So, what happened to all the nursing jobs?

Nurses General Nursing

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Can anyone tell me. "What happened to all the nursing jobs." For the last few years all you read was that there will be a nursing shortage till, at least 2020. That getting a nursing job was as easy as shooting fish in a barrel. Articles were saying that even in a recession nursing would be immune because people still need healthcare.

So, what happened. Is it really the economy? Have all the vacancies been filled? What about the huge bonuses nurses were getting to sign with a hospital? Some of my own relatives got these bonuses so I know they were real. Now some of them are seeing their hours and benefits cut. Besides the recession (which is a big thing) are there other factors involved?

The nursing profession is starting to remind me of when they encouraged everyone to become programmers...and then the outsourcing began. You can't really outsource nursing, but it's the same situation. Encourage young people in droves to go into a profession, but then a few short years later the field dries up. It's a shame, really.

Ray

Specializes in Critical Care, Patient Safety.

There is no conspiracy here. Some people want to chalk up the lack of jobs due to the influx of students into the field of nursing and the desire of colleges and universities to simply make more money, creating huge supply and little demand. It's also not a conspiracy about Medicare, although I would agree that there has been a bigger push to move patients out of hospitals faster as a cost cutting measure for Medicare (and all other insurance programs).

Hello?!? We are in the middle of a huge recession - the biggest we have seen since the Great Depression. It's no wonder there aren't jobs right now - hospitals are tightening their belts along with everyone else to minimize unnecessary costs. New grads are considered unnecessary costs because it takes a lot more money to hire us in terms of orientation and training costs. A hospital administrator came to my school to talk to our class recently about how to tailor our resumes in this ultra competitive market. What we got from her instead was a lecture about how great it was to be on her side of the table and for the first time in her career of being in HR for 25+ years or so - she has the opportunity to be really choosy about who she is hiring. Hospitals are being inundated with applicants - and who are they going to pick if there is a choice? Someone with a lot of experience.

Nursing still has it better than a lot of other professions right now and I've been told that we should start to see more jobs opening up later this year (although I heard that last year for where we are right now, so...unsure how reliable that is). And WE WILL start to see nurses retiring en mass pretty soon - or at least moving out of the jobs that require the more heavy-duty physical labor. That is a given. It's no comfort to those who need to work to put food on the table, but there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

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Specializes in LTC, Acute care.

Hi y'all, I just joined this website this morning and of course was drawn to this thread. I will be graduating this May with my BSN (which I'm excited about) but reading through all these posts has discouraged me tremendously. What is the fate of new grads then if there are no jobs to be found. The few hospital websites I've visited are asking for people with experience and I'm wondering how I'll ever get that experience if no one even hires me in the first place. I try to be optimistic about things but being this close to graduation and not seeing anything good about the job outlook is scary.

Any advice about job hunting as a new grad? I live in a small West Texas town by the way but I only moved here for school and would want to leave after school preferably to a bigger town.

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Specializes in Army Medic.

Medicare is being cut back on because it's going to drive our country bankrupt in the next 50 years if there is not a reform.

There is no such thing as a recession proof job. For many young students this is the first recession they've experienced. America goes through one about every 10-15 years. This one is particularly bad.

As soon as the economy picks back up, and people start receiving jobs that carry health insurance programs - nursing will be right back where it was.

New nursing student grads need to be prepared to relocate, spend extra time finding work, or accepting lower end RN jobs for the time being.

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we could speculate until the cows come home all the independent variables on what constitutes the lack of funding for this vocation, but there will be no osmosis of information that will emerge until the sustainability of the system collapses onto itself. thats usually how real change is not only defined but carried out. when scarcity and livlihoods are stripped.. things are defined.. and usually too little .. too late. i think the school systems here in indiana are shedding their "hints" by chargin for school bus rides and sports! :) change is uh coming folks!! indeed!

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There is no conspiracy here. Some people want to chalk up the lack of jobs due to the influx of students into the field of nursing and the desire of colleges and universities to simply make more money, creating huge supply and little demand. It's also not a conspiracy about Medicare, although I would agree that there has been a bigger push to move patients out of hospitals faster as a cost cutting measure for Medicare (and all other insurance programs).

Hello?!? We are in the middle of a huge recession - the biggest we have seen since the Great Depression. It's no wonder there aren't jobs right now - hospitals are tightening their belts along with everyone else to minimize unnecessary costs. New grads are considered unnecessary costs because it takes a lot more money to hire us in terms of orientation and training costs. A hospital administrator came to my school to talk to our class recently about how to tailor our resumes in this ultra competitive market. What we got from her instead was a lecture about how great it was to be on her side of the table and for the first time in her career of being in HR for 25+ years or so - she has the opportunity to be really choosy about who she is hiring. Hospitals are being inundated with applicants - and who are they going to pick if there is a choice? Someone with a lot of experience.

