Friend starting school to be RN-what do I say???

[Otessa, BSN, RN]

:heartbeatI have been an RN for nearly 2 decades and have loved and disliked my role as an RN along the way. I now am out of the direct-patient care arena and teach in a clinic setting..

I have a friend that starts an ADN program next week (she has a BS/BA in another field). She asks about job prospects,etc. I tell her to look online at the local hospital websites as well as nursing homes, etc. for the recent openings. There have been several new grads that were offered jobs in our area this past year but then were told a little while later that they weren't needed. I don't want to scare her and things could look very different in 2 years.

What would you say or should I say??

otessa

[TheCommuter, BSN, RN]

Tell her that nursing is not a recession-proof career choice, by any stretch of the imagination. Inform her that hospitals and other healthcare facilities are affected by slumping economic times in the form of lower revenues, less patient traffic, and lower census, which might impact her job prospects upon graduation. Make her aware that she should be able to find a job if she is flexible, willing to relocate to an area where there are jobs, or willing to work in the less desirable areas of nursing (LTC, med/surg, etc.)

Instruct her that there's not a real nationwide shortage of nurses. Teach her that nursing shortages tend to be regional, and that some areas of the US even suffer from major surpluses of nurses flooding the local job markets. Ensure that she knows the positive and negative aspects of nursing.

[86toronado, BSN, RN]

Say exactly that. The market currently isn't as great as everyone thinks, but in two years, who knows what will happen. Point out that some of the difficulty is due to the economy, nurses who thought they would be retiring (or had retired) staying in the industry, younger nurses who worked part time going full time when the SO lost his or her job... lots of things that can change within two years.

Also say that because the economy is currently in the toilet, she should treat her entire two years of nursing school as one long job interview. Always be on time, courteous and helpful in the clinical setting. Network, network, network. Tell her to start getting her resume together now, and if she has no healthcare experience yet, she should try and get some. It does make a difference.

- (From a current new grad who got a job.)

[Otessa, BSN, RN]

Tell her that nursing is not a recession-proof career choice, by any stretch of the imagination. Inform her that hospitals and other healthcare facilities are affected by slumping economic times in the form of lower revenues, less patient traffic, and lower census, which might impact her job prospects upon graduation. Make her aware that she should be able to find a job if she is flexible, willing to relocate to an area where there are jobs, or willing to work in the less desirable areas of nursing (LTC, med/surg, etc.)

Instruct her that there's not a real nationwide shortage of nurses. Teach her that nursing shortages tend to be regional, and that some areas of the US even suffer from major surpluses of nurses flooding the local job markets. Ensure that she knows the positive and negative aspects of nursing.

Thanks, I don't want to doom and gloom her but there are 2 nursing programs in our area. There are a surplus of new grads. The only hiring being done in the hospital setting is for experienced critical care nurses at this time. That would include every other weekend/holiday and rotating D/N shifts. She would like to teach at a college someday. I am currently working on my MSN in education and there are no openings for this in our area right now either.

Thanks for your reply.

otessa

[Otessa, BSN, RN]

Say exactly that. The market currently isn't as great as everyone thinks, but in two years, who knows what will happen. Point out that some of the difficulty is due to the economy, nurses who thought they would be retiring (or had retired) staying in the industry, younger nurses who worked part time going full time when the SO lost his or her job... lots of things that can change within two years.

Also say that because the economy is currently in the toilet, she should treat her entire two years of nursing school as one long job interview. Always be on time, courteous and helpful in the clinical setting. Network, network, network. Tell her to start getting her resume together now, and if she has no healthcare experience yet, she should try and get some. It does make a difference.

- (From a current new grad who got a job.)

Thank you!

[Ms. BSNRN]

All I can say is RUN...choose something else. There is a hype about this field that is simply false advertising!

[Busybusybee123]

Hi There! I am currently a nursing student pursuing my BSN in Nursing. I already have a Bachelor's in accounting. I made a decision about 4 years ago to pursue a nursing career after 10 years in accounting. What helped me was the HONEST advice of many nurses that I knew. I asked a lot of questions, and I was prepared to hear all the postives AND the negatives. If you give your friend as much info as you have, both good and bad, she will be able to make an educated decision on her own. Funny as it may sound, the horror stories that many nurses shared with me actually made me want to pursue nursing more. So you never know what draws someone into a career. Good luck to you and your friend. I'm sure she will do GREAT!

[pumpkinpatchquilter]

I would be completely honest with her. Nothing good will come from telling her anything other than the truth, yet at the same time I don't find it necessary to tell her to "run". Lol* I'm beginning school next week with the intentions of earning an associate's in nursing. I'm completely aware that at the moment jobs are hard to come by. But history tends to show that there are always going to be fluctuations in the state of the economy, some worse than others. If the job market continues to decline, and in a few years things are even worse, there isn't another career path she could have chosen that would have given her much of a different outcome. So in the long run, I would say it's wise to find what you like, think long term about the pay, job availability and competition, and go from there. When things do turn around, hopefully us new grad nurses will be there to meet the rising demand.

I would also suggest to her not to get bogged down with too many loans, knowing the state of the economy as it is now and the possibility that it could become worse. It may not be until long after she must start paying on those loans that she finds the job offering the wages she will need to repay them.

[carolinapooh, BSN, RN]

The kick is - EVERYONE'S having job problems right now, so what's happening to new grad RNs isn't really unique.

I wouldn't tell her to run by any means, because once you get a job, you're a heck of a lot better off than most people. She just needs to be realistic, and flexible, and whoever said "treat RN school as a long job interview" gave some of the best advice in this thread.

It WILL turn around, but we're going to have to ride it out like everyone else is right now.

[phlox]

There will always be those who are sick and dieing and they will need care.

[lerabelle]

That is exactly what I was going to say!!!!!

[Ms. BSNRN]

Ok "run" maybe too harsh...so just walk very slow. I did some research and found out that there is not much of a shortage as the hype has created! Do your research!.....its a little scary and when you are like me that put my first career on the line....it seems a little hopeless.....