Retraining Displaced Workers As Nurses

When the economy started to slump after the financial meltdown in the U.S. several years ago, masses of displaced workers suddenly began to view nursing as a safe haven. The nursing profession has been a magnet for many unemployed people heading back to school (Robertson, 2011). During the past few years, people from various backgrounds have been flocking to the healthcare field due to the perception of job security, career mobility, and steady income.

Government money has paid part or all of the bill for those displaced workers to retrain (Schultz, 2010). And now that they have retrained, many are still seeking employment because something unexpected took place as the economy tanked. Shortages that had been evident for almost a decade were all but wiped out as retired nurses returned to the workforce (Robertson, 2011). Also, nurses who once planned to retire had decided to keep working to replenish retirement accounts that lost money during the recession.

Is retraining displaced workers to become nurses a good idea? Even though this can be answered with a simple 'yes' or 'no,' the question is not as concrete as it may appear. I will start by saying that many displaced workers would surely turn out to be amazing nurses due to their work ethic, life experience, maturity, unique personalities, and eagerness to learn. In addition, it greatly helps the situation if the dislocated worker has a true interest in healthcare and a passion for helping others.

However, a mass effort to retrain unemployed people and track them into one specific career pathway cannot always be beneficial, especially if many of these individuals didn't really have the inclination or personal desire to become nurses in the first place. In fact, too many people who are currently enrolled in nursing programs divulge that they dislike many aspects of nursing, but the idea of a middle-class income at the end of the pipeline was too irresistible to pass up.

Do other professions actively encourage displaced workers to become members of their ranks? There's a dearth of qualified employees in the STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) professions here in the U.S., but the leaders of these fields are not looking at unemployed people as the quick and easy solution to their labor shortages. This country is badly in need of family practice doctors, but I suspect the American Medical Association would frown upon using dislocated workers to fill more slots in medical school.

The displaced worker who has the desire to become a nurse should follow his or her dream and take the necessary steps. However, the people who are jumping on the nursing bandwagon for the supposed security and 'big bucks' might become sorely disappointed.