Hospitals offer big bonuses, free housing and tuition to recruit nurses

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Specializes in Vents, Telemetry, Home Care, Home infusion.

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Hospitals offer big bonuses, free housing and tuition to recruit nurses

"America is undergoing a massive nursing shortage. Not only are experienced nurses retiring at a rapid clip, but there aren't enough new nursing graduates to replenish the workforce, said Ross.

The nation's aging population is exacerbating the problem. The American Nurses Association estimates the U.S. will need to produce more than one million new registered nurses by 2022 to fulfill the country's health care needs.

UCHealth, which operates nine acute-care hospitals and more than 100 clinics across Colorado, Wyoming, and Nebraska, currently has 330 openings for registered nurses. Since the nonprofit health system can't find all the nurses it needs locally, it has been seeking out candidates from other states -- and sometimes other countries. ...

..."During economic downturns, nurses stay put in their jobs and attrition dips," she said. "When the economy is booming, attrition goes up. Nurses feel more comfortable pulling back on their hours or moving ahead with their retirement decision."

In two-income households, if their partner is doing well financially, some nurses feel comfortable dropping out of the workforce to take a break from a grueling job, said Salka.

The American Nurses Association's Ross worries that rich bonuses and creative perks may not go far enough to retain nurses in the long run.

"What's to stop nurses from accepting a job because of the perks and then hop to another hospital after two years because of their perks," she said.

A better approach would be to invest in improving the work environment for nurses and offering better pay, career development and hours to help make sure they don't burn out, she said....

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Specializes in NICU.

"America is undergoing a massive nursing shortage. Not only are experienced nurses retiring at a rapid clip, but there aren't enough new nursing graduates to replenish the workforce, said Ross. "

All those nursing schools aren't churning out enough to replenish the workforce?

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Ross is out of touch with reality. The only shortage is of experienced nurses willing to work for low pay and crappy working conditions and constantly increasing demands from upper management. Why would any nurse stick around to put up with that. Now you have your answer to why there's a "shortage".

P.S. this should be moved to general nursing where it will get more views.

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Huh. Then why is it blank near impossible to get a nursing job in my area? We can't all go to BF Egypt for work and life you know.

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Specializes in ER.

Both hospitals that I work in are having problems recruiting. It's a real problem for us. We've brought in travelers galore.

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I looked at some of the jobs at UCHealth.

I would suggest they drop the language of BSN required in 3 years I see on some of the jobs I looked at. They could probably get some really experienced ADNs then that have no intention of "Going back to College".

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Specializes in M/S, LTC, Corrections, PDN & drug rehab.
I looked at some of the jobs at UCHealth.

I would suggest they drop the language of BSN required in 3 years I see on some of the jobs I looked at. They could probably get some really experienced ADNs then that have no intention of "Going back to College".

And hire LVNs to boot. Ain't nothing wrong with us!

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It is far too broad of a statement to say that there is a "nursing shortage, when there are so many factors to consider. Surpluses and deficits vary from state to state, as we know, but also along the lines of LVN vs RN. You cannot simply plug in LVN's into an area where there is a shortage of RNs, and vice versa. A time line must also be considered in order to accurately assess the fluctuation of job growth related to the number of FTE's retiring and being hired, population growth, % of said population that is more wiling to seek out medical care in a facility, and number of new graduates in each respective field of nursing annually. The timeline would more accurately express the nursing shortage data over a 10 year time period in order to make an accurate correlation, rather than simply using circumstantial evidence.

According to HRSA the key findings are:

"Registered Nurses

Substantial variation across states is observed for RNs in 2030 through the large differences between their projected supply and demand.

Looking at each state's 2030 RN supply minus its 2030 demand reveals both shortages and surpluses in RN workforce in 2030 across the United States. Projected differences between each state's 2030 supply and demand range from a shortage of 44,500 FTEs in California to a surplus of 53,700 FTEs in Florida.

If the current level of health care is maintained, seven states are projected to have a shortage of RNs in 2030, with four of these states having a deficit of 10,000 or more FTEs, including California (44,500 FTEs), Texas (15,900 FTEs), New Jersey (11,400 FTEs) and South Carolina (10,400 FTEs).

States projected to experience the largest excess supply compared to demand in 2030 include Florida (53,700 FTEs) followed by Ohio (49,100 FTEs), Virginia (22,700 FTEs) and New York (18,200 FTEs).

Licensed Practical/Vocational Nurses

Projected changes in supply and demand for LPNs between 2014 and 2030 vary substantially by state.

Thirty-three states are projected to experience a shortage - a smaller growth in the supply of LPNs relative to their state-specific demand for LPNs. States projected to experience the largest shortfalls of LPNs in 2030 include Texas, with a largest projected deficit of 33,500 FTEs, followed by Pennsylvania with a shortage of 18,700 FTEs.

Supply and Demand Projections for the Nursing Workforce: 2014-2030 4

In seventeen states where projected LPN supply exceeds projected demand in 2030, Ohio exhibits the greatest excess supply of 4,100 FTEs, followed by California with 3,600 excess FTEs."

This study does not include advanced practice nursing. The reason I say this is because many RN's will pursue this path, and this will be an additional factor affecting the decrease in the RN population. Same with LVNs. If they bridge, they now populate the RN population, and depopulate the LVN field. Since many ADNs cannot advance scholastically without starting over (accreditation factors), their population will remain more static than the other two. While many contest the nursing shortage and its legitimacy, the numbers projected in the individualized areas of nursing show dramatically varying surpluses and deficits state by state if those numbers prove to be accurate.

