Confused about the "nursing shortage"

SummerGarden, BSN, MSN, RN · Mar 10, 2009

there is no nursing shortage except in maybe ltc. yes, there are places that have a high rate of people needing medical services and nursing services in acute care. my facility, for example, is no longer hiring right now despite the fact that our floors are packed with sick patients!

to a lay person such as your self that suggests a nursing shortage. however, many facilities are closing; laying off, not renewing contracts, have hiring freezes, etc. my facility tells us that... "there is a nursing shortage... however we have a budget crunch and cannot afford to hire on more nurses". thus, to solve the problem they increased the nurse-to-patient ratios.

does this shed a little light? a new class of student nurses is graduating locally. more then my previous class... only about a hand full (10 or less) will be hired on in may… the rest (about 40 or so) will have to find a job in ltc or school nursing... hospice and home health are not in need either.

i think it is sad that your faculty have told you different.... maybe locally it is the truth? my faculty told us the same when we started... then about the time we graduated they reversed themselves because the local economy changed. we got the truth toward graduation. if it is the same for you... then maybe you will hear a different truth upon graduation?

btw, not many places pay $58,000 to new grads... most places pay more like $40,000-$48,000.... there are a few exceptions where the cost of living is high such as ny, nj, ca...

MHaffer · Mar 11, 2009

So you're saying, there IS a nursing shortage, but hospitals can't afford to hire the nurses they need? I'm assuming this is because of the current state of the economy. I am wondering if this is just slow to hit Cleveland? The Cleveland Clinic is still holding weekend visit programs for RNs to tour and interview and from what I hear many nurses are offered jobs that day. I am hoping that if Cleveland is doing better than the rest of the economy in terms of nursing jobs, then they stay that way until I graduate!!!

I'm also wondering why the nursing faculty are blowing smoke up our *****???

SummerGarden, BSN, MSN, RN · Mar 11, 2009

so you're saying, there is a nursing shortage, but hospitals can't afford to hire the nurses they need? i'm assuming this is because of the current state of the economy. i am wondering if this is just slow to hit cleveland? the cleveland clinic is still holding weekend visit programs for rns to tour and interview and from what i hear many nurses are offered jobs that day. i am hoping that if cleveland is doing better than the rest of the economy in terms of nursing jobs, then they stay that way until i graduate!!!

no, actually there is no shortage and there never was... using this decade as an example, at one point nurses who did not have to work under poor and unsafe conditions choose to stop working as nurses... some even made his/her license inactive because they were making money at other careers, retired, or living off of a significant other. those same nurses have returned to the floors due to the economy! so not only was there never a shortage (there was always enough nurses to fill the openings), experienced nurses have come back to reclaim positions that they had left, which in many cases are no longer available (this makes them very competetive with new grads).

thus, what i am trying to say is that the fact that there are not enough nurses working on the floors does not = a nursing shortage. even with enough licensed nurses hospitals will not hire enough nurses to meet safe ratios. they don’t have too, there is no law making them do so.

hopefully this makes sense to you... if you read the threads for the past two years many more experienced rns have written the same.... there is no nursing shortage and there never was... the "nursing shortage" is a figment of health care administrator’s imaginations to justify high nurse-to-patient ratios. now they have the economy to blame for not hiring more nurses despite the so-called shortage, so if you have a hard time getting a job when you graduate, now you will know why.

i'm also wondering why the nursing faculty are blowing smoke up our *****???

i can answer this too... faculty may be blowing smoke up your bottoms because institutions of higher learning are making a lot of money from students in the form of tuition and fees. so, many students here about a mythical nurisng shortage and are tying to go back to school to become a nurse. most will not succeed (fail out of pre-reqs or nursing school), but institution still gets paid!

not to mention that nursing schools remain open and competitive if they enroll the best nursing students who can pass the nclex! nursing schools are also making some money or benefits from recruiting for hard to fill floors (i found out that last part a few days upon graduating). thus, the idealistic icu or ob/gyn wannabe will find him/her self working on a floor with a high turnover rate because the other floors simply are not hiring! again, i do not know if this is going on where you live, but it is going on where i live...

the faculty at my nursing school know department directors. they are all friends! so many from my class are working on floors he/she vowed not to work on because he/she needed employment. i was a nurse extern (i suggest that you do the same) so i was able to have my pick to some degree... :rolleyes: i still did not land my ideal floor (the main ed) but i fared better then most.

