CT seeks $$ to add nurses

This feces just makes me want to scream.

ARRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.

Hmmm, I don't really feel any better.

Maybe I'm reading this wrong. I'm confused. The money would not only be putting more students through nursing school, but it would also be used to help new healthcare workers find jobs. Why is that a bad thing?

I think I see what you're saying about saturating the market with students, but for now there are new nurses out of work and some of that money would be going to open 2,500 jobs.

The economy is bad right now, and there aren't enough jobs to go around, but it will eventually get better and there will eventually be a nursing shortage where we'll need more nurses.

Please explain! I'm just a humble nursing student myself...

As a new grad from last May there are not enough jobs out there and maybe she should focus more on residency programs for us new grads than throwing grant money to nursing students that are already over populated at this time as there are no jobs out there.
Good luck to the next years grads you are going to have an even harder time to find a permanent job than me. As the shortage is not really there and there are no new jobs in site here in CT.
Tricia RN

Yes, I'm in Chicagoland, and there aren't any jobs out here either. I would be annoyed if there was money just going to train new nurses and not help the already graduated ones find jobs. I have written my legislature on topics related to the supposed nursing shortage. However, the part of the article that I found to be a good thing was as follows:

"Hanley also says the stimulus money would help find jobs for 2,500 new health care workers and provide more retraining opportunities for more than 600 workers."

That suggests to me that the governor is looking out for new grads and existing nurses who need extra training to stay current, as well as future nursing students. That's what I'm confused on why this is a bad thing.

The economy will bounce back, this can't go on forever and there will be a day, probably within the next couple of years, when new nurses will be needed. It sucks now. The problem is not that there are too many nurses, it's that hospitals are on self-imposed hiring freezes due to the bad economy. But there have been signs in the last few months that show the economy is strengthening, which means jobs will be opening up eventually.

On a separate but related note, I was floored a while back when I saw a recruiter on "Fox and Friends" who recruits nurses from other countries to come here and work on a visa to cover our nursing "shortage." That really angered me, after my friends who graduated from nursing school were unable to find jobs for months. I took it as it's cheaper for the hospitals to hire foreign, experienced nurses than to hire new grads who they have to put through a residency/orientation program. "Insourcing" rather than "Outsourcing."

The nursing shortage still exists and will only get worse as baby boomers continue to retire. But one reason new grads are having such a hard time finding work is because the recession has forced many nurses who were retired or semi-retired back into the work force. Employers are more than willing to hire an experienced nurse over spending $20,000+ to orient a new grad. Employers are facing financial losses too, and the prospect of hiring a new grad now is not that appealing, sorry to say. It is very sad though, because here we have a younger generation of eager nurses unable to find work because of the failing economy. Yes, the economy will get better eventually, but that doesn't pay the bills or get the new grad the experience they need to get the jobs.

My opinion on CT asking for stimulus money to train nurses...that will not solve the imediate problem for CT. They are not unique in that they have an aging population and less nurses to care for them-it is nationwide. So, their request for stimulus money under this pretense is misleading to the public. If they get stimulus money will it:
1) Truely be used for they purpose in which they have requested it? Or will it 'disappear' in the red tape and be used for State budget or "reform"?
2) Set precedence for other States to request stimulus money for the same thing. However, why stop at nursing? There is a shortage of MD's, pharmacists, and other HC professionals/parapros. The only surplus we have is lawyers!
3)Put healthcare in the hands of the governement. We can call it the HC bailout. This will create more gov control over OUR professions.

I don't know what the solution is...perhaps more responsibility on the Universities for effective job placement programs as a start. But to increase money for people to go to nursing school only to find themselves without a job prospect and $40,000 in debt is insane at this time. Perhaps in a year or two when the economy is better and the former retirees have re-retired from nursing would be a better time to increase the nursing population. But for now--why add to the unemployement numbers? Just my

You know, I hear this argument all the time. Now I want the facts and figures that support it.

I want to know where retired nurses are being rehired into the workforce, and experienced nurses in general are being given preference over new grads. Where I am, nurses over fifty are praying to God to keep their jobs another day, and more experienced nurses with seniority/longevity are being shown the door. Older nurses are not finding jobs unless they are in a specialty and competing against a very small applicant pool. I have yet to see a retired or semi-retired nurse get hired except as a traveler or agency nurse, and even then without guarantee of assignment.

There is no shortage of nurses out here. What there is, is a shortage of working nurses.

Here are some news articles I found, where people in the field state that part of the reason new grads aren't finding jobs is due to the older nurses working longer:

http://nursing.advanceweb.com/editor...aspx?cc=208034

http://www.phillyburbs.com/informati...hortage-2.html

http://www.kcchronicle.com/articles/...4695/index.xml

Sorry, but those are three news articles that don't offer any kind of proof except one nurse who un-retired to do flu shots for VNA (and I already mentioned that nurses were going to agencies -- which offer no guarantees). Other than that you've offered nothing but hearsay and "yup, that's how it seems." Not good enough. Show me the DOL stats that back up the widespread "leaving retirement to return staff positions" claim.

pennyaline has hit the nail on the head- experienced nurses ARE also out of work and in DROVES. I being one. my same age nursing colleages- who have been shown the door after 30,32 years of SERVICE (same hospital) and we are suddenenly being faced with resume writting, references, where to look, online applications, (this one I particularlly love) personality testing (a test to see if you are a good fit- like a victoria secret bra) and then to find that your salary quote is - $10.00/hour less than what you were working for at the old job. This is PURELY an economic game buy the business degrees- trust me- I have been out searching for 18 months, and yes speciality has something to do with it- the specialities that ARE hiring are- Mother, Baby, ICU,CVICU, and ER occassionally PSYCH (none of which are my speciality-I thought I had my bases covered with staying with med/surg, tele, sameday surgery and some Endo- NOT TRUE!!) If you look at those specialties that are hiring- they are the ones who get sued the most!! Articles can say whatever they want but it doesn't make it true- nursing has taught me to check it out for my self and decide. I have been SCREAMINg on this website and others to give me the numbers- I want to know what a CEO 's salary is!! I want more than spin doctoring from some CEO who will NOT, REFUSE to disclose his/her salary to us- the NURSING COMMUNITY and have the Nerbe to say we need to cut in our hospital and the FIRST place they look is ALWAYS- NURSING ( first it was open positions- closed them, then that wasn't enough so they went after the SENIORITY staff nurses(top pay scale and pension, benefits) now it's hiring freezes- no replacements for the ones who left because they were FED-UP, exhaused- physically and mentally, now they are down to bare bones- NO NEW GRADS- cost of orientation! and if you cruise the hospital websites, nurses.com job boards, toobusyworking. etc- there are a lot of nursing manager positions, assistant manager position- who are now deciding- this is too dangerous and suddenly realize they TOO have a nursing license AND 24 hour accountability. But the CEO;s and the financial arms of these hospitals keep going with their preverbial scizzors- cut cut slash slash and have the blatent STUPIDITY to force custiomer service down our throats. So my take on these articles being published are done so by people who haven't seen a patient in Years or are too drunk or high to know what's going on- maybe they should be drug tested!!