Fed Up With People Saying There Is a Shortage

P_RN, ADN, RN · Mar 13, 2009

I hear your frustration. I've been a nurse for 35 years come this August and I can remember about 5 separate shortages, but none this bad. It's mind boggling that I am now a "senior citizen" eligible for Medicare etc. and the health industry has gotten so crafty that the people who want care might not be able to afford it. When I started a hospital room was $14 a night, now it's near $1000 or more. Our instructors were the best, most were diploma nurses, now it's the MSN at the minimum and the schools are paying them right at or even less than a new graduate. I am NOT saying that the higher degree is not necessary.

For example my physiology book in '1963 was 3/4 of an inch thick and read like a first grade primer. Compare that to what you need to know just to pass nowdays.

I just pray there are Nurses there when I do need them.

SummerGarden, BSN, MSN, RN · Mar 13, 2009

there has never been a shortage except for maybe ltc. however, i know that many did not enter nursing to work in a nursing home. i think if people realistically go into nursing knowing that the shortage only applies to ltcs then the competiveness of nursing school will probably drop significantly. btw, i like ltcs... i plan to get another job in one soon so i am not putting them down.

good luck with your job hunt... my advice is to go to ltc or to move out of state. in small pockets of the country some are still hiring. my little rural area used to be one of them, but now that is no longer the case, at least for new grads at the hospital. gl!

allnurses Guide · Mar 13, 2009

While there may not be a shortage in your local area, there certainly is in other parts of the country. I am consistently working shifts with not only sick calls not covered, but not enough people scheduled in the first place. By contract and necessity, at 1900 there should be 13 nurses in the ER. We are usually at 11, and often down to 9 or 10. If the floors are short, I can't send out the admissions, which backs up the ER even more.

My ER accepts new grads! Come on out to New Mexico!

ERjodiRN · Mar 13, 2009

While there may not be a shortage in your local area, there certainly is in other parts of the country. I am consistently working shifts with not only sick calls not covered, but not enough people scheduled in the first place. By contract and necessity, at 1900 there should be 13 nurses in the ER. We are usually at 11, and often down to 9 or 10. If the floors are short, I can't send out the admissions, which backs up the ER even more.
My ER accepts new grads! Come on out to New Mexico!

i totally agree. i work in orange county, ca where you'd think there wouldn't be a shortage at all, but we're continually short staffed in order to cover the sick calls, maternity leaves, and staffing shortage as it is. our ER has the highest concensus in the county which is usually around 250/day. our scheduling is for 10 nurses at 7a...and 10 at 7p, with some mid shifters inbetween. we are just as busy at night as we are during the day, so when the mid shifters have gone home, we are in a real bind!

regardless of what jobs are available, it's more what the hospital can budget than what they need, so chances are the staff members at the hospital you're trying to work at ARE short-staffed, but it's that way because they can't pay any more. and maybe it's the position you're looking far that there are no postings for. you MIGHT have to start off doing something you didn't necessarily want at first.

GilaRRT · Mar 13, 2009

Agree, the shortage in some areas is critical. I was hired as a new grad RN directly into ER and that was seven years ago. Obviously, the shortage is rather relative, as there are many nurses. However, for a multitude of reasons most of these nurses leave the profession.

Valerie Salva, BSN, RN · Mar 13, 2009

First, let me say that I am so frustrated because I keep hearing the same old stuff about how there is a nursing shortage and I'm starting to believe that there is no shortage. I live on the east coast and I'm graduating in a few months. Right now my classmates and myself are in a panic because the jobs out here are so competitive and hospitals are closing left and right in NJ. Also, New York is another story. There are so many people who wants to work in the city. Also, hospitals want experienced nurses. It's so frustrating. People need to know that THERE IS NO NURSING shortage in certain parts of the country. I got into this profession thinking that finding a job would be fairly easy and now I'm thinking that I might have made a mistake.

Girl, I've been fed up with hearing about the "shortage" for about ten years now. I have always said there wasn't one- people would vehemently disagree with me saying there was a shortage.

Finally, almost everyone agrees with me. :lol2:

I sure wish I had been wrong, though.