Wondergirl0905 · Mar 11, 2009

In my area - NH/MA, it is very difficult for new grads to get positions at acute care facilities. We just graduated in December so some of the problem is that hospitals here only hire new grads after May. Out of 26 of us that graduated, about 10 have jobs, including myself. But I am commuting an hour to get there. I wish I was starting at $58K!! I'm at $45K, which is great and it will be a little closer to $50K with shift differentials. I guess just do your own research and don't necessarily believe what faculty tells you. Good luck!

Jules A, MSN · Mar 11, 2009

ARE nurses really in high demand? Is it difficult to find a good position as a new grad or not? What areas of the country need nurses and what areas are saturated with them?

It does depend on where you live and what you consider a "good position". When I got my RN last year we did have our pick of positions and while it isn't that sweet for the classes graduating this year in my area Balto/DC there are still plenty of nursing jobs. I think new grads need to prepart themselves for a "starter home" rather than expecting to move right into the McMansion. As someone else pointed it might just be in LTC and mostly likely not a day shift but there are still jobs available, imo. Like any other business nursing is ebb and flow. Due to the much publicized economy woes more nurses are staying on full time, not retiring and hospitals are cutting back on staffing so that does tighten things a bit but there is still a great need for floor and LTC nurses. My advice would be get whatever job you can if things are tight in your area and know that things will turn around. Hang in there and good luck.

PeaceonearthRN · Mar 12, 2009

thus, what i am trying to say is that the fact that there are not enough nurses working on the floors does not = a nursing shortage. even with enough licensed nurses hospitals will not hire enough nurses to meet safe ratios. they don’t have too, there is no law making them do so.

hopefully this makes sense to you... if you read the threads for the past two years many more experienced rns have written the same.... there is no nursing shortage and there never was... the "nursing shortage" is a figment of health care administrator’s imaginations to justify high nurse-to-patient ratios. now they have the economy to blame for not hiring more nurses despite the so-called shortage, so if you have a hard time getting a job when you graduate, now you will know why.

wow, spoken by a truthteller. yes, it is true, no one makes them stick to ratios.. except maybe california right now. pennsylvania is already looking at it as well but it is well known the imbalance in the state senate regarding partisan vote. i wish president obama had been more informed about nurses in his speech. if they only had 'secret' patients.. maybe jacho and the rest of the 'regulators' would get the picture. i've experienced it as a nurse and as a patient. it's not fun!

mommyX2 · Mar 13, 2009

I work at one of the CCF regional hospitals. You will only make $50,000+ your first year if you are working lots of overtime. I can also tell you that while there is no hiring "freeze" for nursing I do know that management has to justify every position they want to fill including positions that have been around. They want us at 100% productivity. With that said I do not think that it will be as hard to find a position here as it could be in other places but now is the time to start putting in applications. Good luck!

starletRN · Mar 13, 2009

I graduated in December and got hired by Feb. At least one of the hospitals in my area was on a hiring freeze. Others told me to check back the next month. They just happen to hire a certain number of new grads and have specific dates scheduled to start their orientation.

So, you might have to check back each month with the facilities you apply for. I was worried at first that I wouldn't find a job, but it just took a little more looking than I thought I would have when I was in school.

I didn't get on at the hospital of my choice (They started hiring new grads again after I landed my job), but I'm good with that. If I still want to go there in a year or so, I will be able to with some experience under my belt.

I did get one call from a travel agency and two from home health, so you might be able to find a position in these areas. If you're willing to start there with zero experience. I couldn't bring myself to do that starting out.

nicolegrow · Apr 29, 2009

I am in an ADN program in Cleveland Ohio and will graduate in May 2009. I have been applying like crazy with no luck. My friends who have graduated in the past couple of years didn't have this much trouble finding a position. I have no interest in a Med/Surg or LTC position, but if I have to start applying for them I guess I'll just have to deal with it. It just seems like defeat to put so much effort into becoming an RN and not being able to find a position, let alone one that you are actually interested in. I want to further my career and become a PNP, so it is rather important to me to find a Pediatric Nursing position.

You mentioned something about a weekend visit program. How do I go about that?

From what I understand the Clinic hired a lot of new grads from December's grad class, so right now they have positions for experienced Nurses. The positions rotate, new grads then experienced nurses, so that the floors have a good mix. It would not be good if any floor had too many new grads, because there wouldn't be anyone with experience to ask for help. As a new grad you will need help. The Nurse Managers that I have talked to said that positions will be available soon. I don't know if that will be alot, just soon.