, rinse, repeat. Its becoming a vicious cycle.

klj836 · Dec 22, 2006

Is there really a nursing shortage of total number licensed nurses as a whole, or is there a shortage of nursing willing to work med/surg units in hospitals? It seems every 7 years there is an announcement warning of a nursing shortage. Yet admissions to nursing programs have increased every year for the past 20 years. I just think nurses start on the those med/surg units to gain experience and quickly move on.
What do you think?

I agree with part of this statement in that most new nurses do not want to work in med/surg. It is a tough area but one of the best to gain experience in patient care and time management. As the population ages we may be in trouble with the number of nurses but not necessarily in acute care. The focus is decreasing patient days so the number of patients in acute care is decreasing as a whole; it is the turnover of patients that challenges the delivery of care. A lot of care is being delivered in out-patient settings, home health and a variety of settings. As most nursing programs focus on acute care, I don't think they address the total scope of nursing practice. We have a different work setting and work force than we did years ago and as a whole, nursing is not organized as a profession with a focus just to graduate more licensed nurses.