Is there really a Nursing shortage, or is it just hype ?

Nurses Career Support

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Specializes in ER, ICU, Trauma,.

Is there a Nursing shortage in your area or is there an over abundance of Nurses in your area?

In northern Utah (Provo, SLC, Ogden...) we have an huge over abundance of Nurses. A manager friend said for every position she posts as open, she receives 200 applications.

We have a very logical reason, every University, community college, technical school, and career training centers have a Nursing program. Meanwhile those same schools have waiting lists to get in, they still advertise how great a career in Nursing is (which it is).

What area do you live?

Is it having a Nursing shortage or an abundance?

If you are having a shortage what incentives are being offered to new employees?

Are facilities increasing their pay?

If you are having an over abundance, have you noticed a difference in how facilities treat their employees?

If you are not employed, how long have you been looking?

Thank You All For Your Time :)

Specializes in NICU, ICU, PICU, Academia.

I'm in Indianapolis and there is an abundance. New grads are finding it difficult to land that first job. Three of the four major hospital systems in central Indiana have had staffing AND pay cuts in the past year. We have dozens of applicants for each job we post.

I personally have had my weekend AND night differential cut in the past year. Been a nurse a long time, and have never seen it quite this bad...

Specializes in Critical Care; Cardiac; Professional Development.

It is complete and utter hype. There is NO nursing shortage.

Specializes in Critical Care, ED, Cath lab, CTPAC,Trauma.
Is there a Nursing shortage in your area or is there an over abundance of Nurses in your area?

In northern Utah (Provo, SLC, Ogden...) we have an huge over abundance of Nurses. A manager friend said for every position she posts as open, she receives 200 applications.

We have a very logical reason, every University, community college, technical school, and career training centers have a Nursing program. Meanwhile those same schools have waiting lists to get in, they still advertise how great a career in Nursing is (which it is).

Thank You All For Your Time :)

What area do you live? Northeast....Massachusetts

Is it having a Nursing shortage or an abundance? ABUNDANCE

If you are having a shortage what incentives are being offered to new employees? There are no incentives.

Are facilities increasing their pay? What is an increase? I haven't seen one in years.

If you are having an over abundance, have you noticed a difference in how facilities treat their employees? YES! and not for the better

If you are not employed, how long have you been looking? I know of nurses that have been nurses for years that got "laid off" and are still looking for gainful employment....some have been looking for over tow years. all they can find are perdiem/casual employment no benefits.

No shortage here in Northeast PA. Fifteen yrs of experience, laid off from previous job two yrs ago, still no nursing job and have been steadily applying. Six universities in the area pumping out new grads with an already huge over supply of RNs. No hope in sight of landing a nursing job here.

Specializes in Nursing Professional Development.

In my area (Virginia) ... there is no shortage of nurses, but there is a shortage of nurses with certain types of experience and education.

We have a lot of new grads applicants -- many from schools that are not of "top tier" quality. We hire new grads, but only those that have gone to really good schools where they have gotten high quality education (BSN strongly preferred.) We also have applicants from people with no experience in specialty areas -- or even in acute care. Finally, we have nurses who are clearly just looking for part time work or temporary jobs.

So we have lots of applicants for jobs from nurses we are not particularly anxious to hire. So from the employer's perspective, there is a "shortage of good candidates" even though there are lots of RN's looking for work.

Many, many nurses have not gone to "really good schools." However, we worked hard, passed NCLEX just like those from those "good schools," either are new grads looking for that first job, or us older, nurses with experience that may not be as desirable such as LTC, Hospice, you get the idea. So, what are we to do? Remain unemployed nurses and pray that we can find some other type of employment? You actually have "good candidates," you just need to stop the elitist attitude, and give the rest of us a chance.

