End of the Nursing Shortage

mondkmondk · Nov 13, 2008

I've been in nursing since 1990 and never had a problem finding a job until just recently. Everywhere I go I still hear about this so-called "shortage" but if there was a shortage in our area, it wouldn't have taken me nearly 3 months to secure a job. Granted, I'm only an ADN but planning on eventually going back to school.

I don't know...maybe the statement about agency nursing...I even tried to get on with an agency but because I had ZERO hospital experience, they wouldn't even hire me. The best they said they could do was put me in their agency as a Hospice nurse, which required a lot of traveling and no more than $22/hr. in my area.

I suppose time will tell eh?

Blessings, Michelle

jeepgirl, LPN, NP · Nov 13, 2008

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.

DroogieRN · Nov 13, 2008

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'm only a first semester ADN student, so my opinion might not be worth much, but I have some thoughts (these are in no particular order):

1) I'm not sure there will be a depression, but even if there is, folks still get sick -- granted, they are far less likely to seek treatment, especially for elective stuff, but my guess is people will be more likely to go to a doctor if they need do than to get their roof re-done.

2) Even if tons of people decide to go into nursing, how many of those will actually become nurses? Pre-reqs can take years, plus the time in the actual program, and you have to figure a large percentage of those won't finish. I'm just going by my program -- of the number they take for each new class, only about half, or less, graduate.

3) If they start to require a four-year degree to sit for the NCLEX, the shortage will suddenly exist again, maybe to a larger degree than ever.

4) Travel nursing, at least to my untrained eye, seems to be here to stay. Don't agencies have less overhead? I could be wrong -- maybe there will be more travel jobs than there are currently.

Anyway, just my :twocents: . For me, I believe it's more of a "calling," so hopefully there will always be room for nurses for whom that is true.:heartbeat

TheCommuter, BSN, RN · Nov 13, 2008

[*]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.

What nursing shortage? The so-called nursing shortage never existed in the first place.

About 500,000 actively-licensed RNs are not employed in nursing, and only a small fraction are actually seeking work. There's no true nursing shortage. There's only a shortage of people who'd willingly work at the bedside under unsavory conditions and around abusive people for mediocre pay.

Now nursing is a lifeboat--a recesion-proof job that anyone and everyone is considering.

Contrary to popular belief, nursing is definitely NOT recession-proof. It is a profession that is very vulnerable to shrinking budgets and dwindling consumer funds. People will always become sick and need healthcare, but an empty wallet will keep them away from healthcare facilities unless it is an imperative emergency.

During the recession of the early 1990s, some nurses would remain unemployed for 6 months or longer as they looked for jobs. This severe nursing glut continued well into the middle 1990s.

During recessions, patients avoid having elective surgeries because they are fearful of taking the time off work that is needed for full recovery, which results in low hospital census. When hospital census is low, less nurses are needed to keep the floor running.

More people become unemployed during these rough times and, as a result, lose their health insurance. Uninsured people are definitely not inclined to seek healthcare unless it is an absolute emergency. In addition, medical bills incurred by uninsured patients tend to go unpaid, which means less money for healthcare facilities.

Although it is an accurate statement that nursing jobs can never be outsourced, always remember that nurses can be "insourced" by recruiting foreign nurses to work at US hospitals. These nurses are less likely to whine about working evenings, nights, weekends, and holidays because they are earning more money in America than they ever would in their country of origin.

A massive plethora of part-time nurses accept full-time positions during recessions to keep their households afloat when a breadwinner spouse loses his/her job without notice. Plenty of retired nurses are reactivating their nursing licenses and returning to the nursing workforce due to the high costs of food and fuel, and the effects of rapidly dwindling retirement funds.

This is just some food for thought. While this phenomenon might not apply to every region, it is certainly happening in many places across the U.S.

