General industry/market question

caliotter3 · Jan 3, 2015

In my area there is a glut of both new grads and experienced nurses. I have actually had employers tell me that they are well aware of their never-ending applicant pool. If an individual turns down work because the offered pay is too low they are just as unemployed as if the employer chose another reason not to offer that person work.

Libby1987 · Jan 3, 2015

In my area there is a glut of both new grads and experienced nurses. I have actually had employers tell me that they are well aware of their never-ending applicant pool. If an individual turns down work because the offered pay is too low they are just as unemployed as if the employer chose another reason not to offer that person work.

i think we're in the same region.

caliotter3 · Jan 3, 2015

Probably. When I came here several years ago, I could go to any employer and be hired on the spot. That situation has completely turned around. Since I do extended care home health, the clients even are aware that they can pick and choose their nurses on a whim and the employers will always dish up fresh meat.

Libby1987 · Jan 3, 2015

As I explore through the different forums it is clear that my question is just a dead horse. There is such a divide between nurses, and much more than just in half, that I think it's probably hopeless.

TheCommuter, BSN, RN · Jan 4, 2015

Do you think that our working conditions and wages are in part affected by nurses desperate for their first job and consequently perpetuating lower wages and inadequate staffing?
Can anything be done about it?

As long as we have martyr-style nurses in our ranks who place everyone's needs above their own while repeating that tired mantra ("The money doesn't matter to me!"), I feel that nursing wages will remain flat or even deflate for years to come.

This is one of the few professions in which some members take actually pride in being able to hold their bladders for 8 hours or scarf a meal down in ten minutes so they can continue working. In my opinion the state of affairs is somewhat disheartening.

joanna73, BSN, RN · Jan 4, 2015

Schools continue to pump out new grads every few months, despite the fact that nursing employment has dwindled in the past 8 years.

I'm in Canada, and it's no different here. You have American nurses coming to Canada in search of work and Canadian nurses going to the US or wherever they can find work. For those who manage to find employment, it's often temp or casual.

For every position we post, we receive 50-100 applicants. My organization recently laid nurses off and changed rotations. There is no money.

People come to these forums in the hopes of hearing positive updates, but the fact is, it's an employers market. Working conditions and the current trends are here to stay unfortunately.

caliotter3 · Jan 4, 2015

I moved to my area about nine years ago. In this time, I have seen two major periods of across the board decreasing wages. It disgusts me that employers tell me to take it or leave it when I tell them I am a nurse with a college education and going on thirty years of experience, and not a CNA. I have seen CNA wages posted that equal or exceed what employers think I should accept.

Libby1987 · Jan 4, 2015

I think the only way out of this, and it will take time, is to up the degree required/available and make getting through nursing school lengthier and more difficult. That's how it works for the therapies and they're not desperate for jobs nor worked like dogs.

We can't change what the employers pay or what nurses are willing to tolerate, and I don't think we can close existing accredited programs as long we still license 2 yr degrees, but we can try to produce tougher cream of the crop nurses, but less of them, who have higher professional expectations.

Libby1987 · Jan 4, 2015

That said, my employer does pay a fair wage, even to our new nurses. They're definitely not the pit.

joanna73, BSN, RN · Jan 4, 2015

The BSN has been the minimum entry requirement for all new RNS in Canada as of 2009. In addition to increasing the educational requirements, nursing would need to limit the seats.

Physio, OT and dietician programs are Masters level and very competitive, maybe 90 spots for OT in Canada. That's why there's job opportunities.

However, the opposite exists for nursing. Nursing continues to pump out grads and cut jobs.

LadyFree28, BSN, LPN, RN · Jan 4, 2015

Do you think that our working conditions and wages are in part affected by nurses desperate for their first job and consequently perpetuating lower wages and inadequate staffing?

Depends. Some places are truly dumps and can't keep staffing.

Can anything be done about it?

I think it could; however, that would be nurses making a huge movement towards better working conditions and getting behind organizations that are willing to put nurses first-the NNU comes to mind for me.

I truly believe that the next boom of unionized workers is around the corner-and it will be nurses...it's getting to a breaking point of depressed wages, and high cost of living...I wouldn't sleep on a movement and re-energized movement of the American worker, and nurses will be at the forefront.

And what do you think about the P.T. Association continuing to up their education/degree availabililty. keeping themselves in demand and realistically/theoretically better negotiating position?

I have no opinion on that; only because I have been in the position of having negotiating power as an independent contractor; I utilized what I learned in PN school how to become an independent contractor; when the opportunities were presented, I did what I needed to do; even in my BSN program I learned about the "business side" of healthcare and have utilized this knowledge not as fluff, but to use it to my advantage in evolving my career.

The knowledge is out there....knowledge is power; it will depend on the individual on whether they want to be empowered or not, at least in this market and the conditions; and will take empowered individuals to become change agents and work towards the conditions that we NEED for our business.