Everyone seems to be turning to nursing. I remember way back when (5 years ago) when nursing was a calling. There were still other jobs a person could do and make a living--like heating and air conditioning. Now nursing is a lifeboat--a recesion-proof job that anyone and everyone is considering.
I see post after post in here of people who have no experience, no particular desire, and no particular aptitude for nursing inquiring about nursing as a job. They need something to pay the bills. I just went to a restaurant tonight, and two of our waiters are starting nursing school.
Let's face it, with the coming depression, nursing wages are attractive. So here's a prediction, please tell me if you agree or disagree:
Nursing boards will start requiring a 4-year degree to sit for the NCLEX.
The Nursing shortage is going to end in about 3 years; in five there will be a glut of nurses and getting a job will be about like getting a job as an NP is now.
Travel agencies will cease to exist and agency nursing will go the way of the way of the dinosaur.
Without unions, hospitals will force nurses to take about 14 patients a shift and will simply fire those who won't do it.
Here where I live we never really had a shortage, because we are a big military town. There are always nurses that need jobs. We have two major hospitals that have just built two more major facilities and the starting base pay for new grads have been increased.
I just graduated this May and on my floor alone they hired 21 new grads!!!!
Yes, at the moment the census is low, so they call 1 or 2 of us off, and the hospital has implemented a hiring freeze and a transfer freeze, but by the time the next lot of new grads are ready, there will be enough open positions again.
In ref. to the agencies...I believe they will always exist because outpatient, home health & hospice is always increasing and they desperately need people who are willing to travel and like the diversity of jobs.
The class I graduated from started at 60 added 10 more for a total of 70. The class was 22 to take the NCLEX. All 22 passed. If you had a pulse and could pay, they admitted you and knew you would wash out.
I agree with all of the above. As for #3, I have been predicting for years that there will be a huge nursing glut in the 2000 and teens.
I also predict that by the mid 2020's the majority of US nurses will be Filipinos, and that very few nurses in America will have been born here.
When I was out traveling, the worst assignments always had tons of nurses from the Phillipines. On particular dungeon I was at had a med/surg floor where the language spoken was tagalog. You only heard English when the nurses were talking to patients.
But I think immigrant nurses will also become a thing of the past. When the nursing shortage dries up, the pressure to stop immigrants from taking jobs will really heat up.
I currently work with a lot of Filipino nurses and they are very task-oriented, getting the job done but not paying much attention to the theory behind the task. They just do it because it's policy.
That has largely been my experience as well.
Right now and in the near future, the US is not a producer and manufacturer of durable products so there won't be another job market for would be nurses to go to en masse. There are and will be only so many nursing jobs in out-patient, virtual type positions, UR and like positions-many of these types of positions are dependent on insurance companies, etc., and so will be affected first by the economy. Other job areas, non-nursing, non-medical are and will suffer much due to the economy. So, where will the would-be nurses go?
Good point.
I also wanted to add that we are all aware of the growing trend of "BSN preferred" in many facilities. All Phillipines educated RNs are BSNs- a large percentage of US educated nurses (myself included) are not.
I am strongly considering a BSN right now to keep myself marketable. I was thinking about an RN-MSN (since I already have a BSc in another field) but I think the cost would be too high and the returns somewhat diminished.
I have been away from these boards for a while. And just came back. The problem I have with your post Valerie is that I honestly believe that it really depends on your program and where you do your clinicals at.
Quite honestly, I can not see this happening, usually the first year of nursing weeds out those who really don't want to be a nurse. This is not a career for everyone, needless to say, as well, if a few do continue on "just for the money", they won't last too long, thats my opinion and I'm sticking too it :wink2:
This, like EVERY other topic, depends on MANY different variables. There are MANY critical shortage areas across the country. The jobs are abundant and the patients need the help. These aren't desirable jobs. These ARE the jobs where you'll have too many patients and not enough help to get the job done right. Because these environments are so harsh and not enough new blood is filtering in, tenured nurses are walking away from their jobs. Some because of retirement, some because they can't take the pressure, some because they have become disenchanted with their own purpose in life.
Nursing school in and of itself is INCREDIBLY challenging. The pre-requisites are all part of a long and grueling weeding out process that simply HAS to be in place as a filter for those who lack the heart to fight amongst 200+ applicants for one of 20-30 seats in a well-rounded program. In my area, the ADN nurses from one school completely out perform the BSN nurses from the university. In EVERY facet of the job. From clinical experience to NCLEX pass rates where the 2 year program is laying the smack down at a rate of over 30%!
To broadly label an entire profession based on abundances of nurses in resort type towns where people actually WANT to live and say that their is no shortage is simply not accurate. Rural areas need help. Cities and towns that aren't ideal for raising families need help. There are jobs EVERYWHERE for nurses. What we are seeing on this board are a lot of people who are out of touch.
Nursing isn't easy. It's not a cake walk. We are embracing the physical and emotional care of sick and injured HUMAN BEINGS. We're not becoming burrito artists, or learning interior design. We deal in living people with real problems, real emotions in incredibly unforgiving situations.
Half the students in my pre-requisite classes won't make it past the pre-reqs before they wash out. Of the 200 that end up applying to the program, 85% won't get accepted or even wait-listed. Then another 25% of those that make it will wash out before the program is completed. Of those that become nurses and actually become employed, probably half will decide that the strain on their body and their psyche is FAR too much to bare.
There will continue to be a shortage because people don't stop to think about what the job entails before they sign up for school. They fail to think about holding the hands of someone as they pass away. They fail to consider lifting that obese man into a chair or into a bed. They aren't thinking about that room down the hall with the man who has gone septic and sprayed vomit over everything in the room. They are only seeing dollar signs and reading into the "yahoo news" accounts of nursing being recession proof.