OC_An Khe · Nov 13, 2008

A nursing shortage is not a bad thing for the profession. Better a shortage then a glut. When you have a glut of nurses all the hard won gains of the last 4 decades (I am starting my 5th decades in health care) can be lost. I don't want to see the profession return to the 1960's.

dreamon · Nov 13, 2008

Many of the people going into nursing for the 'wrong' reason (that is relative of course) will end up not finishing school or drop out of nursing altogether when they get a taste of the real world. Especially if they never volunteered or shadowed an actual nurse to see what all it entails.

Not to mention there are people who refuse to move to where there are more positions available. They'll stay in the oversaturated areas and become stressed out about not getting hired. I know there are nurses who are tied to a certain city because of a spouse's job that can't relocate or because of a sick relative- but that can't possibly apply to everyone.

One thing I hope to hang on to after graduation is my flexibility (in shifts, location, options)- I think it will help down the line in more ways that one.

John20 · Nov 13, 2008

The original post is way offbase. For several reasons.

1. The population is aging. The baby boomer generation is just hitting "old age" and won't die off until 2050.

2. The demographics of nurses currently in practice is an older work population.

3. Schools (atleast around here) are still not able to expand because of a shortage of qualified instructors willing to take a teacher's salary and a shortage of clinical sites. So this limits their ability to "churn out" new grads.

If there ever is a glut, it will take several decades to happen.

chevyv, BSN, RN · Nov 13, 2008

Don't we usually cycle this way? I mean we have a shortage, then there are too many. I remember working as a cna in a hospital where nurses were able to work the Baylor (weekends only for full time) and then when there were 'too many' nurses, the hospital nixed the program and the workers had to work during the week and include that extra 8 hrs that were part of their package before. Then I heard they went back to the Baylor when they became short staffed again and nurses had a say in what they wanted to retain them.

With the baby boomers reaching retirement, I don't think there will be a glut, but I do think that health care is changing to include more outpatient and home care type nursing.

I will hopefully graduate in May 2009 and I'm applying in corrections, no shortage of prisoners, especially in this economy or in the near future.

cecsix · Nov 13, 2008

I would say that, while there might not be a glut, I wouldn't count on baby boomers retiring for granted. Folks are working far past age 65 nowadays, and especially in this economy, those who have jobs will hold them longer than ever before.

Honestly, I think things are going to be extremely tough for all industries, including those that are typically "recession proof" - which is really a myth anyway. When the economy and money supply shrink dramatically as they are now, there is no such thing as a recession proof industry.

Odimodus · Nov 13, 2008

I kinda doubt your going to see a glut of nurses in the general market. In some locations you certainly could, such as cities with several nursing schools.

Dreamon had it right in that many nurses wont or cant move to other areas where the demand may be higher. But in many areas that have multiple nursing schools you usually have several hospitals all serving a larger community beyond the city limits. The economic downturn doesnt help, less people getting elective surgeries done, Patients will get sicker before coming to the ER, etc..

Think about how many people start a nursing program and how many actually finish it. It's not at all unheard of for half the starting class to fail out or quit before the end. Then think of how many get their license and work for a while and figure out that its not for them after all. Some nurses migrate away from bedside care as well. Anyways, there are usually bedside positions available. This all varies from place to place.

All that considered, just wait until there is a huge pandemic or health crisis. Things like that tend to increase the shortage dramatically in the short term.

BTW, the relocation bonus offered by hospitals I've looked at in the past would hardly pay for gas or a U-haul. If locations hurting for nurses wanted to take advantage of an influx of nurses, now would be the time to pony up some encouragement. I'd personally like to see some hospitals offer a "work a week" deal where you can try it out. Rural hospitals could probably win some over that way in this so called "glut". Just my two cents.

interleukin · Nov 13, 2008

A nursing shortage is not a bad thing for the profession. Better a shortage then a glut. When you have a glut of nurses all the hard won gains of the last 4 decades (I am starting my 5th decades in health care) can be lost. I don't want to see the profession return to the 1960's.

What, pray tell, hard won gains would those be?

We have been dumped on for years. Improvements have come at a glacial pace and at the expense of thousands of nurses who have left the profession or have become embittered by its fragmentation and lack of unified backbone.

Sorry.