Get the Bsn or leave nursing?

[smartnurse1982]

Does it make sense to stay a nurse if there is a predicted glut in 2025?

We already know plenty of people are trying to become nurses.

I see on Allnurses where many do not think these people cannot handle the schoolwork,

but i know for a fact that many of them are actually succeeding.

I would say 90% of the people i know who wanted to become nurses in the last 5 years have succeeded.

I will only be 43 in 2025. I have been a nurse since 2004,and have never really worked outside of nursing(besides being a Cna)

I will also have 21 years in nursing if i stay in 2025.

Of course,i can get a Bsn to stay competitive,but i do wonder if that will be enough.

It might get so competitive that employers might ask for something else or they might have even more stringent requirements(such as 1 year med surg experience) that i do not have.

[caliotter3]

I think that you are correct in being skeptical about your future as a nurse.

[smartnurse1982]

I think that you are correct in being skeptical about your future as a nurse.

Its really competitive now,so i can imagine what it would be 10 yrs from now.

I really feel for nurses that will be near retirement age at that time,but not quite 65.

The 50+ age range.

I also do not want to spend $$$ getting a Bsn,and still be out of a job.

[LadyFree28, BSN, LPN, RN]

What do you plan on doing to stay competitive?

Attempt to go up the clinical ladder, meaning, do education, try being a supervisor, become certified in a specialty?

We can't see the future, however, being a nurse requires career-long studying.

You have been given suggestions in the past with regards to low cost schools, which you will earn your BSN.

It will up to YOU how you will stay relevant to nursing.

[traumaRUs, MSN, APRN]

Personally, the economy is always tenuous with the stock market up and down, pensions being cut, social security in jeopardy.

IF you want to stay in nursing, why not pursue an MSN or DNP? More education gives you more options.

[klone, MSN, RN]

I have been a nurse for 2 years less than you, and I have no concerns about being marketable 10 years from now. At that time, I will have been a nurse for almost 20 years, with a Master's degree and many years of varied and relevant experience.

I would not want to be a new grad in 2025, but I have no fears about my employability as a 20-year veteran to nursing. As long as you are doing what you can to keep yourself relevant and educated, you shouldn't either.

[VANurse2010]

I wouldn't assume the glut is going to pan out any more so than the predicted shortage has. There are too many factors involved.

[klone, MSN, RN]

I really feel for nurses that will be near retirement age at that time,but not quite 65.

The 50+ age range.

I'm curious why (for the record, I will be 51 in 2025)

[Rbeck911, BSN, RN]

NP's are the future. Consider doing that, especially if the country continues to progress toward socialist medicine.

[VANurse2010]

NP's are the future. Consider doing that, especially if the country continues to progress toward socialist medicine.

This is such a bizarre and uninformed comment, considering there is nothing socialist about the ACA.

[TheCommuter, BSN, RN]

NP's are the future.

I actually foresee a NP glut, especially for FNPs. It seems as if everyone and their mamas has jumped onto the FNP bandwagon.

With the proliferation of investor-owned online FNP programs that accept any applicant with a 2.5 GPA and no appreciable nursing experience, the labor market conditions are screaming "GLUT!"

There will always be a need for FNPs due to the shift from inpatient care to outpatient care and primary prevention, but I predict wages will deflate due to a nursing marketplace that is overly saturated.

[AJJKRN]

I wouldn't assume the glut is going to pan out any more so than the predicted shortage has. There are too many factors involved.

I would not assume their will be a glut of experienced nurses at this time either...kinda like now.