Future Shortage in Bedside Nurses

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I have been an RN for 22 years. In recent years, we all know that the trend has been for acute inpatient facilities to try to hire BSN nurses as much as possible. However, another trend that I am seeing, both here on these forums and in the places where I have worked, is that most of the young BSN nurses have no desire to do bedside nursing any longer than they have to. All I seem to hear is that they all want to either move into a management position or go back to school to become an NP or CRNA. Even the ones who haven't voiced those goals have expressed a great contempt for bedside Med/Surg nursing and want to work in specialty areas such as OB. The thought process seems to be that they didn't go to school for four years "just to" care for sick people at the bedside. If this continues, it seems that there is going to be a great shortage of bedside nurses in the near future as more and more of the "old school" nurses retire.

Does anyone else see this where you work? What happens to the army when everyone wants to be a general and no one wants to be a foot soldier? I'm just curious. I have over 100 undergrad college credits that I could apply towards a BSN, but at this point in my career, I just want to finish out my years as a nurse taking care of people who need help. Never had any desire to climb the ladder whatsoever. Are any of you new grads in the same boat, where you would be contented to do bedside nursing for the foreseeable future, or is being a bedside nurse becoming passe'?

wanting and getting are two different things. There are not enough management jobs for everyone.
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"management" doesn't always have to mean a desk job or an administrative role. It could mean a BSN who leads a nursing team in the delivery of care for an assigned group of patients (think team nursing). This is still a bedside role, but one that really utilizes the higher education of a BSN.

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I dont know...I have my BSN. I got my BSN because where I live its the easiest way to get a job. But to be honest, I dont really think I want to go back to grad school any time in the forseeable future. I've always loved the bedside part of nursing. I dont know what will happen in 20 years from now...but right now I see myself loving bedside nursing forever :) And I think lots of people in my graduating class feel that way.

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Specializes in Peds/outpatient FP,derm,allergy/private duty.
I believe there's soon to be a glut of MSN nurses out there, but not enough positions to be filled at the level of higher practice that they all wish to achieve. So a lot of unhappy and disappointed Master's nurses will then be in need of some type of employment.

And then you'll hear their complaint that they 'have to settle and go back to the bedside' while they keep searching. (Much like a lot of current grads bemoan that they 'have to settle and apply to LTC'.) But guess what? All those bedside positions are being filled by newly created positions for UAPs and other specialty staff (as discussed in the current post on AN now about 'de-skilling' in nursing).

Yep. And this is why I take issue with those who say the lack of jobs for new grads is a temporary part of the boom and bust cycle that happens with every job. The bean counters aren't dreading the day when they will have to beg all the new grads to please come to work for them because there are no nurses. They will be training specialized techs to do those tasks and have RNs managing them. Which I guess lends support to the push for ever more advanced degrees to do basic patient care, but is not a good sign for the job outlook for all the new nurses and students in the "pipeline" at present.

The movers and shakers in nursing are pushing for everyone to have a post-graduate degree, I believe not because it is clinically indicated or generated by those who hire RNs, but because they believe it lends a prestige to the field and will finally cause other allied specialties to view nurses as professionals on par with physicians, pharmacists, etc.

The problem is that they are fighting a losing battle as the corporate mind-set is to homogenize everything we do and say and devalue clinical judgement in favor of "customer service".

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The movers and shakers in nursing are pushing for everyone to have a post-graduate degree, I believe not because it is clinically indicated or generated by those who hire RNs, but because they believe it lends a prestige to the field and will finally cause other allied specialties to view nurses as professionals on par with physicians, pharmacists, etc.

THIS!!!

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Specializes in Pediatrics, Congenital Heart Disease.

I am a BSN new grad. It is true that many BSN's want to use bedside nursing as a stepping stone to management, or advanced practice. However, in my experience, there are just as many who entered nursing school to take care of people at the bedside as a nurse. Personally, I see myself staying at the bedside. I love teaching, and can potentially see myself in a clinical educational role at some point far down the road (something akin to a diabetes educator, unit educator, or precepting new grads).

I don't think there is anything wrong with taking on a different role after gaining experience and finding your niche and strengths... I do agree that there is something fundamentally weird about people entering nursing school who scoff at bedside nursing!

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I have my BSN and I have every desire to get my MSN and move on up to my DNP...at least that's the plan for now...but the reasons I want to do it are totally different than what you are talking about. I have done my "management" time in the military and am darn sick and tired of managing people. I am a floor nurse all the way. That's why I got into this. My reasons for wanting the advanced education? Here goes:

(1) I have two young children, 9 and 8, and I want them to actually SEE me achieve higher education. They saw the struggle for the BSN and I did it, and I want them to see the rest of it, I want to be an inspiration to them.

