Interesting article about conflicting reports concerning the nursing shortage...

Published

Specializes in LTC.

Thought others might like to read this too. According to this many of the nurses on here are right. There is a shortage. Most hospitals are just making due with less nurses to save money.

Why Are We Getting Mixed Messages on The Nursing Profession?

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The line in the article, "most hospitals have dangerously low levels of nurses" is very disturbing. This means the nurses that have jobs are being pushed to the limit and beyond. So what happens if there is a sudden uptick in demand? How are these nurses that are already run off their legs going to stretch themselves any further? I can hear the public outrage and see the CEOs at congressional hearings shrugging helplessly before it even happens.

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At least he got it right. Too bad nothing new is said, but to "Hang in there".

So tired of Hanging in there.

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Oh good. So since I will be graduating as an RN from an ADN program in Nov. 2011, I should just continue onto my BSN while awaiting the "explosion" of hiring within the next 5 years?...

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Very discouraging article.. i hope that explosion REALLY would happen when i graduate in two years WITH ADN!! Tough luck right? :)

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Nursing schools are continually pumping out hundreds of thousands of nursing graduates into the job market, every year. Because people still believe that nursing is a stable profession.

Even if the working nurses now, retire or leave the profession, the nursing graduates who have been waiting out by the sidelines are still too many.

This means that, the job slots that will be available to nursing grads (past and present) won't still be enough, to accomodate the new generation of nurses.

There is a shortage of nurses, but ONLY of experienced nurses. Less and less facilities are willing to train new blood.

By the time, the US medical community realize that they need to 'train' new nurses again -- people have either pursued other interests or they have forgotten what they have learned in nursing schools, or BOTH. Sad scenario. So, once again... the US medical community will say that -- there is a nursing shortage. This gives them another excuse to hire foreign grads. It's a never ending cycle, no one seems to know how to break it.

But really, if you think about it -- it's all about money. Nursing schools still stay open because people will continually think that there is a nursing shortage. The nursing pay stays low (for most states), insurance companies still get their money and everyone pretends they're happy with the way things are.

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Nursing schools are continually pumping out hundreds of thousands of nursing graduates into the job market, every year. Because people still believe that nursing is a stable profession.

Even if the working nurses now, retire or leave the profession, the nursing graduates who have been waiting out by the sidelines are still too many.

This means that, the job slots that will be available to nursing grads (past and present) won't still be enough, to accomodate the new generation of nurses.

There is a shortage of nurses, but ONLY of experienced nurses. Less and less facilities are willing to train new blood.

By the time, the US medical community realize that they need to 'train' new nurses again -- people have either pursued other interests or they have forgotten what they have learned in nursing schools, or BOTH. Sad scenario. So, once again... the US medical community will say that -- there is a nursing shortage. This gives them another excuse to hire foreign grads. It's a never ending cycle, no one seems to know how to break it.

But really, if you think about it -- it's all about money. Nursing schools still stay open because people will continually think that there is a nursing shortage. The nursing pay stays low (for most states), insurance companies still get their money and everyone pretends they're happy with the way things are.

Sounds like a complete personal theory to me. Good job! :yeah:

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Specializes in PeriOp, ICU, PICU, NICU.

Well, yeah........whatever! At the end of all this, there is still no jobs.

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Specializes in Public Health (PHN), Critical Care.
Nursing schools are continually pumping out hundreds of thousands of nursing graduates into the job market, every year. Because people still believe that nursing is a stable profession.

LOL! "hundreds of thousands, every year"? California graduated 9,580 in total, in 2008. Considering CA is the most populous state in the union by far, you have a loooong way to go to justify such a wild claim.

source: http://www.dailybreeze.com/ci_15189410 (California Institute for Nursing and Health Care cited)

Even if the working nurses now, retire or leave the profession, the nursing graduates who have been waiting out by the sidelines are still too many.

This means that, the job slots that will be available to nursing grads (past and present) won't still be enough, to accomodate the new generation of nurses.

There is a shortage of nurses, but ONLY of experienced nurses. Less and less facilities are willing to train new blood.

Research is your friend: http://www.aacn.nche.edu/media/factsheets/nursingshortage.htm - lots of fantastic data therein, directly addressing the nursing "situation" America is in.

By the time, the US medical community realize that they need to 'train' new nurses again -- people have either pursued other interests or they have forgotten what they have learned in nursing schools, or BOTH. Sad scenario. So, once again... the US medical community will say that -- there is a nursing shortage. This gives them another excuse to hire foreign grads. It's a never ending cycle, no one seems to know how to break it.

But really, if you think about it -- it's all about money. Nursing schools still stay open because people will continually think that there is a nursing shortage. The nursing pay stays low (for most states), insurance companies still get their money and everyone pretends they're happy with the way things are.

Bitter much? The facts can be found in the preceding link, but the bottom line is that there is both a shortage *and* a recession - thus, current nurses get overworked and new ones, though needed, cannot be hired due to budget constraints in lots of areas. However, even the OP's reference cites job openings for those willing to relocate, in addition to the AACN link I posted offering the same observation.

Current nursing employment opportunities are not all peaches-and-cream, as some would like, but nor are they doom-and-gloom, as apparently some others would like.

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Specializes in Geriatric Nursing.
LOL! "hundreds of thousands, every year"? California graduated 9,580 in total, in 2008. Considering CA is the most populous state in the union by far, you have a loooong way to go to justify such a wild claim.

source: http://www.dailybreeze.com/ci_15189410 (California Institute for Nursing and Health Care cited)

Research is your friend: http://www.aacn.nche.edu/media/factsheets/nursingshortage.htm - lots of fantastic data therein, directly addressing the nursing "situation" America is in.

Bitter much? The facts can be found in the preceding link, but the bottom line is that there is both a shortage *and* a recession - thus, current nurses get overworked and new ones, though needed, cannot be hired due to budget constraints in lots of areas. However, even the OP's reference cites job openings for those willing to relocate, in addition to the AACN link I posted offering the same observation.

Current nursing employment opportunities are not all peaches-and-cream, as some would like, but nor are they doom-and-gloom, as apparently some others would like.

I agree....

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I'm with vegas2009. There hasn't been a real nursing shortage in many years -- there were more than enough actively licensed US RNs to fill every vacancy in the US before the economy tanked; there was just a shortage of nurses willing to put up with lousy pay and working conditions. Many licensed RNs were "voting with their feet" and choosing not to work as nurses. With the collapse of the economy, many of those people have come back into nursing.

The info from the ANA discussed in the article is the same stuff the ANA always says. Look around this site at how many actual, working nurses have any respect for what the ANA has to say. You also have to question anything the AACN says -- they are the trade organization for colleges of nursing; they have a vested interest in continuing to attract large numbers of students into nursing programs. I've taught in a number of nursing schools where the hard-core academics directing the programs (who make up the AACN) had no clue whatsoever was going on out in the "real world" of nursing.

(And am I really the only person who's going to say this -- social/economic analysis from John Tesh??? Really??? :lol2:)

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Kurt,

Optimism is fine. But since you are planning on entering this profession it would be wise to look at things as they are. You are not beginning your research with a good understanding of the issues at hand. You are looking only at marketing from "professional" groups. Is this research? nope. Healthcare economics is where your understanding needs to be.

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