Is there REALLY a nursing shortage?

[ShimmaShimma0304]

This is an interesting article guys/gals...

Here's the letter I wrote to the President, Vice-President, U.S. Congress Rep. and Senator:

"I'm an R.N. and I recently started working as an agency nurse because the pay is so much better and the hours are very flexible. The hospital system in my area that uses most of the agency nurses is in the process of hiring foreign labor to cut costs and fill positions. I read an article, "Is there REALLY a nursing shortage?" by Richard Armstrong and what he said really concerned me. It is true that American jobs are going overseas and there are over 8 million Americans out of work. People who go to school for certain professions do not have jobs when they graduate. Where is the AMERICAN DREAM going??? I realize our country is a melting pot and all, but what about OUR JOBS for US HERE???!!!

Please abolish the H-1B program. Americans need to demand that employers not be allowed to replace American workers with foreigners... I'm finally not living paycheck to paycheck as a nurse and I'm finally able to get ahead... But now there is this big black cloud looming over my head and it's full of foreign nurses trying to get out of THEIR country to take MY job. Why are you letting this happen to your fellow Americans???

Sincerely,

Marie L. Schultz

Shreveport, Louisiana"

I don't know if it will help or not, but I figured it was worth a try. Nurses from India, Africa and Thailand (among others) are coming to the Shreveport area to fill gaps of this so-called nursing shortage so that the hospital system I work at won't have to use agency nurses. Instead of paying American nurses better... this is what is happening. Nice. Very nice.

Do you see this happening where YOU are??? I just started working agency and that's all I'm doing right now. I love it. I just started April 19th, 2004 and here it is... not one month later and 15 foreigners are starting in the next week or so as a "pilot" for the other 3 hospitals of this hospital chain. This hospital chain uses most agency nurses here in Shreveport. They're trying to get rid of agency nurses all together by using these other nurses.

Again I ask: Do you see this happening where YOU are???

Thanks in advance. :angryfire

[Hellllllo Nurse, BSN, RN]

all of you are scaring me. I m still a nursing student and I have 3 semesters left. I switched out of my 3rd year in pharmacy to do nursing because I didnt wanna push pills all day. Maybe I should switch back. I wanna help people and still have a stable and decent job, but from what you all saypretty much everything I have been told about nursing is a lie. Their really isn't a shortage, the job is by far unstable, and you can't really help much of anybody because u spend ln day in front of a comp... seriously I shoulda stuck with pharmacy

I've been a nurse for 15 years. If I had it to do over again, I'd go for pharmacy.

[alicet]

Are they going to use LPN's to fill in for RN's do you think it is possible?

[pyseymo]

That's scary-most of us HAVE to work or we would not be doing this! What state are you in?

[alicet]

Don't worry it will be OK Nevada

[TheCommuter, BSN, RN]

My statements will probably be construed as controversial, but here goes.

There is no nursing shortage. There are over 2.5 million registered nurses in America in addition to the 700,000 licensed practical/vocational nurses. Therefore, there are more than enough currently licensed nurses in this country to solve the so-called 'nursing shortage'.

Here are the problems. A huge portion of these licensed nurses are not working. Many of these licensed nurses abandon the nursing field altogether due to burnout, poor working conditions, and other issues that deserve some sociological research. Additionally, our greatest healthcare needs are at the bedside, but there are too many nurses in management and not enough who are willing to do the 'dirty work' at the bedside. In other words, there are too many 'chiefs' and not enough 'indians'.

There is no shortage of nurses; rather, there's a shortage of nurses who will put up with the crap at the bedside. There's also a shortage of master's-educated nursing instructors. In addition, nursing pay rates will drop if nursing schools admit and graduate a whole flood of new nurses to fill this so-called 'shortage'.

[postmortem_cowboy]

My statements will probably be construed as controversial, but here goes.

There is no nursing shortage. There are over 2.5 million registered nurses in America in addition to the 700,000 licensed practical/vocational nurses. Therefore, there are more than enough currently licensed nurses in this country to solve the so-called 'nursing shortage'.

Here are the problems. A huge portion of these licensed nurses are not working. Many of these licensed nurses abandon the nursing field altogether due to burnout, poor working conditions, and other issues that deserve some sociological research. Additionally, our greatest healthcare needs are at the bedside, but there are too many nurses in management and not enough who are willing to do the 'dirty work' at the bedside. In other words, there are too many 'chiefs' and not enough 'indians'.