Nursing still has it better than a lot of other professions right now and I've been told that we should start to see more jobs opening up later this year (although I heard that last year for where we are right now, so...unsure how reliable that is). And WE WILL start to see nurses retiring en mass pretty soon - or at least moving out of the jobs that require the more heavy-duty physical labor. That is a given. It's no comfort to those who need to work to put food on the table, but there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

In the middle of the last nurse shortage I predicted there would be job shortage before the big demographic nursing shortage hit. Jobs were so easy to get back then that people thought I was crazy. I can predict this tight labor market for nurses will turn into another nurse shortage but I can't say when. You see it is easy for me to say their are cycles. I am 62 years old and have lived through so many all ready, but the exact timing of the cycles are hard to pin point. We have probably moved out of the darkest part of the job shortage and this will turn into a nursing shortage but how soon is anyones guess. The next nurse shortage is anywhere from 1 year to 5 years away. PS There could easily be more economic shocks before all is said and done. Economies go through cycles also and a second downturn when the first is improving has happened before.
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Specializes in Med-Surg Nursing.

I know people I work with who are in their 60's and 70's and still doing bedside nursing. One lady is in her late 60's and the other one is in her early 70's!

One RN who I work with directly is 48 and another is 57..the 57 yr old plans to retire in 2012 but now that her husband is no longer working and will probably not be able to return to the workforce due to health issues, I'm thinking she'll be working well into her 60's as well

Come to my hospital in NW PA! We are hiring experienced RN's for L&D, but have new grad jobs available in our BH dept.

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The sky-rocketing cost of healthcare has dictated that cut-backs have had to happen...so workload, patient ratios etc. have all changed. The much publicized and much feared nursing shortage has caused a shift in the way healthcare delivers and has caused a re-thinking of "the right person in the right position". Now we have a huge influx of RPNs or nurse's aides or whatever they are called in each juristiction. The degree nurse is being squeezed out at either end....the advanced practice nurses at the top and the RPNs at the bottom. The degree nurse has become a 'sandwich generation' unto itself. The nursing profession did it to themselves....wasn't everything all right prior to the mandatory entry-level bachelor's degree? No talk of a shortage then..... The shortage came about when enrollment plummetted for the degree nursing programs. I mean who wanted to go to school for 4 years to do bed-side nursing? Enter the age of the RPN...still a quick 2 year program, good pay and all the benefits and fulfillment of direct patient care. Advanced practice clinicians have soared to new heights with lot's of autonomy and good remumeration. That leaves the "basic RN" out in the cold.... without a job.

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I remember when the paper used to be full of ads for Nurses with sign-on bonuses. Its been a while since I ve seen that. When I started taking my classes 2 years ago that is what I thought would help me pay off my student loans.

Get this people, I was on another board yesterday and could not convince people that nurses are having trouble getting jobs. NOone belived me! They dont know first hand, but insisted that Nurses are in high demand everywhere. Its so frustrating, and Im not even in nursing school yet.

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Specializes in Long term care.

I am a recent LPN grad, last September, 30 of us graduated and only 4 are currently working here locally in our town. Like others have said, we have 3 schools locally turning out LPN's twice a year and many are not willing or able to relocate and finding it very hard to find a job as an LPN. I was one of the fortunate ones and I'm currently working in LTC. And by the way, working very hard for my money, staffing is very short.

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I am an executive recruiter, working with acute care hospitals. I have found that a number of hospitals are already working to reduce costs, assuming that the new Medicare reimbursement schedules, detailed in the pending healthcare legislation, will take effect at some point.

Because of this, patient to nurse ratios are increasing a bit and hospitals are seeking nurses with experience, rather than those recently graduating, since they are tight on funds and wish to avid the learning curve. This is a shortsighted approach to the problem, as sooner or later, they must replenish with new nursing grads.

I think that this is only a temporary situation and certainly depends on the part of the country you wish to reside in. Many nurses are retiring or are close to retirement and the baby boomers continue to need more medical care as the number of older people is continuing to increase.

My experience in speaking with hospital executives throughout the country points primarily to reduced profits because of the economy and the insistence in Washingon to press the healthcare legislation, even though it will degrade benefits for many, while providing benefits for those who are unable or unwilling to secure their own insurance.

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Specializes in PICU/NICU.
I live in Ohio and the nursing jobs are very scarce. I'm a independent provider now. Have you considered becoming independent?

I am an RN from MN, planning to relocate to Ohio. I have looked online for jobs in Ohio and there are none. I would be interested in independent employment. Is it limited to homecare?

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Specializes in LTC & Teaching.

I live in Canada and we continue to hear the same thing about a nursing shortage. This holds true to the extent that there are going to be a large number of nurses who are currently in the front of the babyboom population retiring, thus creating even more jobs.

Yet, there's a cold reality that many Canadian nurses (and this may also hold true in other countries) don't realize is that there is no real nurse shortage. What there is, is a shortage of Full Time employment for nurses.

Many nurses have to work two or three part time jobs for several years just to equal the same amount of money as a Full Time job. This means working double shifts between their different employers. They do this to survive economically because they, like many others, have to eat and pay bills.

Many employers refuse to hire nurses as Full Time and there's a whole list of excuses that they will give. Let's use my municipal employer as an example. This municipal employer has a few Nursing Homes and the employment is 70% Part Time. Yet, over at the Police & Fire Departments the employment is 100% Full Time. Both Police & Fire Departments are male dominated workforces while Nurses and other health care workers are female dominated.

Sounds like discrimination to me.

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