I am a brand new nurse (having just passed the NCLEX June 10th) and am still looking for my first job. The job market here isn't completely saturated, I'm just really trying to get in to a hospital rather than a LTCF. What gets me though, is the perpetuation of the nursing shortage myth, which is NOT true anymore.
THIS ARTICLE has the nerve to point out that "nursing positions are plentiful" and encourages people not to go in to a different field, but instead to go in to nursing. Obviously I think people still need to go in to nursing because if people stop, there WILL be another shortage. That doesn't mean that this idea should be continued or that people who don't WANT to be nurses should be getting in to this field just to have a job.
I went back to school at 29 knowing that I wanted to be a nurse and that there was nothing else that was going to make me happy as a career. Yes, I don't have a job yet but I know it will come and that I'm doing the right thing. If this wasn't something I had a calling for, I can't imagine going in to nursing given all of the things nurses deal with on a daily basis. I know this is talked about all the time but this article really got under my skin. Be a nurse for the right reasons, not because anthropology has a bad job outlook.
Specializes in Critical Care, ED, Cath lab, CTPAC,Trauma.
This kind of thread really gets on my nerves. It's more bellyaching and complaining that other people have the audacity to become a nurse. What would you have thought if people had gone through these lengths to discourage you? I know in SOME areas of the country there isn't a nursing shortage but in others it's a very real fact of life. This type of thread comes off as being whiny that you may have to compete for a job. To the poster who thinks that they deserve a job ahead of another nurse because it is your "calling" grow up! Rant over lol
Actually it is not a rant but the truth....the path to nursing isn't paved with gold and even nurisng experts admit there is no shortage right now. Yhe shortage was based on inflated numbers based on calculations for natioal staff ratios....THAT NEVER HAPPENED.
In a time of nationwide high unemployment and economic uncertainty, job forecasts have consistently pegged nursing as a promising sector largely immune to the woes of the recession. Technological advances, a greater focus on preventative care and the aging baby boomer population have triggered rapid growth in healthcare, and the latest report by the Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts that employment of registered nurses will jump 26 percent from 2010 to 2020.
But one study of recent nursing graduates suggests career prospects in the field – particularly for young professionals – may not be as rosy as they appear.
Thirty-six percent of nursing graduates in the class of 2011 had not secured positions as registered nurses (RNs) as of last fall, according to a survey conducted by the National Student Nurses’ Association in September. Respondents claimed that employers are seeking more experienced RNs, older nurses are slowing turnover by taking longer to retire, and new graduates are inundating the market.
“Because everyone was predicting we’d have this nursing shortage the schools increased their enrollments,” said Diane Mancino, executive director of the NSNA. “I don’t know what the number is, but there are a lot more graduates now, so that’s exacerbating the problems of new graduates not getting jobs.”
An April follow-up survey sent to those who reported having no nursing position as of September found that roughly half still did not have jobs. The initial survey was administered to the 16,442 members of the NSNA graduating in spring or summer 2011, and 22 percent of those students responded.
Inability to find a job in the nursing sector was most prevalent among RNs who earned accelerated baccalaureate degrees or associate degrees, while those graduating with bachelor’s degrees and diplomas fared slightly better. Mancino, an RN who attended nursing school at the University at Buffalo, said the disparity is particularly problematic for students who attend community colleges – which tend to offer two-year associate degrees – rather than the often more expensive four- or five-year bachelor’s degree programs at other colleges and universities.
I don't think nursing jobs are a dime a dozen. There are multiple applicants for every position and hospital have hiring freezes.https://allnurses.com/nursing-activism-healthcare/calling-nurses-back-38834-page2.html#post6559632
Has the Nursing Shortage Disappeared?
It's that time of year again. Graduating nursing students are preparing to take the NCLEX and are looking for their first jobs. This year, many are finding those first jobs in short supply.
Reports are rampant of new graduates being unable to find open positions in their specialty of choice, and even more shockingly, many are finding it tough to find any openings at all.
These new RNs entered school with the promise that nursing is a recession-proof career. They were told the nursing shortage would guarantee them employment whenever and wherever they wanted.
So what happened? Has the nursing shortage—that we've heard about incessantly for years—suddenly gone away?
The short term answer is clearly yes, although in the long term, unfortunately, the shortage will still be there. The recession has brought a temporary reprieve to the shortage. Nurses who were close to retirement have seen their 401(k) portfolios plummet and their potential retirement income decline. They are postponing retirement a few more years until the economy—and their portfolios—pick up.
Many nurses have seen their spouses and partners lose their jobs and have increased their hours to make ends meet for their families. Some who left the profession to care for children or for other reasons have rejoined the workforce for similar reasons.
In addition, many hospitals are not hiring. The recession brought hiring freezes to healthcare facilities across the country, and many are still in effect. Help wanted ads for healthcare professionals dropped by 18,400 listings in July, even as the overall economy saw a modest increase of 139,200 in online job listings.
