I feel truly sorry for new grads

[Concerto_in_C]

Just wanted to say that. I've been a nurse since 2008 and did ok, first in sub-acute rehab and now in med-surg, did not experience any unemployment and had very stable finances that whole time. I guess I got lucky because I graduated just as the industry was going down the toilet.

I just want to share my observation that this is no longer the industry of opportunities it once was, it has really changed for the worse, the attitude of employers has changed for the worse, and opportunities for young people have disappeared.

This industry has never been about making x or y amount of money, but it's been about opportunities for young people. Now the opportunities are in jeopardy.

Young talented BSNs can't even find work in med-surg nowadays because new grads are not welcome.

If you can't at least do med-surg because new grads are not welcome, you are setting yourself up for failure in later career because something like med-surg is the foundation, and they're denying you even the foundation you need to get started.

My advice for young people interested in a career in health care is to stay clear of nursing but do something like physical therapy. A PT degree may require 3 years more in school (because it's a PhD or a Masters) but the extra 3 years will be worth it because everywhere you go employers will accept you, nobody will give you a hard time because you're a new grad, and companies will be glad to take you under their wings and train you.

I got back from the website for the Norther Illinois University PT program and their employment rate for new PT grads is 100% (this means 100% of new grads are welcome in physical therapy).

Just my 2 cents.

[nursel56]

This has been a topic of concern here since late 2009. We've struggled against a well-funded propaganda machine who did their level best to stonewall and ignore new grads of all ages and keep what is now being exposed as the Nursing Shortage Myth.

If anyone tells you that this is a normal cycle..it is not. Not even nursing workforce expert Dr Peter Buerhaus believes that.

If you hear the sanctioned talking points from parties who stand to lose from fewer nursing students dig deep to find out what they base their claims on. These include the supposed mass exodus of aging nurses who either refuse to retire or claimed all the available jobs when the economy tanked 5 yrs ago, an exponential demand for RNs following massive demand by formerly uninsured as the ACA kicks in, and the demand to be created as boomers hit retirement age.

I'm sorry our attempts to tell people what they will never hear from the groups most reporters contact for "expert opinion" are interpreted as self-serving or malicious by some but oh well.

This site has hosted mini regional support groups, the chance to vent and network, dispel myths about the work ethic of today's new grads, created several new forums aimed at supporting them and collaborated with a major media outlet to get the word out "boots on the ground".

There is a lot of advice already here to help people maximize their chances from the get-go. To inform those who seek it and let the rest of it roll off.

[UPSgirl]

"We just hired a new grad to replace you who is willing to work for $10 an hour less." Really?? Hmmm...not to bash new grads but the girl they replaced me with never worked in healthcare AT ALL. She never even saw a code blue before. I'm totally not the type of nurse to eat my young, but if a family member of mine is in the hospital, I want somebody who knows what she's doing taking care of her. I only have an AAS, this girl has a BSN but told me the last 2 years of college she didn't do anything but write essays and she forgot all of the skills she learned in the first 2 years. Hello? Writing essays? How often as nurses do we write essays in APA format? And so the "why bother" part comes in when you interview and the recruiter says "in order to be hired you need a BSN or have to be enrolled in a BSN program." Why? Is being able to write an essay in APA format going to somehow save my patient while he's in cardiac arrest? "Stop compressions! Don't you dare give that epi! Look at the footnote on page 7 of my 13 page paper on mortality of patients post rescusitation. It's downright scary. Now I'll step down from my soap box.

[UPSgirl]

And by no means am I trying to devalue a bachelor's degree. What I'm saying is the meat and potatoes of nursing is taught within the first 2 years of a bachelor degree, and during the only years of the AAS. "Well why are they pushing the AAS nurses to get their bachelor's degrees?" Simple answer, money. Who could afford $15000 a semester to go back to school? If you don't have the cash, it's student loans. Student loans have interest and generate a lot revenue. Money...making...scheme

[UPSgirl]

Very well said.

I feel... that is what is needed in nursing and among some nurses is a positive attitude and one of encouragement and empowerment

I don't find nursing to be awful at all. Quite the contrary, in fact. I think it's a great job.

