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.
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.
What do you think?
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.
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
There currently already are nursing gluts in a number of areas in the US.
I'm going into nursing as a second career from the television production business where I worked in news for several years. People DO make statements like that for just that reason - shock value. That's why TV news exists - to provide news entertainment that will ensure that people watch again and again to hear the bad news. I tend to put more stock in articles in US News and World Report that point out that nursing is one of the top ten recession-proof jobs (along with funeral home directors.) Some of the current financial problems are flames fanned by sensational news reporting that convince people to sell out their stock before the market falls another 400 points - and THAT sell off causes a drop in stock prices.
Jeff G.
I think that the so-called "nursing shortage" is played up and exagerated by the media for "shock value" and it is exagerated by hospital admins and CEOs as an excuse to "insource" nurses.
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.
Do you feel that nursing will go the way of gardening and farm labor and be fit only for those who have no other options? I'm generalizing your statement about Filipinos to mean foreign born nurses.
Then again, I've had the pleasure of working with many Filipino nurses. I'd say great for the quality of nursing care in the USA.
I believe there is a maldistribution of nurses, not really a shortage of nurses here in the U.S. Some places are more desireable to live than others, and RN's tend to flock to hospitals in the 'nicer' areas, for example the suburbs with good schools, reasonable living costs, ect. I personally just relocated from such a place b/c it was saturated with nurses - i totally had to 'take what i could get' and couldn't even get a job in what i wanted to do. It is now becoming the 'less desirable' areas onlly with the shortages - such as inner cities and rural areas, or communities where the costs of living are much higher than what the RN pay is (like where I am currently living).
And with all this media hype about not enough nursing instructors.......most nursing schools HAVE increased their enrollment in recent years. The CC I graduated from DOUBLED the numbers of students they take every year. I think it is getting more competitive for new grads now then it used to be and there are fewer options to choose from than there was 5 years ago.
Do you feel that nursing will go the way of gardening and farm labor and be fit only for those who have no other options? I'm generalizing your statement about Filipinos to mean foreign born nurses.
Then again, I've had the pleasure of working with many Filipino nurses. I'd say great for the quality of nursing care in the USA.
I did not say anything negative at all about foreign nurses. I only said that I predict that they will dominate nursing in the US.
That's no different than saying that I believe people with blue eyes are much more likely to need glasses than people who do not have blue eyes (actually, this is a fact, not my opinion).
Most PhDs in the united states were foreign born. No negative statement in that. It's just a fact. Please, lets stick to the issue at hand and not get distracted. :)
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.
What do you think?
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.
In regard to your prediction, Filopino and other foreign born nurses were huge in the 60s and 70s and big name and larger, university-affiliated hospitals had so many problems with lawsuits, poor quality of nursing and language problems that they cut back dramatically using Filipino nurses. Community hospitals and LTC facilities took up some of the slack there but are still burdened by the same issues. 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.
So, there are two tracks working here in regard to hospital staffing. Some hospitals, that typically don't use as many foreign born nurses may use this as a temporary solution.
Also, I think there will always be US born nurses working in the field, it will always be, comparatively, a source of steady income. The US does need to be more protective in regard to immigration of foreign born nurses-just to protect this job market for it's citizens. Lots of Filipino nurses have been here for 20 + years with no intention of citizenship. What's the benefit? They can stay here as long as they like, buy property and have all of the benefits of citizenship without the hassel, they don't even worry about voting because as long as they can work, they don't care about US issues. In any case, that is where, if there is a glut, it might occur.
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?
I did not say anything negative at all about foreign nurses. I only said that I predict that they will dominate nursing in the US.
That's no different than saying that I believe people with blue eyes are much more likely to need glasses than people who do not have blue eyes (actually, this is a fact, not my opinion).
Most PhDs in the united states were foreign born. No negative statement in that. It's just a fact. Please, lets stick to the issue at hand and not get distracted. :)
I am asking for clarification. Since you mean nothing negative about foreign born nurses; and your statement is related to the end of the nursing shortage; Do you mean that conditions will only attract foreign nurses or that any shortages will be solved by opening up more opportunities for foreign nurses? If the latter, why will future circumstances make importing nurses more viable?
i am asking for clarification. since you mean nothing negative about foreign born nurses; and your statement is related to the end of the nursing shortage; do you mean that conditions will only attract foreign nurses or that any shortages will be solved by opening up more opportunities for foreign nurses? if the latter, why will future circumstances make importing nurses more viable?
imo, it is a matter of supply and demand. many nurses from overseas are coming here for jobs, and that number is increasing all the time.
