No Nursing Shortage At The Present Time

Despite rampant claims of a critical nursing shortage, many cities and states in the US are actually suffering from the opposite problem: a surplus of nurses. The intended purpose of this article is to challenge the widespread belief that a current nursing shortage exists. Nurses Announcements Archive Article

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morte, LPN, LVN

7,015 Posts

I think you purposefully misconstrued what Esme said. The institutions, in general, appear to not being honest with students. Perhaps her wording could have been better. but the meaning was obvious to those without an axe to grind.

I am a greedy academic. In fact, I am so eager to line my pockets that I completed my doctorate and now earn about the same as when I worked the floor full time. I enjoy my pursuit of money so much that I make it a point to work numerous unpaid hours to mentor nursing students, find them resources, remediate poor performance, and help them excel. Oh, but the rewards are so great! Each and every time I log on here, academics are blamed for: perpetuating the nursing shortage, lying, being evil/out to get students, being lazy, egomaniacal, out of touch, etc.

All of our graduating class had a job. There are still jobs in rural areas where we live, and some rural facilities still have tuition reimbursement. We are honest with our students and encourage them to be educated about the current state of nursing, cautioning them that in other areas of the country, they might not find work. I don't know the solution, but it isn't to attack or blame an entire segment of the nursing profession. Without the lying, pocket-lining academics, not of us would even have a license.

The economy is terrible. Many fields aren't hiring. Should we just close all colleges? As consumers of education, first start by doing your own research. Are jobs available in your area? Are you willing to work any shift, holidays, weekends, or any area if jobs are scarce? Let's just shut down all degree paths with a surplus of graduates! Sorry to those of you planning to become English, theater, communications, arts, education, or psychology majors, but you are no longer allowed to get degrees. No paternalism, there!

Specializes in Trauma.
I graduated with my BSN in '07 from a University in Virginia. You know what I did? I moved to Wyoming and took a job doing med/surg. Got two solid years under my belt then switched to psych and joined the Nurse Corps. Advice I would give new nurses...open your options. Look around the country..there are places with a lot of openings, but maybe not right where you are. Get your experience somewhere, then you make yourself so much more valuable. Places like Wyoming, South Dakota, North Dakota, Alaska. If you want something you go get it. If you have kids and a family and can't move, well..that is a decision you made to have kids and a husband. We all make decisions.

It's great you were able to up and move halfway across the country to take a floor nursing job. That option is not available to many.

I was interested in the way you worded...."If you have kids and a family and can't move, well..that is a decision you made to have kids and a husband".... I would say those people chose to put life before a job. Personally I would have said they chose to become a nurse knowing their employment options were limited. My philosophy is, "I go to work to have a life. I don't have a life so I can work."

DoGoodThenGo

4,129 Posts

I agree with this statement. Sometimes it's less about what you know, and more about who you know. Any job seeker in a competitive employment market will be better off if (s)he has a network of insiders who are willing to vouch for them and 'put in a good word' with a loud enough voice so the hiring managers, recruiters, and HR folks will listen.

My take on current hiring is that graduate nurses of today are paying for the sins of those in the past.

After enduring ten or more years of hiring new/inexperienced nurses only to have one in five or even a higher ratio leave/dismissed in

Specializes in Prior military RN/current ICU RN..

HM..are you saying I put my career above family? I am confused by what you are saying? Because I did not do my life the exact same as you then I am putting work above family? My point was if you make the choice to get married and have kids then that may limit job options in nursing due to the fact that you may have to work at only one specific hospital or clinic. I am not saying that one is "better" than another. I am saying when you are more flexible (married or not) then you may be more likely to have more job options. Nothing more nothing less. Just because people choose to live different than you does not mean they have no life.

