Is There a Nursing Shortage in MN?

[andpeggy]

Hi Everyone,

I'm fairly new to this whole nursing/allnurses.com thing, and I was wondering if someone could honestly tell me if there is a nursing shortage in Minnesota, specifically the Mpls/St. Paul metro area. I've been hearing conflicting stories, and I've also been hearing that it's really hard for new grads especially to find jobs in acute care. Some of my friends who've recently finished nursing school (having come to nursing as a second career) are taking jobs in LTC or TCUs...which is fine, but not what they wanted.

I, too, am planning on starting nursing as a second career, but I'm a little concerned to be making such a large investment if there won't be a job for me when I graduate in a few years.

Any thoughts? Thanks!

Lola

[Kohern]

My advice to you is, go to job fairs. Get your face out there and try to meet nurse managers if you can. Nurse recruiters are the one's look at your application, and they decide who to foward to. You may not always get the best position you want right away, but things change. I have been a nurse for almost 2 years now. I started in Med/Surg, now in the float pool and I'm about to go into the ICU. It can change very easily if you are aggressive.

[cokeforbreakfast]

As an aside, do nursing positions requiring "experience" specifically require "experience as a nurse?" In your pre-nurse years, what if you were a phlebotomist, scrub tech., lab assistant or worked in a clinic taking pt. histories, complaint, etc. Would those experiences give you a leg up?

[omotzury]

HEy yall.....just wondering if anyone in this room goes to Ihcc........im startting this summer and im looking to c if i can meet anyone........Thanks....