(2) I have a strong desire to teach. My ultimate goal is to go back to my school and teach there. I'm already talking to the deans and instructors to see what I have to do to work as a substitute there.

(3) my mother never placed much stock in me finishing my nursing degree, getting a job or being good at it, so it's kinda of "you know what" to her for me to continue with my education (I dont talk to her, I dont like her, wouldn't care if she dropped off the face of the earth)

(4) I want future nurses to see that you CAN get advanced degrees and STILL work well on the floor, adding to your knowledge base will only HELP the patient.

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Specializes in geriatrics, hospice, private duty.
If bedside nurses had to take organic chemistry there wouldn't be any bedside nurses....

Some of us will do what it takes to stay at bedside nursing, even if it means getting a BSN or taking organic chemistry. :D

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Specializes in orthopedic/trauma, Informatics, diabetes.

I have an ADN, but will get my BSN because here in the Raleigh area, the hospitals are all drifting toward the magnet thing and you pretty much have to have a BSN to get in. I am working in a rehab facility associated with both a hospital and a LTC. I do not want my MSN (already have a masters in teaching) and I don't want to manage, supervise or be a NP. I AM interested in becoming certified in gerontology and/or rehab. I realize that being new, I am not burned out yet, but hope to stay at the bedside.

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Specializes in Critical Care, Education.
That's what I've noticed too, that everyone seems to be going back to school for their MSN. I can't think of a single nurse with their MSN who works on the floor either.

This situation is due to the fact there there weren't any 'bedside' jobs for MSNs - but this is changing. In my neck of the woods, hospitals are changing their staffing/care models to include MSN roles because they have FINALLY realized how beneficial this is to patient care. There is a lot of evidence that advanced practice nurses, whether you call them ClinSpecs or Clinical Leaders or something else, can really make a difference in patient care.

This trend began in specialty units, but is rapidly catching on in other areas. The AP nurse is being used to support hands-on education, provide real-time clinical expertise/support for staff, conduct bedside research to improve nursing practice, work with physicians to improve outcomes, support project implementations, etc. This also gives the nurse manager sufficient time to focus on the fiscal and administrative operations... better outcomes for everyone.

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There is a nursing shortage at the bedside because nurses get tired of being treated like crap. They get treated unfairly by patients, families,supervisors, and co workers.

Who is going to stay in that environment.

I recently was literally cursed out by a nursing shift supervisor for no good reason. If I had cursed her out I would have been fired.

There were even wittnesses. She still has a job and is allowed to be part of my evaluation. I am stuck in this profession as this is all I have ever done for over 20 years.

I need the pay check.

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I'm changing careers and applying to direct-entry NP programs and ABSN-to-NP programs this fall. As an NP, I'd be *thrilled* to work as a bedside nurse!! I really enjoy the work I've done as a CNA and can't imagine being an NP who doesn't like bedside nursing.

The reason I'm going for an NP is because I'd like to have the autonomy/authority to diagnose and manage patient care in addition to providing it. I guess I don't see those things as mutually exclusive. It's pretty weird that folks would want to enter the nursing profession in order to avoid working with patients, IMHO.

I do hope that being an NP won't push me out of bedside nursing. I'd think that my training would make me much more valuable on the floor than behind a desk.

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Specializes in Critical Care, ED, Cath lab, CTPAC,Trauma.
I have my BSN and I have every desire to get my MSN and move on up to my DNP...at least that's the plan for now...but the reasons I want to do it are totally different than what you are talking about. I have done my "management" time in the military and am darn sick and tired of managing people. I am a floor nurse all the way. That's why I got into this. My reasons for wanting the advanced education? Here goes:

(1) I have two young children, 9 and 8, and I want them to actually SEE me achieve higher education. They saw the struggle for the BSN and I did it, and I want them to see the rest of it, I want to be an inspiration to them.

(2) I have a strong desire to teach. My ultimate goal is to go back to my school and teach there. I'm already talking to the deans and instructors to see what I have to do to work as a substitute there.

(3) my mother never placed much stock in me finishing my nursing degree, getting a job or being good at it, so it's kinda of "you know what" to her for me to continue with my education (I dont talk to her, I dont like her, wouldn't care if she dropped off the face of the earth)

(4) I want future nurses to see that you CAN get advanced degrees and STILL work well on the floor, adding to your knowledge base will only HELP the patient.

The question is.....are you willing to add to your knowlege base at the same pay.

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