Specializes in Nursing Professional Development.
Many, many nurses have not gone to "really good schools." However, we worked hard, passed NCLEX just like those from those "good schools," either are new grads looking for that first job, or us older, nurses with experience that may not be as desirable such as LTC, Hospice, you get the idea. So, what are we to do? Remain unemployed nurses and pray that we can find some other type of employment? You actually have "good candidates," you just need to stop the elitist attitude, and give the rest of us a chance.

The reason we rarely hire new grads from certain schools is because we have hired them in them past (and continue to hire them occassionally). However, the people we have hired from those have repeatedly shown that they are poorly prepared for the demands of practice. We hire them ... we try to teach them ... they fail ... while the new grads from other schools succeed. We can't afford to keep throwing our resources at people who aren't well-prepared. That's not "elitist," that is a sound business decision based on hard facts.

We are not a charity for nurses unprepared to work with high-acuity patients. In order to meet the needs of our patients, we need a staff with advanced skills able to make sophisticated judgments. We are prepared to provide 2-4 months of paid orientation. But after that, you have to be prepared to delivery high-quality care ... and unfortunately, certain segments of our nursing population have demonstrated time and time again that they do not succeed. So we must target our hiring towards those segments of the nursing population that have shown the ability to succeed. To do otherwise would endanger our patients and delete our resources making it hard to maintain the services our community needs. That would be irresponsible.

So, what are you to do? That depends on your situation. For some, it might mean accepting a job that is not attractive to you and being prepared to slowly work your way up the ladder to something that appeals to you more over a period of years. For others, it might mean going back to school and up-grading your credentials. For some, it will mean acknowledging that your academic credentials are not going to take you where you want to go right now -- and that you will need to either postpone your dream for a while or develop a new dream.

For many, it is a sad situation. But you're not going to get far until you accept the fact that employers are going to select the most qualified applicants for a job in spite of the depth of your desire. And if your qualifications are minimal, you will need to upgrade them in order to be seriously considered for some jobs. Yes, in 5 years, the shoe might be on the other foot. Employers might be begging for applicants and be willing to hire anyone who has the minimal credentials. But that is not the way it is today. To get the most popular jobs, the ones with lots of applicants, you need credentials that are in the "top tier" when compared to those of the other applicants.

Don't blame me for the fact that too many nursing schools opened up in the last 10 years and flooded the market at a time when the economy was tanking. I didn't cause that. I'm just the messenger.

Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.
What area do you live? Fort Worth, TX

Is it having a Nursing shortage or an abundance? Abundance, especially for new grads

If you are having a shortage what incentives are being offered to new employees? N/A

Are facilities increasing their pay? Pay rates have been flat in this area since about 2008

If you are having an over abundance, have you noticed a difference in how facilities treat their employees? Management treats staff with the thinly veiled aura of "If you don't like it, there's the door."

If you are not employed, how long have you been looking? N/A

I hope this helps!

Specializes in ER, ICU, Trauma,.

To meanmaryjean

Thank you, sorry to hear about your cut in pay :no: it's not right to cut pay.

Specializes in geriatrics.

Since 2007, there have been few jobs in most areas for new nurses. Despite the media hype, I'm surprised at the number of enrollments in nursing schools, because the job postings and lack thereof is a strong indicator of the nursing market.There are jobs in small towns and rural areas....places where most people do not want to go. I relocated for my first nursing job, as have many others. People need to realize that this is an employers market, it has been for years, and if you want to work, go where the jobs are. The alternative is unemployment. Nursing is now as competitive as every other profession, and that isn't going to change. Cutbacks are global, too.

Specializes in Critical Care, Education.

In my part of the country (DFW & Houston), there is no shortage of generalist nurses... and an over-abundance of new grads for entry-level positions. However, there is emerging evidence of a shrinking supply of nurses with specialty qualifications. In the last 3 months, I have been seeing recruitment enticements (sign-on bonus, relocation paid, etc) for CVICU, OR & ED nurses but the jobs require at least 5 years of experience with certification preferred.

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