Is there a nursing shortage?

Nurses Men

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Is there in fact a nursing shortage? If so please tell me where. I know respite work is important ... but I'd feel more comfortable knowing if this is a truth ...

Specializes in Med./Surg., Diabetes, Med. ICU, home hea.

If you ask hospital administrators, they will tell you: "YES! Of COURSE!" as they want to tip the supply and demand axiom, creating only part-time and per-diem postions for nurses where we compete for jobs in an economy where they don't have to pay cost of living increases, keeping everyone hungry for additional shifts even if we have to float or take assignments we're not comfortable with.

If you talk to many new grads who have student loans to pay off, nurses who have to change specialties or re-enter the workforce, they will tell you a resounding: "NO!"

We MAY have a nursing shortage in the future, but with all the new grads, foreign nurses, nurses trying to re-enter practice, it will be a long time coming. The "nursing shortage," in my humble opinion, is and was a sham by the health care industry (and possibly the nurses unions) to flood the market, making each of us less valuable as a commodity. After all, in the BUSINESS of health care, we are viewed as overpaid technicians that stand in the way of further profits (or the need for further profits if you consider the unions).

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I think there is a shortage. Hospitals don't hire based on what the nurse to patient ratio should be though.

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

Of course there is no nurse shortage. The imagined nurse shortage was created by those that stand to gain financially form a glut of nurses.

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Some important organizations such as the BLS and the AACN believes that there is a shortage.

The BLS recently added a qualifier to the language on their website about the shortage:

Overall job opportunities are expected to be excellent, but may vary by employment and geographic setting; some employers report difficulty in attracting and retaining an adequate number of RNs.
The AACN continues to beat the shortage drum:

The United States is projected to have a nursing shortage that is expected to

intensify as baby boomers age and the need for health care grows ...

The data I see on this lead me to believe that there is somewhat of a shortage but it's either limited to experienced RN's or to some geographic regions.

In my part of the world - the 5th largest metro area in the country - there is an large oversupply of new, inexperienced nurses (like me) but still a demand for experienced nurses, especially in some specialty areas. Nursing enrollment here for all programs (ADN, BSN & diploma) has continued to grow over the past several years and something on the order of 2,000 plus students pass the NCLEX and enter into the RN workforce each year. Yet the growth of nursing positions is essentially non-existent: In 2009 and 2010, there were less than 200 new nursing jobs created in the region (actually, the nursing workforce in my area has shrunk considerably from it's high about 5 years ago). It's misleading to do the simple math (something like 4,000 new RNs competing for 200 jobs in 2009 and 2010 = 20 new RN's competing for every job), but I think you can safely conclude that the competition for jobs by new nurses is fierce and unlikely to improve in the short term. I also think it's fair to conclude that the long term implications of such a lopsided labor market are not good for nurses generally (think supply and demand).

What I really wonder about though, is what happens to those new grad RN's who are unable to find a nursing job for a protracted period of time. Will these RN's ever be hired? Must they migrate to those relatively few, mostly rural areas that do have a shortage? Will the next specialty in nursing education be a program for RN's who've been out of the workforce for long time (one school in my area already has such a program)?

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this is the situation that i've come across and I live in Canada.

So, during nursing school, we were constantly told that there was a major nursing shortage everywhere. I was really excited that I would "be guaranteed a job after graduation. I studied nursing in my hometown in Northern Ontario but planned on moving to Toronto, Canada's largest and most populated city. I didn't have a preference in what specialty that I would become employed.

I graduated in april and moved to Toronto the next week (I already had found a place to rent and paid first and last). I moved without first obtaining a job and believed that I would be able to get one on a temporary liscence (before i wrote the CRNE and got the results from that). Lets just say, the summer was the hardest experience I have ever had financially. I applied to over 200 positions and never once got a call or an interview. There were many positions available but all of them wanted experienced nurses in that given field (3 years or more)

I ended up having to move up north and work for half of the summer which I really didn't like because I was still paying rent for my place in Toronto and was having to ask for assistance from my parents. Thankfully, I talked to a friend of mine who knew a manager at one of the major hospitals in Toronto. He gave me contact info and I ended up getting an interview and getting the full time position (there were over 200 applicants for 8 positions). I was VERY lucky in getting the position. this was just last month and I recently started. I know that there are a ton of less fortunate new grad nurses out there who still can't find work.

The "looking only for experienced nurses" mentality is a double edged sword in my opinion. while you do have to spend less time training the experienced, you will drive the new nurses to either relocate or find a new profession altogether. I really don't know what position I would be in now had i not found employment when I did.

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Specializes in burn ICU, SICU, ER, Trauma Rapid Response.
this is the situation that i've come across and I live in Canada.

So, during nursing school, we were constantly told that there was a major nursing shortage everywhere. I was really excited that I would "be guaranteed a job after graduation.

*** I am very happy for you that you did find a hospital job. The false propaganda that there is a nursing shortage is cynical and self serving. It is really disgusting that people who you should be able to trust are lying to you for their own self interest.

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While this is disheartening to hear, it's not entirely a surprise.

I'm a 37 year old male currently in the pre-reqs of the Nursing program of my local community college. I'm in the top of my class, with a 3.7 GPA. While I hear the 'nursing shortage' thing all the time, it reminds me of the "computer science major shortage" of the 1990s. I ended up (with no degree nor formal training) working side-by-side with those guys for most of the last decade in tech support, UNIX administration, network administration, etc.

