Is there a nursing shortage or not?

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I am sure many members are tired of this subject, but I am new here. My question is after reading the threads and reviewing the literature on the nursing shortage and future demands. I do not understand why so many nurses including myself, whether you are a new grad, returning nurse, or senior nurse...why can we not find jobs if there is a shortage?

:confused::nurse:

At my small school in So Cal, 18 of the 20 recent Entry-Level Master's Degree students were able to find work this year. The two that haven't found work are apparently being too picky with work schedules and what department they want to be in. The others all were able to find work in a few months after passing the exam though many had to take jobs at places they didn't really want to be at, like a long-term care facility. Small sample size, I know, but there does seem to be some jobs out there in So Cal.

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So are the BSNs having an easier time finding work in SoCal than ADNs?

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i would like to pm u dienne but i cant idk why ...

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Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.
i guess it depends where and what region you are in. Down here in Socal there is a shortage.....exact words from the director of a hospital in the nursing department... thats why they do paid interns to make sure they get these grads once they are done
Read the California forums on this site. They are filled with experienced nurses and new grads who have been looking for work in southern CA since graduating from nursing school in 2008, 2009, and 2010. There are certainly jobs, but each one posted receives several hundred applications. In addition, human resources must post jobs even if they have no intention of ever filling the slot.

Hospital directors want the public to believe there's a critical nursing shortage because it saves them money in the long run. When we have too many new nurses flooding the market, wages become depressed, sign-on bonuses decrease or disappear, hospitals no longer have to offer relocation assistance, and other expensive enticements go away because people are now competing for jobs in certain cities.

In other words, I wouldn't believe anything a hospital director says regarding a nursing shortage. Their interests are not exactly aligned with those of bedside nurses.

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So are the BSNs having an easier time finding work in SoCal than ADNs?

I think everyone is having a hard time right now. I did not mean to imply the ADN's can't find work because of their degrees, it's just that my friends have ADNs and they're struggling and I do not know anyone with a BSN. I'm sure it's just as bad here as it is everywhere else.

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Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.
Wish I could find the post where someone in so. cal is looking for work...

https://allnurses.com/california-nurses/new-grad-rn-558791.html

https://allnurses.com/general-nursing-discussion/job-hunt-la-531238.html

https://allnurses.com/california-nurses/whats-available-new-537283.html

https://allnurses.com/nursing-career-advice/jobs-in-la-510174.html

https://allnurses.com/california-nurses/exploitation-new-grads-540203.html

https://allnurses.com/california-nurses/new-lvn-grad-535913.html

https://allnurses.com/california-nurses/new-grad-looking-449355.html

https://allnurses.com/california-nurses/relocating-another-state-530308.html

https://allnurses.com/first-year-after/help-me-keep-558825.html

https://allnurses.com/lpn-lvn-corner/cali-lvn-looking-555709.html

https://allnurses.com/lpn-lvn-corner/how-hard-get-529678.html

https://allnurses.com/lpn-lvn-corner/where-lvns-being-522431.html

https://allnurses.com/lpn-lvn-corner/any-adviced-would-538155.html

https://allnurses.com/california-nurses/job-market-experienced-450443.html

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In many regions across the U.S., there's absolutely no shortage of nurses. Actually, there's a surplus of too many nurses in some cities and states. 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 on the units that depend on postoperative cases (ortho, med/surg, PACU, SICU, acute rehab, etc.). When hospital census is low, less nurses are needed to keep the floor running.

More people are unemployed during these rough times and, as a result, have lost 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. The hospitals must absorb the losses.

Part-time nurses, PRN/per diem nurses, and semi-retired 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 depleted retirement funds. Since all of these experienced nurses are returning to the nursing employment market, this means less jobs available for all of the new graduate nurses that are being churned into local job markets every few months.

I must also mention that Medicaid and Medicare reimbursements are lower than ever. This has affected areas of nursing such as acute care, hospice, home health, long term care, rehab, clinics, doctors' offices, and so forth. These low reimbursement rates mean less money available to pay nursing staff.

While this phenomenon might not apply to the town, city, or state in which you live, it is certainly happening in many places across the U.S.

This was a great answer that explained your points well. I appreciate the question being asked an all the replies. The nursing shortage is something I had wondered about myself.

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I was just in the ER a few days ago (due to a car accident) at a Cleveland Clinic facility, and the ER nurse told me she was tired and exhausted and that she was the only one working in the section where the EMT brought me to :uhoh3::uhoh3::uhoh3: (she didn't go into further details but that was my hint!!!)

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You know I'm starting my adn program this summer and I really debated back and forth between respiratory therapy and nursing and decided on nursing. I finally decided in nursing but this really has me scared. I'm really hoping it improved by December 2012 when I'm due to graduate. It really kinda seems to me it's getting to be about WHO you know and not necessarily about WHAT you know or that you have a RN PERIOD! does anyone know how the employment is down here in Birmingham, al? And would it make a difference that I'm a 21 year old male? Also would me going back and getting a rt degree after nursing school make me more marketable?

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Specializes in burn ICU, SICU, ER, Trauma Rapid Response.

There is no nursing shortage and there hasn't been one in the 15-16 years I have been in nursing. Well maybe there have been temporary, very local shortages in a few undesirable / rural areas.

What there has been at different times is a shortage of RNs willing to work under the working conditions and pay being offered but always plenty of licensed RNs.

Now that there are much few opportunities in other fields there are more RNs willing to work for under the working conditions and pay being offered.

Two years ago we had 27 openings in the unit where I worked out of 56 FTEs. When the economy crashed ad we had huge lay offs from some large local employers nearly all of our part time nurses went full time. That eliminated nearly all of our opening almost overnight. We used to have two classes of 4-8 new grads a year in the Critical Care Nurse Residency program. Now they have 1 or 2 a year.

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Specializes in Mental Health, Medical Research, Periop.

There is definitely no shortage here in the DMV, I have friends who have been nurses for years and cant find a job. I know when I finished RN school, there was 80+ graduates in my class alone, and nursing schools are producing so many students because people believe nursing is recession proof. I say if you want a recession proof career, look into becoming a mortician. :(

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I think it depends where you are. Where I live there isn't really a shortage, but from what I've seen ADNs and BSNs are both not having too hard of a time finding jobs.

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