Is the economy affecting RNs?

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I have noticed on some other threads that there are RNs having a hard time finding work. I am in school getting pre-reqs to become RN. In this economy are the nurses feeling a pinch in downsizing, layoffs or hiring? I will probably continue with my RN plan anyways, LVN/RN jobs in my area have seemed to always be abundant, I was wondering what ya'll have experienced.:typing

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Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.

Yes, the economy is affecting RNs in many regions. Contrary to popular belief, nursing is certainly NOT recession-proof.

During recessions, patients avoid having elective surgeries because they are fearful of taking the time off work that is needed for full recovery, which results in low hospital census. When hospital census is low, less nurses are needed to keep the floor running. If less nurses are needed, hospital shifts get canceled regularly.

More people become unemployed during these rough times and, as a result, lose their health insurance. Uninsured people are definitely not inclined to seek healthcare unless it is an absolute emergency. In addition, medical bills incurred by uninsured patients tend to go unpaid, which means less money for healthcare facilities.

Although it is an accurate statement that nursing jobs can never be outsourced, always remember that nurses can be "insourced" by recruiting foreign nurses to work at US hospitals. These nurses are less likely to whine about working evenings, nights, weekends, and holidays because they are earning more money in America than they ever would in their country of origin.

A massive plethora of part-time nurses accept full-time positions during recessions to keep their households afloat when a breadwinner spouse loses his/her job without notice. Plenty of retired nurses are reactivating their nursing licenses and returning to the nursing workforce due to the high costs of food and fuel, and the effects of rapidly dwindling retirement funds.

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Specializes in Cardiac.

I completely agree with TheCommuter and let's not forget that hospitals are willing to stretch out the nursing staff they already have before opening new positions.

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Thanks for your replies!! My dream job is to be a palliative nurse and I have three years before I get the RN degree unless desperate finances lead me to stop at LVN (bridge program) and work for hospice. Anyway, since I am three years away is there something else I should be considering as options in nursing? What I am asking about I guess, is job stability in the medical field in Texas. I wouldn't think there would be a huge amount of people wanting to be palliative nurses because of the higher mortality (I don't know for sure, just taking a wild guess). The girls in my classes think I'm crazy but there is something special about giving comfort in the last phase of life to someone.:wink2:

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Specializes in Oncology.

I know nursing is not recession proof, but I have not had any trouble finding a job. I will graduate from a BSN program this summer and I already have a job. All of my classmates have jobs as well. I think there is just a little bit of panic and I hope people don't give up on their dreams because they are afraid they won't find a job.

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Glad to hear that new grads aren't having trouble finding jobs there. I am interested in relocating to San Antonio after I earn my BSN this January. Are there particular hospitals you could recommend that are good for newbies? Did your classmates have previous experience in nursing besides what they got from nursing school i.e. nurse aides, LVN?

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Specializes in Oncology.

I am not familiar with San Antonio but maybe someone else can help with that. None of my classmates had any medical experience prior to nursing school. In fact, I was in an accelerated program for people with a previous degree. We were all something else before nursing school!!!

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I live in northern Indiana and work in a LTC that has been 1/2 empty for over a year. On numerous occasions, one nurse and one cna will be asked to leave an hour early. There are no nursing jobs to speak of in this area. The ones that you do find are hospital and they offer full time benefits for part time work to keep staff available. Most of the full time jobs state "as census permits", other wise you are on call. We had trouble finding a new nurse when we needed one. After several months we had one nurse hired who came from the next state over. She worked in an ortho clinic for 21 years and one day 6 months ago 11 nurses were let go abruptly. She says the admin told them that they weren't getting enough surgeries booked to keep the place running so they had to cut staff to stay afloat. Of course the long term employees went first since they had the bigger pay checks and most benefits. This gal says she spent 6 months looking for a nursing job. My husband lost his job 3 years ago and has not been able to find work. That made me the main bread winner and the one who has to cover us for health insurance. I have terrible benefits and very high premiums with a huge deductible. My grandson who is 2 was hospitalized recently for asthma and pneumonia. The hospital was like a ghost town. I mistakenly pushed the wrong button on the elevator. When the doors opened, it was dark, and empty. An entire floor closed. The only other floor with patients was the one we were on. I walked down the hall counting patients a few times. They never had more than 8 or 9 on the entire floor. The bigger inner city facilities will probably end up ok when this is over, but the smaller facilities will crash and burn. There are new grads in this area that cannot find work.

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arund here inTexas they are everywhere, and with the baby boomers gettin ready to retire, the need will be greater.

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Here in Austin the hospitals have hiring freezes. Of the roughly 300 new grads last spring, the hospitals hired 60. I know several folks who have taken jobs in San Antonio and are commuting there, about an hour one way. Jobs are not abundant here.

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From my experience so far I noted hospitals are not as willing to hire new grads and train them, and when it comes to seasoned nurses, not willing to cross train them either. I am a Hem-Onc nurse, just moved from CA (by the way, San Diego has a terrible hiring freeze!) was looking for a nice change of scenery, to ER...I guess not meant to happen! Not one hospital I applied to is willing to cross trainat this time! I have mutliple certs, have been oriented to ER before, did TNCC and many more crazy training with military experience behind my belt..and although I love Hem-Onc, I feel like I am stuck in it with not many other choices (med-Surg maybe.. no thanks, been there, done that)

Best of luck to all

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