It was hard as heck to get a good job but now that I have (it took 3 years), I'm very satisfied with my decision to re-train and become a nurse.

I think this is a troubled industry if you have to re-locate to another party of the country in search of an entry-level job like med-surg.

It makes it no different than most other industries.

My engineering career required an 800-mile move for my first job, a 500-mile move for my second, a 100-mile move for my third, and a 75-mile commute for my fourth.

My first nursing job required a 200-mile commute each way.

Finally, there is no magical career out there where you will never struggle to find jobs. EVERYONE struggles to find a job. Especially local jobs/ jobs in their area of choice. Not just nurses. Engineers, doctors (believe it or not), lawyers, counselors, researchers, professors, etc. There is no golden gate of opportunity.

Occasionally, there are... and within a few years, the mass influx of economic migrants create a glut and slam shut the gates.

[nursel56]

I think for many years nursing was a golden ticket. In my case when I was younger it meant that I could move around and know I could find a job. Or try new working environments. It's possible that I sought to be hired at the deepest trough though. The decade 1965-1975 was noted for a resurgent feminist movement that framed traditionally female jobs in a negative light. .causing significant numbers to seek careers in other areas.

[bsnup13]

My manager told me and the magnet application and criteria is on the ANCC website, it's 244 dollars however so all I have is what my manager told me and why she hired half new grads out-of-state. Our hospital has been magnet three times in a row and I feel she's pretty knowledge about it.

[SENSUALBLISSINFL, BSN, RN]

Yea for Mass state school nurses most every position requires a DESE licensure in addition to state licensure which can be obtained through completion of training programs and a minimum of 2 yrs in child health/community health/relevant clinical experience. Wish it were that easy to go right into school nursing.

My classmate got a job as a school nurse after graduation, but only because she has been a school nurse assistant and when her nurse left, she begged to have her position (she worked full time as she went to nursing school part time). Just today she called me telling me she had to take work home because she was not able to finish. She often does this so she can be home at a normal hour or she would be at her job until 8 or 9. She is in charge of two schools and though she has the summers off and all the holidays, she says it is no picnic....she is stressed. She has limitations, instructed to call 911 for everything, not allowed to give injections such as insulin, or help a child with inhalers if they need to, but yet has tons of paper work to do...seems strange to me, but that is her job. I am glad to see that others on here that hold this position find it awesome.

I am in the position, passed boards August 2012, got laid off from the job I held while going to nursing school July 2012, been looking for a job ever since. Unemployed....have applied to so many places, sigh.... Getting my BSN, I am hoping to graduate by December 2014, and hoping this will make a difference, although I do not see how since I will still have no experience, I can only think for the best.

A poster suggested moving but some of us cannot because of family, not because we do not want to see beyond our backyard.

I am afraid to see the trend that employers look to hire young and now male nurses too; which leaves me out then, I am an older new nurse graduate. But I keep on trucking.

[joanna73, BSN, RN]

I would also agree that this period is unlike other recessions and economic crises, partly because this phenomenon is global. Yes nursing is cyclical, but certain parts of the world still experienced some economic growth during the recessions of the 80's and 90's.

In addition, there are far too many nursing schools. Until there is an actual shortage, many institutions should close. It makes no sense to continue pumping out new grads with few prospects.

Inflation and the high cost of living is also significant. Those dollars just don't stretch as far as five or ten years ago.

[Concerto_in_C, BSN, RN]

Part of the problem is the PCT/tech system. A majority of supporting staff are enrolled in nursing programs and every year some of those individuals graduate and pass the boards. They get priority consideration for nursing positions, which makes sense, because if you are a unit manager and there is a tech you like, why would you bring in an outsider? Techs being promoted to RNs are effectively blocking outsiders from interviewing for entry-level positions.

I guess if you are serious about working for company X or Z, try to get in there as a tech or supporting staffer and then gauge your prospects if you decide to start a nursing program. Even if you work in the kitchen while going to nursing school you will have better prospects than people who are completely new to the organization.

Trying to enter this job market as an outsider apparently doesn't work anymore.