Specializes in Trauma.
HM..are you saying I put my career above family? I am confused by what you are saying? Because I did not do my life the exact same as you then I am putting work above family? My point was if you make the choice to get married and have kids then that may limit job options in nursing due to the fact that you may have to work at only one specific hospital or clinic. I am not saying that one is "better" than another. I am saying when you are more flexible (married or not) then you may be more likely to have more job options. Nothing more nothing less. Just because people choose to live different than you does not mean they have no life.

I didn't say anything about what you did except it was great you could up and move that far away to take a job. As I said, that option is not available to many people.

When you said if you can't move away to take a job due to your decision to have a spouse or kids you sound like you think they should have thought that decision through even more.

Choose to live differently than me? Tell me o wise one, how do I live?

AOx1

961 Posts

Specializes in ER, ICU, Education.
I think you purposefully misconstrued what Esme said. The institutions, in general, appear to not being honest with students. Perhaps her wording could have been better. but the meaning was obvious to those without an axe to grind.

I would disagree. I read the words and took them literally. I find it just as offensive to say academics are liars as I do when people state that LPNs are inferior to RNs or ADNs are inferior to BSNs or that A students make better nurses than B students. We see broad generalizations on here frequently that denigrate one group of the profession. If someone states that academics are liars and responsible for causing oversaturation of the market, then I certainly have the right to come here also and state that the majority of us are in academia not just here to keep our job or to line our pockets, but because we care about the profession. I know of no schools locally who are insisting that students are guaranteed a job due to a "nursing shortage."

ThePrincessBride, MSN, RN, NP

1 Article; 2,594 Posts

Specializes in Med-Surg, NICU.
HM..are you saying I put my career above family? I am confused by what you are saying? Because I did not do my life the exact same as you then I am putting work above family? My point was if you make the choice to get married and have kids then that may limit job options in nursing due to the fact that you may have to work at only one specific hospital or clinic. I am not saying that one is "better" than another. I am saying when you are more flexible (married or not) then you may be more likely to have more job options. Nothing more nothing less. Just because people choose to live different than you does not mean they have no life.

And for this very reason, I would discourage people with small children/ marriage from entering nursing. Nursing isn't very family friendly job, and the more flexible one is, the better the chances that person will have in finding a job once they graduate and this is an employer's market. So I agree with you 100%.

ThePrincessBride, MSN, RN, NP

1 Article; 2,594 Posts

Specializes in Med-Surg, NICU.
I didn't say anything about what you did except it was great you could up and move that far away to take a job. As I said, that option is not available to many people.

When you said if you can't move away to take a job due to your decision to have a spouse or kids you sound like you think they should have thought that decision through even more.

Choose to live differently than me? Tell me o wise one, how do I live?

I cannot speak for windsurfer, but I do think people need to start thinking more carefully before they start making career changes. People should put more thought before investing thousands of dollars (and burying themselves into deeper debt) for an education that may not garner a job offering. As a single and childless person, the consequences of not finding a job post-grad are nowhere near as dire as the single mom with four mouths to feed. It is just a simple fact of life.

Esme12, ASN, BSN, RN

1 Article; 20,908 Posts

Specializes in Critical Care, ED, Cath lab, CTPAC,Trauma.
I am a greedy academic. In fact, I am so eager to line my pockets that I completed my doctorate and now earn about the same as when I worked the floor full time. I enjoy my pursuit of money so much that I make it a point to work numerous unpaid hours to mentor nursing students, find them resources, remediate poor performance, and help them excel. Oh, but the rewards are so great! Each and every time I log on here, academics are blamed for: perpetuating the nursing shortage, lying, being evil/out to get students, being lazy, egomaniacal, out of touch, etc.

All of our graduating class had a job. There are still jobs in rural areas where we live, and some rural facilities still have tuition reimbursement. We are honest with our students and encourage them to be educated about the current state of nursing, cautioning them that in other areas of the country, they might not find work. I don't know the solution, but it isn't to attack or blame an entire segment of the nursing profession. Without the lying, pocket-lining academics, not of us would even have a license.