Valerie Salva, BSN, RN · Mar 13, 2009

I hear your frustration. I've been a nurse for 35 years come this August and I can remember about 5 separate shortages, but none this bad. It's mind boggling that I am now a "senior citizen" eligible for Medicare etc. and the health industry has gotten so crafty that the people who want care might not be able to afford it. When I started a hospital room was $14 a night, now it's near $1000 or more. Our instructors were the best, most were diploma nurses, now it's the MSN at the minimum and the schools are paying them right at or even less than a new graduate. I am NOT saying that the higher degree is not necessary.
For example my physiology book in '1963 was 3/4 of an inch thick and read like a first grade primer. Compare that to what you need to know just to pass nowdays.
I just pray there are Nurses there when I do need them.

Thirty-five years as a nurse? Wow. Much respect. :nurse: :bow:

DoeRN · Mar 13, 2009

While there may not be a shortage in your local area, there certainly is in other parts of the country. I am consistently working shifts with not only sick calls not covered, but not enough people scheduled in the first place. By contract and necessity, at 1900 there should be 13 nurses in the ER. We are usually at 11, and often down to 9 or 10. If the floors are short, I can't send out the admissions, which backs up the ER even more.
My ER accepts new grads! Come on out to New Mexico!

Considering that I am working 72 hours this week alone I agree with you. There is a shortage here in Missouri. Next week though I am only working 36. I know this will hurt my floor but I can't burn myself out too. Come on down here to Missouri if you need a job.

rndocent1 · Mar 13, 2009

The full impact of the nursing shortage will not be felt until after 2014. I've been a RN x 33 years and "we" are TIRED. . .of hospital "strategies", true shortages (high patient ratios, really!), of being disrespected by hospital administrators whose bottom lines are dollars. Most of my colleagues have retired and are now event planners, craftspersons, bus drivers, WalMart/Lowe's greeters, ANYTHING BUT NURSING! Regardless of the pay.

Then there are the "diseases" of our profession: we eat our young, we fight change, we are territorial, etc., etc. - curing these diseases has been like pulling lion's teeth! Hospitals and universities need to step up to the plate and PAY YOUR PRECEPTORS - on much the same fee-base as congregational nurse programs and churches (75/25 year 1, 50/50 year 2, 25/75 year 3, 0/100 year 4). Nurses need to get cozy with computers. . .they are here to stay! Since we've NOW got to work until 70+, make friends with your computers at work and your friendly neighborhood IT person! Take some courses online -- advance yourselves, broaden your horizons. Find your voice, read about "our" dilemmas (personal and professional), join groups outside of nursing.

For years, decades even, I have been telling my friends and relations to learn how to care for themselves and their loved ones, because hospitals will not survive the aging of baby boomers. And I still believe this. Mergers and acquisitions have ben orphaned from Wall Street. . .but they are alive and thriving on Medical Way.

Professionally, I'm pretty happy teaching at a local university, working hospice anad tele a few hours a week, and consulting part-time. Duck and cover. . ."it" IS coming!!!!! KNOW that!

rn4ever? · Mar 13, 2009

Maybe this should be clarified---some facilities in the US are short-staffed with Nurses---but not all places and States are. Also, even if a certain place doesn't have enough nurses, it doesn't mean that they are actually hiring to have the appropriate number of staff. Due to the economic crisis too, they might just be utilizing the staff members that they have.

sunray12 · Mar 13, 2009

There's a shortage. Know your demographics. People are aging. They have medical conditions and plenty of them are no longer able to care for themselves. There are many people who are young and disabled or in just overall poor health and in need of care. This is what I'm seeing in my community. And lets not forget mental health services. Caring for the mentally ill is a growth industry in my area. The only people I know with businesses that are fluorishing right now are in mental health services and that's saying a lot in this economic cycle. All these people in need of care and yet many nursing programs are only taking in 10-25 students a year. Its tough and scary to be a new grad and not know what's next but hang in there. It sounds to me like this is a problem with a disconnect between nursing programs and reality. The nursing profession is changing. It is not necessarily about signing up for the new grad training program at your local hospital anymore. I think nursing schools probably need to evolve into preparing students for that.