Nursing Shortage!! It's real and it bites (new grads, can't find a job? Read this post!)

[klone]

I had no idea, when I took a job as a nurse manager of an inpatient unit at a rural hospital that's 4 hours away from the nearest large city, that a huge portion of my job stress would come from the fact that we DO NOT HAVE ENOUGH NURSES!!

Every unit at our facility has job openings. We have dozens of travelers. My department basically has just enough nurses to cover core staffing. What that means is - if there's a sick call, or a PTO request, or a medical leave of absence, we're short.

Thank Dog that my unit is awesome and they are a team and a family and are invested in the unit, because when we're short, the nurses pull together and volunteer to take OT and work 16 hour shifts.

The point of this post...if you're a new grad, and you can't find a job because the market is so competitive and every place is wanting a BSN...consider relocating! Look for those facilities that are in rural communities, or small towns that are >2 hours away from the nearest metro area that probably has multiple schools and a steady stream of new grad nurses to fill positions.

Coming from Denver, I had no idea that there really were places in the US that had shortages, but it's true, and it sucks. For patients, for communities, and for the nurses who are working short-staffed or working 60-hour work weeks because, well, we have no other options.

[SpankedInPittsburgh, DNP, RN]

The marketplace will always fill a demand when the compensation package is attractive enough. Tell the powers that be to get off their wallets and make these open positions more attractive. It's like the NP at the job fair that moved to the middle of nowheresville Colorado. He's making $160K a year to move someplace. Nurses will do the same thing. Anybody would.

[OldDude]

klone said:

No no no!! I feel like nobody's listening to what I'm saying. They're just repeating their own version of what they believe to be true.

Spanked, I'm not saying what you're describing never happens. But that is simply not the reality in many places.

You say facilities would rather pay OT to staff than hire more nurses. Hire more nurses from WHERE?? Where are these nurses we're CHOOSING not to hire because we'd rather work our current staff until they're sick, exhausted, or burnt to a crisp?

This is what I'm trying to tell you - there ARE no nurses applying for these jobs because there are no nurses. Every new grad is snatched up, but there are not enough to take the place of those who are retiring or moving out of the community.

I apologize for getting out in the weeds in your post. As I mentioned, there are regional circumstances all over and I hear what you are saying and I believe you speak the truth. If I ever worked in a hospital again it would be in someplace you describe; for all the reasons associated with a small town. I just can't comprehend why more people would not be interested, especially the more experienced nurses who have been in the trenches for awhile.

You could offer big sign on bonuses and relocation money but that would sully the current staff attitude.

Your town isn't built over an old EPA radioactive waste site is it? Maybe that's the problem.

[DS22 MS]

I have seen job postings in local hospitals here in SoCal for RN positions (A BUNCH OF THEM) but wanting 3+ years & vast experience. I wonder why they don't fill. Seems like they want a seasoned nurse for pennies and will hold out until they get someone. It seems that way.

I wish I lived someplace or knew EXACTLY where to go where I could get a position in healthcare as I attend school. I'm only in SoCal bc of school.

Try being 47, medicinal chemist with both BS and MS in synthetic chemistry, patents, inventor of a Phase II clinical candidate, pre-nursing student, 4.0 GPA in prereqs and a 90.7% TEAS score, bilingual and get DENIED a position as a transporter by one of the largest hospitals in Orange County. Talk about a kick in the teeth.

I heard that there is even a waitlist for volunteers.

I just applied locally to the nursing school here and will send apps to a few others next month. I've contacted programs outside CA to see if there's a spot open in their fall cohorts. I'm truly looking at any school with a high NCLEX pass rate and a strong working relationship with their local hospitals in placement. CA isn't convincing me there is much opportunity post licensure.

I hope once I've licensed, to leave CA forever and I'm a native. The place is beyond saturated. I wish I knew a rural town that would hire me and give me steady work.

The economy as a whole is not well imo. It seems like the balance is SO tilted in favor of employers that prospective and current employees are essentially dealt a hand of "do you want a job with crummy pay or would you rather be unemployed and/or homeless?"

[klone, MSN, RN]

OldDude said:

I apologize for getting out in the weeds in your post. As I mentioned, there are regional circumstances all over and I hear what you are saying and I believe you speak the truth. If I ever worked in a hospital again it would be in someplace you describe; for all the reasons associated with a small town. I just can't comprehend why more people would not be interested, especially the more experienced nurses who have been in the trenches for awhile.

You could offer big sign on bonuses and relocation money but that would sully the current staff attitude.

Your town isn't built over an old EPA radioactive waste site is it? Maybe that's the problem.

Haha. No radioactive site, just a gorgeous coastal town that doesn't have a lot to offer beyond the natural beauty. The other issue in my particular community is the lack of housing. There a horrible lack of rental housing here that has prevented some nurses from relocating here. When we moved here, we purchased a house, which opens up more options. But not everyone is in a position to do that, or wants to.

