Memphis Area Job Outlook

[mack68]

I started my clinicals in a ADN program in rual west TN this week. I am very concerned about how new grad jobs are drying up. How can a new grad get experience when everybody wants at least 1 year expereince or requires a BSN to do a residency program. I know there is a ressesion but the number of people needing care if anything continues to increase. What is going to happen when all of the nursing schools graduate nurses (BSN and ADN) that can not get a job. Why do hospitals not want new grads?

[meandragonbrett]

Do not work at St. Francis- Park. I spent the last eight months there for clinical and it was a horrible experience. The nurse to patient ratio on the floor I was on was sometimes as high as 9 to 1. The nurses there are leaving left and right due to how bad it is.

It's like that everywhere. All of the facilities go through these cycles. All the nurses leave one hospital and go to another and it ends that hospital's staffing crisis temporarily.

Just be realistic in your expectations. Remember that you're a warm body with a nursing license. Find somewhere you can see yourself tolerating it won't be perfect anywhere you are. There is no greener grass....it's just different grass.

[stephshu]

Hi,

I have some questions, I will be relocating to Memphis after nursing school. My fiance's job has been relocated to the memphis area. A little bit about myself, I'm completing the accelerated BSN program in VA. Prior to nursing school I got a BS in public health, and Masters in infection control. My question is what hospitals should I apply to, and when should I start looking/applying? I appreciate any help!

[Pokytrokyt]

It's like that everywhere. All of the facilities go through these cycles. All the nurses leave one hospital and go to another and it ends that hospital's staffing crisis temporarily.

Just be realistic in your expectations. Remember that you're a warm body with a nursing license. Find somewhere you can see yourself tolerating it won't be perfect anywhere you are. There is no greener grass....it's just different grass.

I couldn't disagree more. I'm not looking for perfection, either. But I won't put my patients or my license at risk by working in unsafe conditions.

An 8:1 or 9:1 patient ratio for a new grad nurse means the hospital cares more about revenue than they do about patient safety. That hospital also doesn't care about their employees either, because expecting a new grad nurse to take on 8:1 or more patients is just asking for the kind of nursing error that can cost you your hard-earned license.

And it's not like the hospital doesn't have a choice. They can admit fewer patients when they don't have enough nurses to staff the unit (but that limits revenue), or they can hire travel nurses to fill in for staff vacancies (but that costs money), or they can raise nurses salaries to attract more nurses to their hospital (but that costs money too).

I was called by a recruiter today from a Memphis hospital to set up an in-person interview. Once I heard about their nurse-patient ratio, I told the nurse recruiter that I wasn't interested in working for a hospital with a nurse-patient ratio that is unsafe practice for a new grad nurse. End of interview.