There aren't many of us - as human beings, let alone students - that did our homework, that learned what to expect. That have done clinicals and shadowing and spend our time reading about our new profession and how to become better at it. Some of us are doing it right. Some of us SHOULD be here. We won't only succeed, but we will be there years from now to help the next group of new grads deal with their first years.
As far as the shortage - it's not going anywhere. There are too many clueless idiots that look to medicine as a way to make a quick buck.
I agree. Some nurses don't want students to do ANYTHING to their patients. There are things that I have been able to do that others students wish they would have a chance to do. I'm just lucky that where I am currently doing clinicals, the nurses and techs call us over for every little task whether it is 'dirty' or 'cool', and we really appreciate it. Unfortunately, my classmates at other sites can't say the same thing.
I have been away from these boards for a while. And just came back. The problem I have with your post Valerie is that I honestly believe that it really depends on your program and where you do your clinicals at.
I don't think there will ever be a "glut" of nurses. The baby boomers will be retiring as soon as they can afford it and that includes alot of nurses. I am 54 and plan to retire as soon as I can. There are so many opportunities out there for nurses right now that need to be taken advantage of. And there is that percentage that won't make it for a variety of reasons. Nursing is not a glamorous job and you need to become a nurse for the right reasons. You gotta "work hard for the money"!:redbeathe:redbeathe
um,
have you seen anyones 401k or 403b's lately
anyone who was within ten years of retirement - is now screwed. so... they will have to continue working even if they had planned on retiring the minute of retirement age.
so, no - i dont think that retirement will open as many jobs as we thought.
it is true that it seems that "everyone" is entering nursing school as a recession proof job but you must also keep in mind that most do not make it. in my area, 7 students just dropped it because they could not pass a anatomy/physio exam, 44 more from the college dropped because they couldnt handle the clinical. the numbers only get higher.
Nursing is a calling, those who enter for the job will soon realize that its not a "job". We may get a glut of newbies but i can tell you the shortage will continue as the tradesman turned nurse soon realizes (i know many) that its not a "union" job, the shortage will be far worst.
to be blunt, when a 44 year old electrian turned nurse has to wipe a 86 year old butt for clinical he will bail.
rest assured if you have the calling you will do well, there is a shortage, of those who truley care, its not a job or an adventure, its a way of life.
Perhaps a bit off topic, but I don't see nursing as a "calling". It IS a job. Whether you do that job well, however, is up to you--your abilities and desires to do that job well.
I'm always a bit taken aback by the whole "angels of mercy" thinking---I'm not a nun, nor an angel, and I definitely don't do this because I had some time to kill and felt like helping people. I do this because I'm good at it, and it pays well. Helping people is a nice perk, but not the reason I chose to go into the field.
Funny how most any doctor will tell you he/she expects to make alot of money and gain a certain status, and won't tell you he/she chose medicine to "help people"--and yet nurses are expected to have that very viewpoint.
I think "the wrong reaons" for going into nursing would include thinking it was an easy paycheck, or something 'anybody' could do. It isn't on both counts. But if someone chooses to go into nursing because he needs a good, steady job AND has the ability to do it well, more power to him.
Specializes in Radiologic Technologist, now in Nursing.
I agree with my colleague here. Remember folks, nursing and medical school are unlike other educational paths in that they cannot marticulate 100 or 200 students in every class. The limiting factor here is that they can only admit a handful of students due to clinical site limitations and the shortage of instructors. My previous career was in software engineering and there were HUNDREDS of graduates from every big university EVERY semester. THat isn't the case with nursing. The schools are short staffed because nursing instructors don't get paid a living wage (regretably) so many of the good instructors choose not to teach because for the hours they put in, the pay simply isn't there. Also, a good number of nursing students don't "come out the other end" due to higher standards in testing and the new 100% score in Math testing. It has eliminated students from the graduate pool.
To top it off, the average nurse in the his/her 50's right now. That's right, in their fifties! Many of them are scheduled to retire or the smart ones have saved enough $$ to work part time and they are looking for exit strategies. I think there is room for everyone in the field. I think it's irresponsible to call the job "recession proof" nothing really is but it's a far cry safer than software engineering. I think "salt of the Earth" professions like teaching and medicine will survive the worse. Pay scales may not go up, we may have to accept jobs with crummy hours, but we'll have work.
And I have always said...................SMART AMBITIOUS nurses will always have work. Some of the lazy, slacking, "not so bright" nurses may get weeded out when times get tough.
Hang in there folks, there will be a piece of the pie large enough to keep us all happy.
I like to believe that THE UNIVERSE IS CONSPIRING TO DO GOOD THINGS FOR ME. I once heard a motivational speaker say that and it really stuck with me so I have copied with pride!!!!!!
Hang in there men and women. Work hard, do a good job, help your clients heal, do well in school (if you're a student) and good things will come your way.
Xxentrick
11 Posts
Here where I live we never really had a shortage, because we are a big military town. There are always nurses that need jobs. We have two major hospitals that have just built two more major facilities and the starting base pay for new grads have been increased.
I just graduated this May and on my floor alone they hired 21 new grads!!!!
Yes, at the moment the census is low, so they call 1 or 2 of us off, and the hospital has implemented a hiring freeze and a transfer freeze, but by the time the next lot of new grads are ready, there will be enough open positions again.
In ref. to the agencies...I believe they will always exist because outpatient, home health & hospice is always increasing and they desperately need people who are willing to travel and like the diversity of jobs.