Nursing Shortage

Nurses General Nursing

Published

Hi,

I'm new to this board. I came on board to check out the job listings. I keep hearing about a nursing shortage, but I just graduated from college, passed the NCLEX and now I"m sitting on my license unemployed. It seems no one wants to hire new grads. Any advice out there?

Thank you,

Susan

Specializes in Periop.

I think the big problem for new grads is all the nurses that have come back to the workforce. This will not last as the economy gets better eventually, and hospitals will be in even bigger need of nurses. Baby boomers retiring and needing more health services will also have a great impact. In Texas, there are tons of open nursing positions, but must have 1-2 yrs experience. Tough for new grads right now.

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Specializes in Acute Care Psych, DNP Student.

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/Healthday/Story?id=7828137&page=2

The shrinking economy is helping to restore a withering nursing pool in the United States, easing a decade-long shortage of hospital nurses, the Wall Street Journal reported Friday, based on a new study's findings.

The number of nurses entering the workforce shot up by 243,000 (18 percent) in 2007-2008, the largest two-year rise in 30 years, the newspaper said. Many nurses who had left the profession -- about half of them older than age 50 -- returned for reasons including making up for a partner's lost income or acquiring health benefits, according to the study published Friday in the journal Health Affairs.

Recent events like this bad economy reveal that the nursing shortage was a result of nurses not wanting to work in hospital environments, not due to a lack of nurses. The nursing shortage has largely evaporated due to nurses being forced to return to the workforce for economic survival in the bad economy.
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there is a shortage of experienced nurses. new grads take a while to train. nurses with experience learn new tasks easily and take very little time to train since they know the "ins and outs". if you can pass the "new grad status" bump, you'll be set and in demand for the rest of your career.

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Specializes in LTC/Skilled/Dementia.

I"m located in Maine. It seems that only nursing homes will hire new grads. I really want to work in a hospital. I did my clinical rotation in a SCU and want to put these skills to use before they get rusty.

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Specializes in ICU, Research, Corrections.
there is a shortage of experienced nurses. new grads take a while to train. nurses with experience learn new tasks easily and take very little time to train since they know the "ins and outs". if you can pass the "new grad status" bump, you'll be set and in demand for the rest of your career.

Not in my opinion. In my area of the country, (southwestern), there are a moderate number of job listings. However, when you go to interview you find you are competing against 10 to 15 other applicants which they are also interviewing. Your chances of landing the job you interview for are less than 10%. Very disheartening.

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Specializes in LTC/Skilled/Dementia.

Wow, experienced nurses are having a hard time finding jobs in the southwest?

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No probs in the Southeast from Virginia on down so far as I can see.

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Specializes in ICU, Research, Corrections.
Wow, experienced nurses are having a hard time finding jobs in the southwest?

Yep, most hospitals even have hiring freezes. :bugeyes:

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Specializes in Med-Surg.

In this area (Southeast PA/South NJ) there's definately NOT a shortage. My small hospital usually hires a lot of new grads from a nearby nursing school but this year they said they were able to be "picky" since they only have a few openings (and we don't even really need those filled). Other hospitals have a hiring freeze or only hire from within.

It stinks and obviously has to do with the economy so it won't be like this forever. Definately look in other states!! I know new grads don't want to start in nursing homes, but they always seem to be hiring so you can look there if need be. At least you'll be getting a paycheck/benefits and keeping up your basic nursing skills.

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I"m located in Maine. It seems that only nursing homes will hire new grads. I really want to work in a hospital. I did my clinical rotation in a SCU and want to put these skills to use before they get rusty.

See this is what bothers me about people saying they cannot get a job as a new grad. When often they mean they cannot get a job as a new RN grad doing what they want to do.

PEOPLE... The much talked about nursing shortage is partly based on the fact that our population is aging in such a way that much larger numbers will require LTC. Therefore, more specifically, more LTC nurses will be needed.

On another note my hospital just hired half a dozen new grads but our SNFs in the surrounding counties just hired twenty between them.

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Specializes in LTC/Skilled/Dementia.

You're right - nobody spells out where the shortages are - perhaps it is in nursing homes. Good point.

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You're right - nobody spells out where the shortages are - perhaps it is in nursing homes. Good point.

What really worries me is that we will end up with a host of newer nurses who are terribly dissatisfied with the jobs available and then they leave the profession (worse might be that they stay in the profession but are so dissatisfied they become a spoiler for others who work with them).

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