"HRSA's Health Workforce Simulation Model projected a national RN excess of about 8 percent of demand, and a national LPN deficit of 13 percent by 2030."

So, if we are to discuss the "nursing shortage," it is only prudent to analyze on a state-by-state basis, and articulate which nursing population is being discussed; RN, ADN, or LVN. They are not interchangeable in the nursing shortage conversation, even though they all are under the umbrella of nurses. It is possible for a state to have a surplus of RNs, but a deficit of LVNs. Since advanced practice nurses aren't even in the conversation, continuing education is kind of a no-brainer.

Source: https://bhw.hrsa.gov/sites/default/files/bhw/nchwa/projections/NCHWA_HRSA_Nursing_Report.pdf

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Specializes in Medical Surgical.

Just took a full time resource job making 2x as much as I was on the floor. I'm putting myself back in school. I don't dislike bedside nursing but I do dislike working so hard and not being fairly compensated for it. When I worked on my unit if I ever wanted to make a decent paycheck I had to work overtime.

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Specializes in Medical-Surgical/Float Pool/Stepdown.
It is far too broad of a statement to say that there is a "nursing shortage, when there are so many factors to consider. Surpluses and deficits vary from state to state, as we know, but also along the lines of LVN vs RN. You cannot simply plug in LVN's into an area where there is a shortage of RNs, and vice versa. A time line must also be considered in order to accurately assess the fluctuation of job growth related to the number of FTE's retiring and being hired, population growth, % of said population that is more wiling to seek out medical care in a facility, and number of new graduates in each respective field of nursing annually. The timeline would more accurately express the nursing shortage data over a 10 year time period in order to make an accurate correlation, rather than simply using circumstantial evidence.

According to HRSA the key findings are:

"Registered Nurses

Substantial variation across states is observed for RNs in 2030 through the large differences between their projected supply and demand.

Looking at each state's 2030 RN supply minus its 2030 demand reveals both shortages and surpluses in RN workforce in 2030 across the United States. Projected differences between each state's 2030 supply and demand range from a shortage of 44,500 FTEs in California to a surplus of 53,700 FTEs in Florida.

If the current level of health care is maintained, seven states are projected to have a shortage of RNs in 2030, with four of these states having a deficit of 10,000 or more FTEs, including California (44,500 FTEs), Texas (15,900 FTEs), New Jersey (11,400 FTEs) and South Carolina (10,400 FTEs).

States projected to experience the largest excess supply compared to demand in 2030 include Florida (53,700 FTEs) followed by Ohio (49,100 FTEs), Virginia (22,700 FTEs) and New York (18,200 FTEs).

Licensed Practical/Vocational Nurses

Projected changes in supply and demand for LPNs between 2014 and 2030 vary substantially by state.

Thirty-three states are projected to experience a shortage - a smaller growth in the supply of LPNs relative to their state-specific demand for LPNs. States projected to experience the largest shortfalls of LPNs in 2030 include Texas, with a largest projected deficit of 33,500 FTEs, followed by Pennsylvania with a shortage of 18,700 FTEs.

Supply and Demand Projections for the Nursing Workforce: 2014-2030 4

In seventeen states where projected LPN supply exceeds projected demand in 2030, Ohio exhibits the greatest excess supply of 4,100 FTEs, followed by California with 3,600 excess FTEs."

This study does not include advanced practice nursing. The reason I say this is because many RN's will pursue this path, and this will be an additional factor affecting the decrease in the RN population. Same with LVNs. If they bridge, they now populate the RN population, and depopulate the LVN field. Since many ADNs cannot advance scholastically without starting over (accreditation factors), their population will remain more static than the other two. While many contest the nursing shortage and its legitimacy, the numbers projected in the individualized areas of nursing show dramatically varying surpluses and deficits state by state if those numbers prove to be accurate.

"HRSA's Health Workforce Simulation Model projected a national RN excess of about 8 percent of demand, and a national LPN deficit of 13 percent by 2030."

So, if we are to discuss the "nursing shortage," it is only prudent to analyze on a state-by-state basis, and articulate which nursing population is being discussed; RN, ADN, or LVN. They are not interchangeable in the nursing shortage conversation, even though they all are under the umbrella of nurses. It is possible for a state to have a surplus of RNs, but a deficit of LVNs. Since advanced practice nurses aren't even in the conversation, continuing education is kind of a no-brainer.

Source: https://bhw.hrsa.gov/sites/default/files/bhw/nchwa/projections/NCHWA_HRSA_Nursing_Report.pdf

With all the information given in your post...I truly want to know if you know the differences between RN, ADN, and LPN...

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We had quite a few travelers at our facility that kept contracts for years.

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With all the information given in your post...I truly want to know if you know the differences between RN, ADN, and LPN...

If you read the entire post, you can see I pointed out that the "nursing shortage" analysis needs to be specific in regards to degree level. ADNs are RNs, but I categorized the ADNs that have an unaccredited degree which does not allow them to progress into advanced practice nursing as a separate population that affects the outcome of the study. ADNs do not affect the number of RNs when they bridge to BSN, but they DO when they move into advanced practice nursing, so they are a unique factor in the nursing shortage discussion. In order to be comprehensive, I feel it is necessary to point this out so that the diverse factors regarding the shortage can be addressed. So to answer your question, yes I do.

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