The economy is terrible. Many fields aren't hiring. Should we just close all colleges? As consumers of education, first start by doing your own research. Are jobs available in your area? Are you willing to work any shift, holidays, weekends, or any area if jobs are scarce? Let's just shut down all degree paths with a surplus of graduates! Sorry to those of you planning to become English, theater, communications, arts, education, or psychology majors, but you are no longer allowed to get degrees. No paternalism, there!

I meant no personal offense but the proliferation of so many nursing schools.....many for profit charging phenomenal fees for degrees.......like charging $100,000 for a BSN or an accelerated program (in CA)..... is robbery. There is a 43% unemployment rate in CA for nurses No Jobs for 43% of Newly Licensed Nurses Responding to Statewide Survey, According to Report by California Institute for Nursing.

Yet, I continue to hear the drone of a "Nursing Shortage" and the need for more schools to educate more nurses when many nurses cannot find work or find a facility that will hire a new grad. I had no intention to impune your reputation and integrity nor the integrity of your particular institution. I agree that almost 50% of all college graduates cannot find work. The economy is bad.

My opinions are generalities and not a personal attack. I still believe that there is greed driving some of these new programs and the charging of astronomical fees.....but I apologize if I offended you for that was not my intent.

Esme12, ASN, BSN, RN

1 Article; 20,908 Posts

Specializes in Critical Care, ED, Cath lab, CTPAC,Trauma.
I would disagree. I read the words and took them literally. I find it just as offensive to say academics are liars as I do when people state that LPNs are inferior to RNs or ADNs are inferior to BSNs or that A students make better nurses than B students. We see broad generalizations on here frequently that denigrate one group of the profession. If someone states that academics are liars and responsible for causing oversaturation of the market, then I certainly have the right to come here also and state that the majority of us are in academia not just here to keep our job or to line our pockets, but because we care about the profession. I know of no schools locally who are insisting that students are guaranteed a job due to a "nursing shortage."

You took my words not only literally, but personally. I meant you no disrespect. I am a frequent defender of LPN/ADN/BSN debates. Yet, I still believe that there are definitely schools that are propagated to capitalize on the nursing "boon" and bad economy...(supply and demand) but that by no means was meant to be a personal attack. I was an educator myself and this is my observation.

I apologize if you were personally offended, I am sure you are an excellent educator...... It is clear you care about your profession and students and work for a legitimate/responsible program. They are not all that way. We will have to agree to disagree.

I wish you the best.

BrandonLPN, LPN

3,358 Posts

I think it's more than fair to say that the *recruiters* for these for profit schools are, at best, disingenuous verging on liars. I experienced this first hand. The people at my school clearly make a commission and told potential students they could work in the ICU or labor and delivery as LPNs and told all kinds of lies about job prospects. Now, the actual nursing instructors were a whole other story. They were honest and believed in what they were teaching. But, yes, overall these schools seek to fleece the naive and easily fooled.

TheCommuter, BSN, RN

102 Articles; 27,612 Posts

Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.
I think it's more than fair to say that the *recruiters* for these for profit schools are, at best, disingenuous verging on liars. I experienced this first hand. The people at my school clearly make a commission and told potential students they could work in the ICU or labor and delivery as LPNs and told all kinds of lies about job prospects.

I completed an LPN/LVN program in 2005 at a nonprofit trade school and many of the statements made by the so-called 'admissions representatives' were utter exaggerations.

These people were telling LPN students that they could work as travel nurses, L&D nurses, flight nurses, etc. However, reality smacked many of the students in the face after graduation when they discovered firsthand that the only places willing to hire them were home health agencies, private duty, LTC, hospice, and clinics.

LPN travel nurses do exist, but they are a rarity in this day and age and must have the right mix of experience. The vast majority of hospitals in the US will hire only RNs into their L&D units due to issues with scope of practice combined with the high risk medications in use. Moreover, I have not yet heard of an LPN who has secured employment as a flight nurse.