Attention: Philippines nurses - there is no nursing shortage in America

[oneproudigorot]

I came across a thread in this forum. A lot of those forumers, mostly american nurses, posted that there is really no nursing shortage in America. I think that's really very disturbing considering that I gave up a very good career just to take up nursing.

I am at a dilemma, should I push through with my american dream. I am done with my CGFNS, IELTS and NCLEX but everything crumbled since i read those posts.

How ironic that we are made to believe that america needs nurses when there are a lot of inactive american nurses who chose not to practice. What if the US gov't does something to make those nurses go back on the floor then where will we be?

[Silverdragon102, BSN]

... and family pressures from what I read on these threads. People just have to accept that they can't always get what they want. Life has a nasty habit of not being under our direct control. Governments make and change rules all the time, doing what is in their nations best interest.

Oh, and a rested, hydrated nurse who takes their breaks are just as effective (if not better) as those "super nurses" who look down on the break takers. Team membership is about more than who takes breaks and who doesn't. It's about the overall attitude and behaviours of the staff. Failure to take breaks can be due to poor time management skills, a heavy workload (and yes, I've worked shifts where no one has had a break because the unit was slammed), and working short staffed. BUT to state that you don't take breaks because you provide better care than your co-workers is just arrogant.

Agree getting a break makes a much better nurse, Sometimes reading the various forums makes me sad that some nurses don't help others that have either a lot heavier workload or some emergency delaying the care. At the end of the day we are all nurses and all will at some stage have a bad day and would be nice to think that support is there, I have always tried to help even when my workload was heavy because it is nice to work as a team and all leave at the same time at the end of the shift. I have worked in some busy units the main being an admission unit and we all pulled together and helped making it a much better workplace. I know there was times when we was all busy but was nice to know we helped each other

[naypi_RN]

i came across this site when i was googling if there is really a nursing shortage in America. I am born in the phil and emigrated to US about 6 years ago. i graduated from nursing school here in the US in May 2009, six months have passed but still cant find a job. 98% of our class passed NCLEX but only a few have successfully landed to their dream job. i've sent tons of applications not only to the hospitals and nursing homes in the state where i live but to other states as well.i am willing to move or travel miles away from my family just to get a job. in spite of hundreds of applications that i sent out, no interviews...no job offers! its crazy!!it is very frustrating! i now start to question whether there is really a nursing shortage in America or this is just a hoax.

i went to a job fair a month ago and very suprised to see people who graduated 2 semesters before me. it's been very difficult to find a job.its easier to pass the NCLEX exam than getting a job here in the US. the sad thing is even if i would be willing to work as a nurse tech, my license as an RN will not allow me.

goddluck to all the nurses in the phil!!

[twisted189]

aww, so sorry to hear that...its been 6 months? wow, just like my situation here in the Philippines.. have faith ma'am, Im sure you'll be hired real soon. :up:

I DO have a question though...:D

I AM planning to become a USRN.. will probably apply for the state of new york/Texas. I have read repeatedly in this site that it will take about 5 years to have a CHANCE at a visa, and that's okay with me. I plan on working in other countries ( Australia/ New Zealand) first to gain experience during that 5 year wait... after all, I really plan to migrate in the US in the distant future because almost my whole clan is already there... LOL.

Question is, if I sit and hopefully pass the NCLEX by 2010... any issues I should know regarding renewal of license in the said states? (during the said 5 year wait)

I dont know if its a good plan. An uncle of mine who is an RN at Texas told me to take the NCLEX already "just to get it out of the way". Furthermore, I've read somewhere that the longer the time from graduation from nursing school that you take the NCLEX, the greater the failure rate. This scares me,

thank you so much for answering this,,, this site has been very much helpful! :up:

[annz16]

The person who wrote that there is no shortage of nurses here in the U.S. but just a shortage of working nurses is right. I agree 100 percent. But a shortage is a shortage.

So, don't be dissapointed, there are plenty of jobs for RN's in the U.S.A. As the baby boomers age, they will require more medical and nursing care. There are reports in the newspapers and in U.S. nursing journals that there will be a need for up to a million nurses just several years from now. One report stated that the U.S. schools can only train and graduate about 600,000 nurses during this time period. How can the U.S. hospitals close this gap? Most probably just like what they have been doing for years, U.S. hospitals will hire foreign grad. nurses.

There are plenty of jobs for nurses in the U.S., but reality bites sometimes. That so-called "first job" may be elusive at first to the new-grad nurse. It costs the hospitals thousands of dollars to train each newly graduated nurse. Understandably, U.S. hospitals would rather hire an experienced RN. But be persistent, you will be hired. And when you get that nursing job, show them that you are a hard worker and willing to learn. Be a team player. Take good care of your patients, after all you are getting paid to take care of them.

Nursing is hard work. It is very stressful. Therefore it is important to have a good sense of humor. That's what kept me sane this last 27 years as a nurse here in the U.S.

Good luck!

Wow. That was so inspiring. Its really a tough time for nurses now especially for newly grad nurses like me. But words like that inspires me and keeps me going. Thanks alot for that! =)

[chris_NC0112]

my say on this, yes, there is no shortage of Nurses perhaps (if referring to newly Registered Nurses w/o experience), but for Nurses with specialization already like ICU, A&E, Renal, then I guess, there are still shortages in this field.