[klone, MSN, RN]

Sorry if I had a tantrum. It's just incredibly frustrating to have this issue that is literally keeping me awake at night, and then have people say that the problem doesn't really exist, and that I'm just holding out on hiring nurses because it's cheaper to make my current nurses work OT until they're exhausted and I'm trying to save some pennies.

[DS22 MS]

klone said:

Sorry if I had a tantrum. It's just incredibly frustrating to have this issue that is literally keeping me awake at night, and then have people say that the problem doesn't really exist, and that I'm just holding out on hiring nurses because it's cheaper to make my current nurses work OT until they're exhausted and I'm trying to save some pennies.

I hope when I license you're still looking. If you have a position offered, I'm there.

[guest416560]

Look at Bakersfield of Fresno or anywhere in the Central Valley. Lots of job openings. Its not OC but its a job.

[guest416560]

Start offering $100 per hour for RNs and see how quickly the nursing shortage at your hospital evaporates. I once interviewed for a NP position with Peace Health in Florence Oregon and was floored at what they offered. It just wasn't enough. They were $100,000 less than what I could get in California. Now if they start paying more sure I'd come back and work in coastal Oregon. It's all about the $$$$. I'm sure your hands are tied but if the hospital administrators want more nurses they are going to have to get off of their wallets and pay for it. There has to be an $$$$ incentive to get people to work in rural areas. The scenery just isn't enough. Where I am now, a very, very rural area with a population of 2000, I make what the MDs make. To make the offer sweeter the company offered $150,000 in a housing grant if I signed a 5 year contract. They understand what it take to have full staffing. Unfortunately many hospital groups do not.

[DS22 MS]

FNP2B1 said:

Start offering $100 per hour for RNs and see how quickly the nursing shortage at your hospital evaporates. I once interviewed for a NP position with Peace Health in Florence Oregon and was floored at what they offered. It just wasn't enough. They were $100,000 less than what I could get in California. Now if they start paying more sure I'd come back and work in coastal Oregon. It's all about the $$$$. I'm sure your hands are tied but if the hospital administrators want more nurses they are going to have to get off of their wallets and pay for it. There has to be an $$$$ incentive to get people to work in rural areas. The scenery just isn't enough. Where I am now, a very, very rural area with a population of 2000, I make what the MDs make. To make the offer sweeter the company offered $150,000 in a housing grant if I signed a 5 year contract. They understand what it take to have full staffing. Unfortunately many hospital groups do not.

Wow! Man I wish I could just get work. That's beyond a great incentive. Congrats!

[FullGlass, BSN, MSN, NP]

klone said:

Yes, in many places there IS a nursing shortage. And frankly, it pisses me off that people say otherwise. Until you've been to these communities, you have no idea. You can believe whatever you want, but that doesn't make it so.

Hospital that employs 400 nurses. Not to mention the SNFs, home health agencies, community health departments, clinics, hospices, and other various places that employ nurses. Local community college graduates 30 nurses a year. No other nursing schools in a 2-hour radius. You do the math.

I'm sorry you are having such difficulties. Have you tried going to career fairs at other nursing schools farther away?

I'm an NP and a Nurse Corps Scholar, so I had to take a job in a Health Professional Shortage Area (HPSA) with a HPSA score of 14 or higher. HRSA runs virtual job fairs for employers to recruit Nurse Corps Scholars. (I think these are NHSC Virtual Job Fairs). In addition, rural areas usually qualify for loan repayment and even forgiveness, so that might be an additional recruiting tool. Try targeting expensive nursing schools where the students will be more concerned about debt.

Here is the link to the HRSA Health Workforce Connector - it is the site for Nurse Corps job search and for the virtual job fairs.

Health Workforce Connector

Best wishes.

[FullGlass, BSN, MSN, NP]

klone said:

Haha. No radioactive site, just a gorgeous coastal town that doesn't have a lot to offer beyond the natural beauty. The other issue in my particular community is the lack of housing. There a horrible lack of rental housing here that has prevented some nurses from relocating here. When we moved here, we purchased a house, which opens up more options. But not everyone is in a position to do that, or wants to.

Being in a coastal community should be a big draw. However, if there is a lack of housing, that is a serious issue. Perhaps the hospital should make arrangements to build housing, like an apartment building, or purchase housing that can be rented. Another option would be to have good rates at local hotels and motels. Since this is a smaller community, maybe the hospital can work with local residents to rent out spare rooms to RNs. Best wishes.

[SpankedInPittsburgh, DNP, RN]

FullGlass that is an excellent Idea. If some of these heavily indebted young nurses could get there student loans forgiven that would be a great draw