"getting employment-based immigrant visas for registered nurses is quicker compared to other professionals. the reason is, they are exempt from the rigorous department of labor’s certification process. registered nurses, under current regulations, are pre-certified; this means, the employers who want to hire registered nurses do not have to recruit and test the labor market for qualified citizens or permanent residents. the employer hospitals or nursing homes can right away petition for foreign registered nurses, sans the hassle that attends the process for other foreign workers....."
many citizens of the phillipines become nurses simply for the job opportunities overseas- not unlike many us citizens who are interested in nursing because they see it as "recession proof."
the number of nursing schools in the us has increased exponentially over the last few years, and existing schools continue to increase their student capacities. we also know that new nurses are leaving the profession sooner and in greater numbers than their predecessors.
combine all of this the failing economy, and with the fact that the us dept of labor bureau of labor statistics released a statement several years ago stating that there are currently 500,000 licensed rns in the us than there are job openings-
"almost 500,000 licensed registered nurses were not employed as nurses in 2000
data from the health resources and services administration's (hrsa's) 2000 national sample survey of rns shows that more than 500,000 licensed nurses (more than 18% of the national nurse workforce) have chosen not to work in nursing. this available labor pool could be drawn back into nursing if they found the employment opportunities attractive enough**
the ana maintains that the deterioration in the working conditions for nurses is the primary cause for the staff vacancies being reported by hospitals and nursing facilities - not a systemic nursing shortage. nurses are opting not to take these nursing jobs because they are not attracted to positions where they will be confronted by mandatory overtime and short staffing. **
76.6% (of) licensed rns (in the u.s. are) employed in nursing*** "
* projected supply, demand and shortages of registered nurses: 2000-2020 (released on 7/30/03 by the national center for health workforce analysis, bureau of health professions, health resources and services administration, u.s. department of health and human services). the bureau of labor statistics, in an earlier report, predicted that that we will need one million new nurses by 2010 (monthly labor review - november 2001) to cover new positions and replace the nurses who have retired.
I totally agree with you! I went to my graduate school graduation this past May, and all the new grads - even the graduation speaker for the undergrads - talked about how they could "go anywhere and get jobs."
Ha!
Well, where I am, we just laid off 180 staff from our hospital - including nurses. So... that is not always true!
When it comes to NP jobs - I think that people need to be willing to go where the most needy are and the jobs are plentiful.
jeepgirl,
Congrats on your recent graduation!
You mentioned layoffs at a hospital where you work; this is the first I have heard of layoffs of Nursing staff. Some have had reductions by attrition, but that's about it. Where I work, there have been new Nursing staff hired recently, although they have been very careful about who they hire (as it should be).
As for the original post, I am not sure there will be an actual "depression" coming, although, if certain things occur in the next couple of years, such is possible. Sometimes I wish I could predict the future, but maybe that would not always be a good thing. Fourteen patients per nurse? I doubt it; if larger scale unionization occurs, it could be made more likely if the laws (pertaining to union voting) change. Many hospitals are hiring their own staff and are cutting back on the number of "travelers" as a means of economizing. This makes sense, as travel staff are not meant to be permanent staff.
there are 500,000 registered nurses who are not practicing their profession -- fully one-fifth of the current rn workforce of 2.5 million and enough to fill current vacancies twice over.read article in its entirety:
(crap, this link is no longer valid, but it is where i originally found the above quote in dec 2007)
valid link, same article:
in nursing, pay isn't the only issue. difficult working conditions and understaffing also deter qualified people from pursuing the profession (see businessweek.com, 8/21/07, '[color=#3650a2]labor shortages: myth and reality'). but average annual wages for registered nurses (one of the most highly trained categories) is now just under $58,000 a year, compared with a $36,300 average for u.s. workers overall. and it's clear that qualified american nurses see that as not enough: there are 500,000 registered nurses who are not practicing their profession -- fully one-fifth of the current rn workforce of 2.5 million and enough to fill current vacancies twice over.
I am asking for clarification. Since you mean nothing negative about foreign born nurses; and your statement is related to the end of the nursing shortage; Do you mean that conditions will only attract foreign nurses or that any shortages will be solved by opening up more opportunities for foreign nurses? If the latter, why will future circumstances make importing nurses more viable?
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.
![[color=#bb4411]a guide to u.s. visas for filipino professionals](http://img291.imageshack.us/img291/1038/aguidetous3qg8.jpg){kind=link}
Valerie Salva, BSN, RN
1,793 Posts
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.