Nursing graduates find tighter job market - Page 10

Final part of the post described a business that already existed, it was called hospital based diploma programs! *LOL*


When the first hosptial programs were set up students worked on the floors and indeed got much of their training by practical experience, for which they were not paid. This suited hospitals quite well, having a nice large unpaid work force and went on for quite some time, IIRC, unil the 1950's or so when lawsuits, federal and local laws put an end to such unpaid labour.

As you said, nurses who came from such programs were a boon to hospitals because they required no orientation, or anything else for that matter to get them up to speed. For most the only change was that they went from a student's uniform one day into starched whites the next. Because they had been educated at the hospital these nurses knew ever inch and every department, thus could be floated around as needed. One of the biggest gripes hospitals had about moving nursing programs into colleges and universities was that they would now be required to train these new graduates to suit each clinical setting, rather than having a ready made work force.

I have written the ANA about that very thing (providing hospitals funds to train new nurses) and received no reply. I sent a letter to the Pa state nurses assoc. I recieved a reply saying they will give it to the director. Still no reply. If we all take the time to write a letter to our nursing organizations, maybe they will start to listen. They are supposed to represent us!

I was thinking, what is the chance of a class action law suit for the lies the government and media perpetuated about the nursing shortage? If I get told a year from now that I have to go back to school to refresh my skills after trying so hard to find a job - I am going to be extremely upset!

Unfortunately, even the diploma programs cannot hire the nurses they train according to reports I have heard in the Philadelphia area.

If the ANA gets involved the scheme will involve only hiring BSN nurses! *LOL*

(ducks and runs)

Actually, when the economy was good, the shortage wasn't a lie. People actually sought healthcare because they had insurance. Now, many out of a job, no insurance, don't seek care until desperately ill. The unit I work on used to be consistently full, having overflow to other areas, begging for extra help, now not even a quarter to a half full, many call off days. This is not the fault of the government or the media. It is the economy--it is what it is--unfortunately. When things pick back up, many will retire or go back to other areas of interest, opening up many positions, plus many will begin to seek healthcare, requiring more positions to be created as well. Hopefully not long into the future, but none of us has a lead in to the future.
for now, try volunteering to keep skills fresh, plus to be able to use as a reference. Try LTC and community health centers, red cross, and health depts. I know you want paid, but with this economy, that may take awhile, keep your skills fresh while gaining some network contacts that could help in the future. Just a thought......

There has always been a shortage of nurses in one form or another, even as far back as the 1940's. Hospitals then used to go to England, Scotland and other northern European countries to recruit nurses (mainly because these nurses already in most cases spoke English), then when immigration laws changed in the 1960's things switched to the Philippines, again mainly because these nurses were educated in English.

However what is meant by a "nursing shortage" has usually meant a shortage of nurses willing to work bedside, which then as now is one of the most difficult parts of nursing. Many nurses both then and now weren't willing to put up with poor working conditons and low wages either. However what is different between now and today is there weren't many other employment choices for women. It was either nurse, teacher, nun, secretary or some other pink ghetto type job, all of where were usually meant to be a holding pattern until a girl/woman reached what was assumed to be her natural goal; marriage and child rearing. At that time one was expected to drop out of the work force, including nursing and concentrate on what REALLY mattered.

That hospitals lost nurses due to marriage, or whatever reasons was not much of problem then because schools churned out a steady supply of grads to take their places. However once Title IX and other laws began to open other job choices for women the nursing profession was hit bad, and it is still something nursing has never truly recovered from. Now you for the most part do not have women in the profession just killing time until they get married, out to nab themselves a doctor husband, or simply because other jobs were closed to them, today by and large anyone who enters nursing does so because they want to be a nurse. However one thing as not changed, hospitals and to an extent doctors still control the shots as far as hospitals and many other clinical settings are concerned, thus have a huge say in the nursing profession.

Yes, hospitals cannot be run without nurses, but nursing service is still considered a cost by hospitals as opposed to doctors who bring in revenue. As more and more hospitals are run along various business models, keeping costs down becomes an over riding concern. One of the ways to keep those costs down is to limit staff and or non revenue producing services.

A time of low census is probably an ideal time to bring in new grads so they can have a decent and through orientation, gradually allowing them to make the transition from GN to competent RN.

During the run up to and during the WWII, the United States realised it had a huge shortage of RNs and programs were developed on the federal level to address the situation. Funds were set aside and spent not only to get students into programs, but training, hiring and support. While there are some programs today, they are not very well coordinated, and seem to revolve around loan forgiveness if one works a certian amount of years. Well if no one is hiring how is one supposed to work?

"actually, when the economy was good, the shortage wasn't a lie. people actually sought healthcare because they had insurance. now, many out of a job, no insurance, don't seek care until desperately ill. the unit i work on used to be consistently full, having overflow to other areas, begging for extra help, now not even a quarter to a half full, many call off days. this is not the fault of the government or the media. it is the economy--it is what it is--unfortunately. when things pick back up, many will retire or go back to other areas of interest, opening up many positions, plus many will begin to seek healthcare, requiring more positions to be created as well. hopefully not long into the future, but none of us has a lead in to the future."

well said, medsurgemess

also do not email in a resume. those addresses are useless because they are spammed so much.

you have to personally deliver it, or mail or fax it to a person. make sure that the cover letter is addressed to that person and clearly states your goals for working there.

the economy will turn around, censuses will be up and healthcare will be crying for nurses again.

we own a small agency and we are down to only being able to place 29 nurses a day; down from 60. it is a he77 of a crunch when agencies are turning away nurses. the aging of our receivables has also gotten screwy. now 35% - 38% of our billings age over 45-days and less than 60; and we cannot do a thing about it.

RN2B, I couldn't aggree with you more. Who is really going to have money for a refresher course by the time things hopefully get better. Why should we have to pay for a refresher class because of things that are out of our control, ie the bureacucratic BS. Everytime I think about that I get so angry I could chew rocks!!!

I actually wrote to my state's Governor because the state in which I reside has yet to come up with a budget. The day after I mailed the letter, there was actually an article in the newspaper about how healthcare, ie nursing, is not a recession proof job. I too was going to write a letter to my state's nursing association and the ANA, but based on the newspaper article the ANA is well aware of this already. I'm actually surprised that these assoications don't have things posted on their website about what out of work nurses can do in this situation to keep thier skills up. Gee all the advice that is outhere about being unemployed seems to only focus on people who worked in corporate America. I've been attending job fairs and trying to network with no positive out come. I just keep reviewing nursing notes and reading nursing journals to stay current in the field. I'm also looking into trying to volunteer at places where my nursing skills would be utilized like patient education about meds, but even that outcome looks grim.

In the article Cheryl Peterson, director of nursing and policy at the American Nurses Association is quoted as stating " Nursing jobs have been hard hit because providers remain reluctant to hire in the midst of the recession. Hospitals had been carrying open positions on their books that they have since eliminated. The result is recent graduates are having trouble getting jobs."

I just think what are places going to do when the economy does get better and nurses actually retire, who are they going to have to replace them. Many of us who are currently out of work will have either changed career fields and want nothing to do with it, if what is happening now contiunes.

I also think what i'm going to say at an interview if I get the one qestion about what I have been doing between now and my last place of employment. I've been practicing aswering that because right off the bat my response would be job hunting and what planet are you living on to not realize that a nurse without the magic 1 yr expereince can't find a job easily, hence why it is only now you have called me for an interview for a position i applied to more than 7 months ago.

More fuel for the fire:

http://marketplace.publicradio.org/d.../24/pm_nurses/

Same in Longview, TX