How Do You Think That the WallStreet Scandal Will Affect Nursing Jobs?

[pagandeva2000]

I am not a master of economics, but it seems that this situation is really, really huge. How do you all think this can affect our role in healthcare?

[Riseupandnurse]

This mess is big enough for blame for everybody to go around. Consumers who took on too much debt, banks who let them, Congress who sat back and did nothing, the good old boys from both parties at every level who just enjoyed the pork as it fell down to them. We will all have to tighten our belts and cut waste. Unfortunately that means we will all suffer, nurses, patients, doctors, everyone.

[hypocaffeinemia, BSN, RN]

I am hearing that some of the off site clinics from our sister hospital may be closing down. This is not directly related to Wall Street, as this was in the works from June of this year, but it makes me think really hard about the future of nursing at this point in time. Our pensions are caught up in this, for example. Then, the rise in health care costs, make me think about the benefits...will they still exist? More patients coming in with stress and needing antidepressants, more ETOH abuse, less people able to pay for their visits, which may lead to layoffs. We are a city hospital that takes people whether they can pay or not. What happens if Medicaid just can't do it anymore? I hear they will be reducing interpetator services, making it harder to communicate with and assess non-English speaking patients (we have PLENTY of those), who knows?

Some of the off sites are already borrowing copy paper and pens from neighborhood banks. Sheesh!

I honestly think we're on the verge of a complete depression and not just a recession. The entire healthcare system is teetering dangerously on the verge of collapse, and it doesn't exist in a vacuum separate from the financial industry. A butterfly effect of dragging down other industries such as healthcare, airlines, insurance, and others might not be far behind.

Who knows what this will mean for nurses-- It's not like healthcare won't be needed even (more so) in a depression, but with capable of footing the bills, who will sign our checks? Perhaps more relevant, once our checks are signed, will they be worth anything in this economy?

I'm hate to be pessimistic but I've always believed we need to prepare for the worst (and hope for the best).

[icyounurse, BSN, RN]

I am moving back to my hometown next week and have already noticed that there are way fewer jobs to choose from, especially part time options. 3 years ago the hospital I am looking at had around 60 openings all the time, right now they have 20-ish. Crazy.

[SuesquatchRN, BSN, RN]

Now, you can take your pick of part time around here because by splitting one job into two they can avoid benefits.

[Fuzzy]

I'll bet that there will be many jobs in mental health. People are quite stressed out over this.

Fuzzy

[icyounurse, BSN, RN]

Now, you can take your pick of part time around here because by splitting one job into two they can avoid benefits.

Thats a good point and there are plenty of prn without benefit jobs. But the hospital I am looking at has to offer regular part-timers benefits (for a higher price out of your paycheck of course), hence the severe lack of part time employment.

I dont want to work full time as I am in school, and have had to set up an interview with a per diem type ICU float pool position since its the only ICU thats available right now. Which is quiet a contrast to a few years ago, believe me.

[icyounurse, BSN, RN]

I'll bet that there will be many jobs in mental health. People are quite stressed out over this.

Fuzzy

:D:D

[CHATSDALE]

This mess is big enough for blame for everybody to go around. Consumers who took on too much debt, banks who let them, Congress who sat back and did nothing, the good old boys from both parties at every level who just enjoyed the pork as it fell down to them. We will all have to tighten our belts and cut waste. Unfortunately that means we will all suffer, nurses, patients, doctors, everyone.

too many people who really did not realize what was going on here, too many people who borrowed money what they could not repay, to big a disparage between the haves and the have-nots

hopefully this bill before congress will accomlish what it is suppose to

if it does not then some of the private owned clinics will close and many nurses who are sahm will come back into the workplace, if these thing do a glut on the market then the nurses salary will fall and because there are many rns available then the hospitals that are left will not hire lpns and cnas

there will be less money for loans for further education

homes will be harder to come by, rents will rise because the available residences will be taken by those losing their homes

those who trade in their cars every two to three years will keep them for a longer time which will hurt the auto industries

every thing that hurts the economy hurts everyone nurses with spouses who lose their job will relocate to another part of the country, the costs of the move and the children may not be able to go to college until they have been residents of the new state for a certain length of time or pay extra money to go as out-of-state students at a time when their parents have less and less

let us hope and pray that this works and we can wend our way out of the crisis

[icyounurse, BSN, RN]

too many people who really did not realize what was going on here, too many people who borrowed money what they could not repay, to big a disparage between the haves and the have-nots

hopefully this bill before congress will accomlish what it is suppose to

if it does not then some of the private owned clinics will close and many nurses who are sahm will come back into the workplace, if these thing do a glut on the market then the nurses salary will fall and because there are many rns available then the hospitals that are left will not hire lpns and cnas

there will be less money for loans for further education

homes will be harder to come by, rents will rise because the available residences will be taken by those losing their homes

those who trade in their cars every two to three years will keep them for a longer time which will hurt the auto industries

every thing that hurts the economy hurts everyone nurses with spouses who lose their job will relocate to another part of the country, the costs of the move and the children may not be able to go to college until they have been residents of the new state for a certain length of time or pay extra money to go as out-of-state students at a time when their parents have less and less

let us hope and pray that this works and we can wend our way out of the crisis

I sincerily hope it works as well. But I have a gut feeling it will not........seems like everytime Bush gets on TV and tells us we have to act now to stay out of horrible danger and not question anything, just pass a law quickly that the results that follow are not good economically.

But I really do hope that I am wrong and our markets are able to stay afloat.

[Terpole]

I have heard from new graduates that they are having a harder time than past new grads of finding a job. Everybody is cutting back, including health care

[Chico David, BSN, RN]

Likely the biggest effect in the job market will not be the number of jobs for nurses, but in the number of nurses available to fill them. At any given time there are a fair number of nurses who are licensed, but not in the nursing work force because they either have a spouse able to support them or they have taken a job outside of nursing. The historic pattern is that in tough economic times, a lot of those other jobs evaporate or spouses lose jobs and the nurses come back into the nurse work force. Causes some temporary relief of shortage, some downward pressure on salaries and a little more difficulty getting jobs for new grads.

By the way did any of you see the quote from John McCain the other day? Poor guy had an article published in a magazine for actuaries - surely written weeks ago, so they had no clue what the headlines would be when it came out. Here's the key quote:

"Opening up the health insurance market to more vigorous nationwide competition,

as we have done over the last decade in banking

, would provide more choices of innovative products less burdened by the worst excesses of state-based regulation."

So - let's let's deregulate healthcare the way we did banking? And how is that working out? Maybe not that great an idea.

[RN1982]

Maybe this would be the time to pull our troops out of Iraq/Afghanistan so that we don't need to be sending billions of dollars there. I also think that these execs that are raking in millions and millions of dollars from their company that is now in trouble should be putting their money back into the company to help save it. Hey every dollar counts.