Nursing Shortage Fallacy?

No, it's not for a school paper. I've been an RN for over 7 years, and in healthcare for over 12.

It's both here, and from students I see doing clinicals on my floor, that I hear the term "nursing shortage" and it baffles me...I look at the current posted positions in my facility, and there are just NONE. Especially not for new grads; the types of positions that ARE out there might be for, the director of a department, that requires much education/experience. I could not imagine graduating NOW and trying to find a job compared to when I did, when I had the choice of what floor I wanted to work on (I interviewed for 3 floors all at once, I was called at home less than an hour afterwards and offered a position on "whichever one I wanted." This would not happen today!).

We certainly do work what feels "short," but this is based on how many nurses we are told we can have on, not how many we have available. This is only going to get worse as our economy continues to crash, sadly. I've always thought that my choice of nursing as a career equated with job security, and I no longer feel that way, I feel lucky to have a job at all! My income is no longer guaranteed either, as we are frequently called off despite the floor being busy (I'm often amazed, if I get called off for the first portion of my shift, how crazy it is when I come in, knowing they couldn't justify having the extra nurse there!). I can use vacation right now to supplement my lost hours, but it is rapidly drying up, and what do I do once it's gone?? I feel DANG lucky to have my job, this is the one thing I can say for sure.

Thank you all for your input. I decided to ask because I continue to see the words "nursing shortage" every where, and couldn't understand the reasoning behind thinking there IS one. I would have no problem working ANYWHERE right now, be it a nursing home or whatever, just to have a job at all (I picked a hospital after graduation rather than the nursing home I worked as a CNA at in order to use my skills). I don't have what anyone would call a "dream job," I don't think; it's not a specialty (well, I think med/surg is a specialty, but not all would agree). My hours are good for me (12 hour pm's), but not all would like them. I considered it a gift to have the opportunity/seniority to get off of 12 hour nights after almost 7 years of that.

I disagree on the retirement aspect also; the "aging' RN's I work for are no longer thinking they will be able to retire at ALL unless forced in to it, either by our facility or by their own health or other circumstances. That, coupled with the demand to get by with less staff overall, defies the logic of "filling spots"....in my experience, as people leave/retire, those "spots" are not filled. They are absorbed and gotten rid of.

Again, thank you for your thoughts, keep them coming. I know that things may be very different in other parts of the country, so it's good to hear for either a) reassurance or b) confirmation!