Where are all the nurses?

I'm no new grad, but if you need a MDS nurse in the future, and I'm in MA at the same time... I'm your nurse! LOL. I've lived in Providence, and miss the area
To answer your question though, I honestly think that new grads do not consider LTC (blame that on nursing schools).

In Indy where I live we have three tradional RN schools plus a new bunch of new technical adn schools so jobs look tight with the amount of nurses being churned out. I "want" to get into a hospital, orientate and get into 2 yrs in medsurge or another good experience unit. that not withstanding, I will be more then willing to work LTC, clinic, local VD clinic, or even standing on a roadside holding a sign that says "Will remove fecal impactions for $" The short of it is I understand I may not get my first choice of jobs but I'll be damned if I took this trip to become an RN and not work.

My hospital doesn't want new grads, so those waiting for that "perfect" dream spot, get over it and go for something like this.....my 2 cents....

I was the only Nursing student in my Class that wanted to work in LTC.... I would not work anywhere else.

Not to say that your place is like this, but I was told that LTC are not a good place for new grads to start because of the all laws/rules they break and all the corners the cut...not a good way to start out when you are just learning.

I have seen numerous posts that state that hospitals are not hiring new grads. Well, then who are they hiring? Eventually more expierenced nurses are going to be retiring, so who are they hiring to replace them? I realize that it takes time to train in a new nurse, but I think it would be well worth the time and money. There is only one way to get expierence and that is by working in a hospital, so if they are not hiring new grads then how are they supposed to get hospital expierence.

CCM, I would work for you in a heartbeat. You seem very reasonable---strict but fair---and you respect your staff. I would take a nurse manager who respected his/her staff any day over an easy commute, great hours or high pay.

I'm not saying a nurse manager should coddle staff or praise them for every single little thing they do. But come on---LTC is physically and emotionally demanding and an occasional, sincere "thank you" is always appreciated. There are too many LTC managers who think of their staff as expendable and don't give a rodent's posterior about retention. When I worked LTC, I enjoyed the work and the relationships with the residents but the attitudes of management toward the nursing staff were just too negative to take.

I think many experienced nurses are too burned out to do LTC and many new grads either just don't think about it as a career possibility or look down on it because it isn't as "glamorous" as other specialties. It's a shame because gerontology is the biggest area of growth in health care and, unless one works exclusively OB or peds, we're all going to be taking care of older adults at some point in our nursing careers.

Hope you find someone for your open positions soon.

I feel for you on the flakey/ mouthy new grads...I haven't even made it to nursing school yet (hopefully this cycle, though), and I would be glad to go to work for you!

CapeCodMermaid, if I could move from Jersey to where you're at to apply for the position, I would so be there.

I do agree with what Moogie posted about the perceived lack of "glamour" of working in skilled facility, as opposed to a hospital. It's still considered more prestigious to work in a hospital than in a skilled or LTC facility. Plus, from what I've been told by a few RNs, they believe that working in a LTC/skilled facility would somehow "hurt" them, and that it would make it harder for them to be accepted at a hospital. I don't get that at all. Is that what some hospitals believe? (As if it's "easy" to work in LTC.)