FLA: Today's nurse trainees know they're a hot commodity

[NRSKarenRN, BSN, RN]

Sarasota's Juan de la Rosa will have a luxury few new graduates have: knowing he can get a job virtually anywhere he wants to go. The former military policeman will graduate next year with an associate's degree in nursing.

Sarasota Herald Tribune, Oct. 9, 2002

http://www.newscoast.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?Site=SH&Date=20021009&Category=NEWS&ArtNo=210090398&Ref=AR&Profile=1060&SectionCat=FRONTPAGE

[sjoe]

"As of last week, new nursing graduates start at $17.25 an hour, up by $1.39 an hour"

And STILL the average RN wage for the state of Florida is less than $18/hour.

[frankie]

NursekarenRN - I have to agree with Joe here - this is probably a cry wolf thing. Everyone has known for a really long time that nursing ranks have been declining. No one is doing anything realistic to retain valuable, trained, experienced RNs. New grads are not the answer. The problems of nursing need to be addressed and fixed. Retention is a critical issue. frankie