There is no shortage of nurses; rather, there's a shortage of nurses who will put up with the crap at the bedside. There's also a shortage of master's-educated nursing instructors. In addition, nursing pay rates will drop if nursing schools admit and graduate a whole flood of new nurses to fill this so-called 'shortage'.

A'FRICKEN MEN TO THAT!!!

Wayne.

[TheCommuter, BSN, RN]

A'FRICKEN MEN TO THAT!!!

Wayne.

:thankya: Thanks.

[Fiona59]

Up here there is a shortage of full time positions for those that want them. How many nurses want to work two or three part time jobs to earn a full time wage? Benefits and pensions are tied to the amount of hours attached to positions (going to those that are .4FTE or better). Yet, I continue to see .2 or .3FTEs being listed as vacant.

It gets very complicated studying shift rotations to try and match these part time jobs into full time hours.

Give us the hours we need to financially survive.

[Mudwoman]

Bruce Williams on late night talk radio made a profound observation one night. If there is a "shortage" in any field, then the wages and benefits increase accordingly. Nurses have been loosing benefits for the last 15 years and more so in the last 5. Our salaries are stagnant when inflation is taken into consideration. So, based on that------there is no shortage.

In some areas like the one I live in, there are so many nurses graduating from the local colleges, that you can't find a job and when you do, the pay is pitiful. There is a job in town for an LPN for home health care. The job has been available now for 5 months and they run an ad every week in the local paper. The starting pay is $9 hr. They are now advertising that they have a new benefits package. It is 40 hrs a week and you are on call for one week every month 24/7. Where I work now, a year ago the starting salary was $15 hr and now the new hires are getting $12.50 hr and we have 20-30 applicants for every posting.

[checkb]

The Commuter and PM Cowboy (see above posts) are straight up correct. I'm one of those not working nurses, (out for 7 years to raise the kids). I'm about to go back into the trenches. I hear about the so called "nursing shortage" and figure no problem I should be able to work where I want. The job market is telling a very different story. Not as many jobs out there as a market in shortage should bear. 2-3 years ago there may have been a shortage, don't see a sign of it now.

[karyn09]

Another reason for people saying there's a shortage is because what RN's out there want to leave their high paying positions to get a lower salary as a teacher? There aren't enough teachers in California...so all programs here are impacted. I'm not sure if it's the same anywhere else, but at the hospitals in CA, a majority of the time, if an LVN/LPN leaves, they fill that position with an RN - there are fewer [if any] positions for LVN/LPN's at the hospitals now.

[postmortem_cowboy]

Another reason for people saying there's a shortage is because what RN's out there want to leave their high paying positions to get a lower salary as a teacher? There aren't enough teachers in California...so all programs here are impacted. I'm not sure if it's the same anywhere else, but at the hospitals in CA, a majority of the time, if an LVN/LPN leaves, they fill that position with an RN - there are fewer [if any] positions for LVN/LPN's at the hospitals now.

Yeah tell me about it karyn... I lost my registry job back in september and started sending my resume out, 30 a week or more, found a part time job doing flu shot clinics, figured that would do till something full time came around, and nothing has. I took what was told to me as a full time position with a research company that does medication studies here in OC, all the while your going to get hired on full time (as they hired everyone 1099). And when my med study was done, guess who was out of a job again? Moi. Pathetic thing is that no one there could start an IV, they always came to me for any kind of difficult sticks, either IV or phleb sticks even the lead phlebotomist would come get me. And I don't consider myself all that great with IV or phleb sticks. Now you tell me with damn near applying for everything that's out there every week. With having an acute hospital with 3 ads up for 3 different full time ER positions to call me in for an interview, then call me just hours later to see if I can come in through a registry that doesn't even have a contract with the hospital the next morning, then call me and say we're waiting on a background inv. then call me and say oh i'm going on vacation i'll call you on feb 3rd to hire you, then not calling on feb 3rd... how is there a nursing shortage at all? I've been getting this kind of run around since September. This is ridiculous!! I've applied to LTC, rehabs, acutes, desk jobs (which i really hate), HH, and it seems that the shifty people/companies are the ones that call me back and want interviews for some reason and I end up in the same boat as I was before, no job.

Who the hell do you have to kill around the OC to find a decent job anymore? Cuz i'm all out of ideas...:icon_roll

Wayne.