How to solve the shortage of new grad jobs?

tachybradyRN · May 12, 2008

*shrugs* I don't know what the general picture looks like, but new grads don't seem to have a problem getting hired in my area..

racing-mom4, BSN, RN · May 12, 2008

*shrugs* I don't know what the general picture looks like, but new grads don't seem to have a problem getting hired in my area..

Same with my area. I dont know of one person I graduated with that did not have a few jobs to pick from. Our last month of school it was almost a bragging session of "I got this offer--I got that offer" I would guess 75% of my class had a job lined up prior to graduation as a Nurse Tech, and those who did not simply just wanted to wait till after Nclex to start their search.

MikeyJ, RN · May 12, 2008

This problem is very region dependent. There are still parts of the country that have severe nursing shortages. I live in a city that has a fairly severe nursing shortage (there are a few hospitals that are nearly completely staffed with agency nurses). But I have read on this forum that there are parts of the country where new grads cannot find jobs.

However, I think that problem will resolve itself when the baby boomer nurses start retiring.

HM2VikingRN, RN · May 12, 2008

Try the VA. I know that they have excellent BSN preceptor new grad programs. The average age of an RN in the US is 48. As a mew grad I have had 2 very attractive offers. Now its just winnowing my choices down.

Best of luck!

BonnieSc · May 13, 2008

I appreciate the suggestion, but the VA is not hiring new grads in my area. Seriously. Neither, from what I have seen/heard/experienced, is LTC or public health or corrections.

It's nice that many of you still have an easy time finding new grad jobs, but that doesn't help solve the problem elsewhere. Yes, these things are cyclical, and yes, once the baby boomers retire things should get easier--but what about the new nurses graduating for the next ten years? Maybe it's as I thought... no one really cares. There are so many new nurses graduating to take the places of those who give up. It makes me sad that there's a push in these areas to graduate more nurses to "solve" the "nursing shortage", only for them to find no one in the area will hire them.

MikeyJ, RN · May 13, 2008

I appreciate the suggestion, but the VA is not hiring new grads in my area. Seriously. Neither, from what I have seen/heard/experienced, is LTC or public health or corrections.
It's nice that many of you still have an easy time finding new grad jobs, but that doesn't help solve the problem elsewhere. Yes, these things are cyclical, and yes, once the baby boomers retire things should get easier--but what about the new nurses graduating for the next ten years? Maybe it's as I thought... no one really cares. There are so many new nurses graduating to take the places of those who give up. It makes me sad that there's a push in these areas to graduate more nurses to "solve" the "nursing shortage", only for them to find no one in the area will hire them.

I don't think it is that no one cares, but there is not much that can really be done in those areas with no nursing shortage. If hospitals and other facilities do not need the nurses, then there is no point for hospitals or government agencies to offer incentives or setup programs to hire the new grads. That is not economically sensible.

The new grads that unfortunately reside in those areas that are saturated with nurses may have to relocate if they want to find a job. My friends mother lives in an area that is saturated with nurses as well, and she was forced to take a position an hour away from her home in a completely different town.

There are many different professions that are over-saturated in different parts of the country. Those people who choose to pursue that field of work are unfortunately faced with the dilemma of either working in another line of work until a position opens up or relocate to an area of the country that demands them. It is not that no one cares about this problem, but rather that there isn't anything anyone can do about it. If there is no demand, then there is no demand.

trace_element · May 13, 2008

I totally agree with you Wendy.....I have posted about this as well - it is very competitive to get hired as a 'new grad' where I live (northern CO). There are several nursing schools and they have increased admissions in the past 4 years or so. However, people are still flocking to get in. I tried to warn a pre nursing student a couple weeks ago and she looked at me like I was on crack.

I believe that part of the problem is that nursing schools are attracting alot of 'non traditional' students who are already established in their communities with spouses,kids, houses, ect. and are probably not very interested in relocating to where there is a 'shortage.'

2bNurses22 · May 13, 2008

I don't see how there's a shortage of new grad jobs. They're all over the place. Maybe if you're talking about a 30 mile radius, but there's tons of jobs that are much tougher landing a job after graduation like getting an actuary, science technician, or power plant operator job. Not the hardness aspect of it but the amount of jobs available for entry level. There's only 10000 actuaries verses 3 million nurses. Don't see how it's a problem.

Multicollinearity, BSN, RN · May 13, 2008

I don't see how there's a shortage of new grad jobs. They're all over the place. Maybe if you're talking about a 30 mile radius, but there's tons of jobs that are much tougher landing a job after graduation like getting an actuary, science technician, or power plant operator job. Not the hardness aspect of it but the amount of jobs available for entry level. There's only 10000 actuaries verses 3 million nurses. Don't see how it's a problem.

In certain areas of the Northeastern US, California (San Francisco), and also Colorado, many new grad RNs cannot get jobs. So it's a problem for them.

It's a big deal to move across the country to start your nursing career! I wouldn't minimize that, myself. It also comes as as a surprise to many who just hear about the nursing shortage in the US, but don't know that regional factors sometimes ameliorate that shortage, locally.

MikeyJ, RN · May 13, 2008

I don't see how there's a shortage of new grad jobs. They're all over the place. Maybe if you're talking about a 30 mile radius, but there's tons of jobs that are much tougher landing a job after graduation like getting an actuary, science technician, or power plant operator job. Not the hardness aspect of it but the amount of jobs available for entry level. There's only 10000 actuaries verses 3 million nurses. Don't see how it's a problem.

There are parts of the country that actually have a surplus of nurses (especially new grads) compared to the number of open positions. Usually those areas that have many nursing schools pushing out tons of new grads.

2bNurses22 · May 13, 2008

There are parts of the country that actually have a surplus of nurses (especially new grads) compared to the number of open positions. Usually those areas that have many nursing schools pushing out tons of new grads.

Like I said, look at all the other jobs. Why not move to another state (although I doubt there's no jobs there)? Careerbuilder.com confirms this. Also, they aren't pushing out tons of grads compared to other jobs. Over 100000 applicants are denied each year, and it's one of the few majors that is severely impacted almost everywhere. I was thinking about becoming one, but it'll take 4 years (maybe 5 cause there's a wait list and I didn't do the prerequistes) to just get an associates in nursing, and I'm not sure what they'll do about the shortage. This artificial supply is the only reason why nurses have tons of overtime and good pay (depends on the area ex. California vs. Mississippi). I'm mainly interested in that overtime. 1.5 for every hour? Sweet! Money gained early is a lot better than money gained later due to gains in stocks etc.