I would like to be very clear that I am not whining about having to compete for a job. People in most careers have to compete with other candidates. My point was that articles like these make it seem like the nursing job market is a magical place where jobs materialize out of nothing and you will get a job without any work. I am happy to put in work, volunteer and pay my dues. I just think articles like these give a false impression to people.
This kind of thread really gets on my nerves. It's more bellyaching and complaining that other people have the audacity to become a nurse. What would you have thought if people had gone through these lengths to discourage you? I know in SOME areas of the country there isn't a nursing shortage but in others it's a very real fact of life. This type of thread comes off as being whiny that you may have to compete for a job. To the poster who thinks that they deserve a job ahead of another nurse because it is your "calling" grow up! Rant over lol
I guess everyone is entitled to their own opinions. Perhaps you should have googled some information before you found it necessary to join a thread to try to belittle people who are frustrated at having an extremely difficult time finding a job right now. I have no idea where you're from, but if the job market is better where you're at, by all means, that's fantastic for you and other nurses in your area, but where I live, YES, I do find it unfair that I have to compete with nurses who are imported from other countries for a job in a country I was born in. I never said I deserved a job ahead of anyone else because I feel like it's my calling, I just think it's unfortunate that I have to compete against people who aren't really into the job anyway. I'm entitled to my opinion just as well as you are.
" It's more bellyaching and complaining that other people have the audacity to become a nurse. "
Audacity, huh? Whatever you say. We all go through the same classes and clinicals to become nurses. Regardless of the outcome, we all have the "audacity" to get through the schooling. It's not really any fault of our own that jobs are currently so hard to come by.
Specializes in Psych, Peds, Geri, Teaching, LTC, QA.
For LTC, in my experience, you better be ready for 10 hour days, filling in as a CNA when they don't show, being the scapegoat when uppers don't want to take responsibility, getting yelled at by families who don't understand your hands are tied that you can't get more resources because corporate is for profit. Sad.....
To get a job as an RN I had to go to another LTC that was connected to a hospital. I waited until I could transfer and I did but it took almost 2 years post graduation for me to get a job at a hospital. I put in a bid to transfer to peds and got it. Thank goodness I did! 2 day shift layoffs of RNs in my old floor and my old position was completely eliminated. Those part time nurses waiting to bid on my full time position are out of luck. So is the part time night nurse who literally finished her 12 week orientation and got laid off her first week.
And I just wanted to say there's nothing wrong with wanting to be a nurse because it pays well. I've been in healthcare 12 years as a CNA, LPN, and RN. This job is too hard to do for peanuts!!!
When I was a CNA, I accepted that one of my essential job functions was to clean incontinent patients. Did I love it? No, but I did recognize what an intimate act of caring for another human being it really was, and gave it the respect and dignity it deserved. If you resent your job that much, believe me, the human beings you're caring for know it. You might want to consider working with inanimate objects if you can't find a way to make peace with your essential role in patient care.
Is everybody else seeing lots of job postings for pool nurses? I feel like I search my local (Philadelphia-area) health systems and there are quite a few jobs, just nothing for a new grad. Then again, I know someone who got recruited to work in Arkansas. I would just really prefer not to have to move to Arkansas.
This kind of thread really gets on my nerves. It's more bellyaching and complaining that other people have the audacity to become a nurse. What would you have thought if people had gone through these lengths to discourage you? I know in SOME areas of the country there isn't a nursing shortage but in others it's a very real fact of life. This type of thread comes off as being whiny that you may have to compete for a job. To the poster who thinks that they deserve a job ahead of another nurse because it is your "calling" grow up! Rant over lol
If anyone would have gone out of their way to discourage me, I would have went into microbiology, which was my first passion anyways, and been a lab tech.
No offense but you just passed the NCLEX a month ago so when it becomes 6 months without having found a job you can complain. I agree though I laugh when I hear this "there are going to be a huge shortages of nurses in a few years" and "there is a huge job market." Yeah right. It is better than many fields right now and everyone I know have a job within a couple months of graduating nursing school but the demand isn't as big as the hype. Most of the hype comes from baby boomers retiring. I laugh even more at that. I mean who are going to take care of these retired boomers? CNAs in nursing homes, supervised by a couple ADNs so I wouldn't expect a crisis of shortages(especially given the sky rocketed popularity of this major since everyone found out about the "demand."). Nonetheless, here I am in nursing school. I'll just cross my fingers and keep my nose in the books.
I received notification on passing NCLEX in July... ADN... California... starting a new job soon... got my foot in the door by standing out in school and volunteering.
All the people who didn't stand out in school, didn't volunteer, all jobless.
Esme12, ASN, BSN, RN
20,908 Posts
CNN article on nurses and job growth CNN did an article and used AN to hear testimonies from new grads and the job market.
No Nursing Shortage At The Present Time
New Grad Nurses struggling to find jobs - CNN Reporter wants to ...
There is no nursing shortage.......click on the link here and the one below. Browse the Nursing Career Advice
https://allnurses.com/general-nursing...ge-752411.html