I still want to be an RN. I would be lying if I said I wasn't attracted by the stable income and guaranteed job opportunities. Truth be told, however, I'm really in it to help people. It seems that I default to 'taking care' of everyone around me, and when I announced that I wanted to be a nurse, my friends unanimously said "wow, you are really cut out for that".

However, in this dismal thread, I want to ask:

1) Of the people who say they cannot find a job, how many of them looked over 'sub-optimal' positions, like geriatric care? Rest homes, terminal patient care, or other things?

2) It sounds like being a fresh graduate with no experience counts against you, but once you get 3-5 years experience, the "nursing shortage" suddenly becomes a reality. Is this true?

I ask this because (once again) I'm 37 years old. This is my 3rd career change, and my guess is that (like everything else), if you walk into something as a fresh, green newbie, you better have the attitude of "make me your little *****" for the first couple of years. Expect to have and do all the **** jobs for awhile. Not until you've done the lowest of the low, will you have the EXP and level-ups to start calling your own shots. Only then, can your dream be realized.

Am I on the right path, or am I delusional?

Thanks and bacon planks.

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Specializes in burn ICU, SICU, ER, Trauma Rapid Response.
2) It sounds like being a fresh graduate with no experience counts against you, but once you get 3-5 years experience, the "nursing shortage" suddenly becomes a reality. Is this true?

*** Not in my experience. I have been a nurse a long time with a very good critical care / emergency resume. Yes I could find another job and I see and hear about opening in my field for experienced critical care types. However there would competition even for those jobs. I know several good, experienced nurses who had to look long and hard to find jobs.

I frequiently precept nursing students doing their critical care preceptorship. It breaks my heart to see really bright new nurses who I feel have the potential to be great nurses and assets to the profession not be able to get their foot in the door.

You have to understand that the "nurse shortage" is false propaganda deliberately put out by people who stand to gain financially from a glut of nurses.

I wish you luck in your nursing career. It has been a great career for me. My advice is that if you know that nursing is what you want to do then by all means do it. It is absolutely not true that it is a guaranteed job

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

My name is Kimberly, and I'm a junior at the University of Pennsylvania. I have a marketing internship with Education Dynamics, specifically working on their bestnursingschools.com. My job is to increase male awareness of nursing, so I was wondering if anyone would be interested in answering a few questions related to being a male in nursing. We could conduct the interview over email. I only have about 5 questions. We are purely using this information for marketing insight. If we think that something you mention might also be valuable in an article, we will contact you and get your approval prior to anything being published with any identifying details. Please let me know if you're interested, or know anyone who would be.

I will do it.

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Specializes in CriticalCare.
If you ask hospital administrators, they will tell you: "YES! Of COURSE!" as they want to tip the supply and demand axiom, creating only part-time and per-diem postions for nurses where we compete for jobs in an economy where they don't have to pay cost of living increases, keeping everyone hungry for additional shifts even if we have to float or take assignments we're not comfortable with.

If you talk to many new grads who have student loans to pay off, nurses who have to change specialties or re-enter the workforce, they will tell you a resounding: "NO!"

We MAY have a nursing shortage in the future, but with all the new grads, foreign nurses, nurses trying to re-enter practice, it will be a long time coming. The "nursing shortage," in my humble opinion, is and was a sham by the health care industry (and possibly the nurses unions) to flood the market, making each of us less valuable as a commodity. After all, in the BUSINESS of health care, we are viewed as overpaid technicians that stand in the way of further profits (or the need for further profits if you consider the unions).

superb answer.

agree.

I do not believe there is a current nursing shortage. I believe this is especially true to new grads, and I believe that it is rougher-going even with those with experience than it has been in several years.

i am not trying to discourage anybody from being a nurse, but be ready for continued difficulty seeking employment as a new grad, imo.

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Specializes in CriticalCare.
Some important organizations such as the BLS and the AACN believes that there is a shortage.

The BLS recently added a qualifier to the language on their website about the shortage:

The AACN continues to beat the shortage drum:

The data I see on this lead me to believe that there is somewhat of a shortage but it's either limited to experienced RN's or to some geographic regions.

In my part of the world - the 5th largest metro area in the country - there is an large oversupply of new, inexperienced nurses (like me) but still a demand for experienced nurses, especially in some specialty areas. Nursing enrollment here for all programs (ADN, BSN & diploma) has continued to grow over the past several years and something on the order of 2,000 plus students pass the NCLEX and enter into the RN workforce each year. Yet the growth of nursing positions is essentially non-existent: In 2009 and 2010, there were less than 200 new nursing jobs created in the region (actually, the nursing workforce in my area has shrunk considerably from it's high about 5 years ago). It's misleading to do the simple math (something like 4,000 new RNs competing for 200 jobs in 2009 and 2010 = 20 new RN's competing for every job), but I think you can safely conclude that the competition for jobs by new nurses is fierce and unlikely to improve in the short term. I also think it's fair to conclude that the long term implications of such a lopsided labor market are not good for nurses generally (think supply and demand).

What I really wonder about though, is what happens to those new grad RN's who are unable to find a nursing job for a protracted period of time. Will these RN's ever be hired? Must they migrate to those relatively few, mostly rural areas that do have a shortage? Will the next specialty in nursing education be a program for RN's who've been out of the workforce for long time (one school in my area already has such a program)?

and if ppl would post just where those rural areas are where the shortages are, there would be a dozen new grads applying for each position within a month's time--it doesnt take a rocket scientist to see this pattern. many posts here, on job websites, on craigslist, on other nursing forums, etc.

thanks for the great information you have posted for the inquiring.

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