Is there still a nursing shortage?

MsBruiser · Jan 12, 2009

:confused:Please someone give me facts about whether or not we still have a nursing shortage. Im quesioning myself as to whether or not to pursue this profession. With all the talk on this forum about people not being able to find jobs and all. Do you think this is a temporary thing???

Look Sassie - I know you are worried. Read the Arizona Republic article from yesterday (front page). There is a tremendous slowdown in hospital admissions across Arizona. We are in the midst of the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. People are losing health insurance. People are worried about taking time off from work for elective procedures. People don't have the money to pay for health care (deductible and what-not). Under these circumstances, hospitals are very reluctant to take on additional staff, particularly new grads.

Yes, this is temporary. But nobody can define the exact timeframe of temporary.

That said - consider a few facts:

a) If you are worried about pursuing nursing, one of the historically "safest" and "recession-proof" professions based on this current economic downturn, what career could possibly be better? Every industry across the US, or the world for that matter, is reeling from the economy. You are not even in nursing school - things can change on a dime for better (or for worse). If you have a better employment opportunity - pursue it - and do nursing later if you are that worried. A nursing career can span 20-30 years. Are you going to let today's circumstances dictate where you will be a long way down the road.

b) Every senior nurse I have worked with has stories about getting a first job during other sharp economic downturns - be it in the early 1970s, 1981-1983, or the early 1990s. People can't plan when the economy will take a turn for the better or the worse against their schooling and long-term career ambitions. Somehow - people managed to get jobs. Even during the Great Depression, hospitals still existed. There will always be a base demand for healthcare, particularly nurses.

c) Please be careful where you are soliciting opinions for a long-term career decision. I would not base future career decisions on this nursing board. We all post under "screen names" for crying out loud (Stopnik is a kid I didn't really like growin-up!). You do not know if I really am the RN I claim to be - or if my "advice" is all that good. From the caliber of most messages, I would not take 90% of what I read here all that seriously, with some exceptions, of course. Go to arizonarepublic.com for good local insight. Try nytimes.com for a more national/global perspective (best newspaper in the world - with 100% free access). If you want good radio news - try National Public Radio at 91.5 (http://www.npr.org) - 100% free with great search capability on the web.

I mean this message to be constructive...please slow-down and take perspective on the situation.

Stopnik

pererau · Jan 12, 2009

Great advice from Stopnik above. But really, even in the downturn economy, there are still jobs everywhere you look. Just today I went to the website for Mercy Gilbert Hospital and found 6 ER nurse positions posted along with lots of non-ER jobs (I'm an ER nurse). The economy will right itself. It may be next week and it may be next year, but it will pick up and get rolling again and jobs will be even more prevalent than now, but even now there are lots of opportunities out there. The world needs nurses. Get ye to nursing school.

Hoozdo, ADN · Jan 12, 2009

Look Sassie - I know you are worried. Read the Arizona Republic article from yesterday (front page). There is a tremendous slowdown in hospital admissions across Arizona.
Go to arizonarepublic.com for good local insight.

Here is a link to that article for others that want to read it:

http://www.azcentral.com/business/articles/2009/01/10/20090110biz-hospitals0110.html

jenbaby1974 · Jan 12, 2009

So I have been hearing a lot of stories about hiring freezes across the nation, and some of the people I just graduated with were having difficulty finding positions. I read this article and it gave an explanation about what is going on right now with the economy in turmoil. It seems that some of the nurses that are retired are coming back to the workforce and some nurses that have been inactive are returning to work because of their spouse being laid off and the increased cost of living. I found it pretty interesting, I am just glad that I was able to find work since some of my classmates are still looking. I have found that many hospitals do still have positions opened, you just have to shop around.

http://www.dcardillo.com/articles/newnurse.html

Multicollinearity, BSN, RN · Jan 12, 2009

Sassie,

Stopnik gave you some good advice. I know this is worrisome. In less than a year, I'll be applying for a new grad position. I'm very concerned. The other night I laid in bed wide awake until 4 AM, wondering where I'll have to move to to get my first job. I wondered what state I'll be in next January, what my new apartment will be like, what it will be like to be in some city all alone without any friends or loved ones around, etc. Then I got myself together.

Thing is, even with the troubles new grads are having finding jobs, they are still better off than workers in other fields. In a deep recession nurses still have better prospects than other professionals. I have relatives (non-nurses) who have now been out of work for over a year and are on the verge of losing their homes.

In the end, you need to examine if nursing is for you - if it's a good fit. Then, you need to put the worry out of your mind and just make it through school. Like Stopnik said, we will see many ups and downs in our careers. We need to look at the long-term, not the short-term. This recession may force us to be more creative and flexible when it comes to landing the first job.

MsBruiser · Jan 12, 2009

Employed nurses have some problems too. While I don't think we will see many layoffs, RNs are regularly getting their hours cut (i.e.: "getting called off" - being told not to come in for a shift). This is a problem at many hospitals as admissions decline. It is awful and demoralizing. I'm just trying to keep my head down and hope this mess gets resolved sometime soon. Realistically, 2009 will probably be an awful year. Hopefully 2010 will show some improvement.

Notwithstanding getting called off, lots of people are quite jealous when I tell them I am an RN. As in, "wow, it's great you have a secure job." Well - it's more secure than most!

groovy jeff, RN · Jan 13, 2009

Stopnik has hit it on the head again!! :yeah:

Couple of things:

I believe that nationwide there is a nursing shortage and that nursing is a growth industry.
I believe that there is an experienced RN shortage locally.
I have read somewhere (don't ask me where) that there are more new grads per capita in Maricopa County than anyplace else in the country.
Now is the time to invest in stock when prices are cheap and it is the right time to invest in your education because things are going to be bad anyway for the next year or two.

I graduate next June but I will bet you that I have a job lined up way before then because I will do everything in my power to make it so. Sometimes we just have to make things happen! I don't leave things to chance; I do all that I can do for positive outcomes.

If you want to help people, don't mind hard work or cleaning up poop, like a challenge, and like the medical field- then quit messing around and go for it!

GOD BLESS OUR CARDINALS!!!:redbeathe

AZMOMO2 · Jan 13, 2009

The way I see it is there may not be a shortage of nurse grads but there are a shortage of experienced nurses. If there aren't enough experienced nurses to fill the postitions to meet the needs of the hospitals they will hire the new grad. People always get sick whether they can afford to or not and people get old. Its just a fact.

In the mean time in an economy like this you just have to make yourself just as marketable by taking any other certification that you can take when you can take them. Thats my plan!

sassiebaz · Jan 13, 2009

Ok, I worded my original post a little wrong. Im not questioning whether to pursue the profession, just at what level. I thought if I go straight for my BSN that may give the economy time to mend. If I do the LPN first, I may be looking for a job for quite sometime. I do appreciate all your responses. I DO tend to over-analyze things a bit...just my nature though! Either way, I do have a job right now, and am in the process of starting up a couple online classes to keep things going. We'll see from there. Im not basing anything on others input, however I do like hearing what others have to say about it.

groovy jeff, RN · Jan 13, 2009

I'm always right, so you can take my word for it!

2ndxstudent · Jan 13, 2009

Ok, I worded my original post a little wrong. Im not questioning whether to pursue the profession, just at what level. I thought if I go straight for my BSN that may give the economy time to mend. If I do the LPN first, I may be looking for a job for quite sometime. I do appreciate all your responses. I DO tend to over-analyze things a bit...just my nature though! Either way, I do have a job right now, and am in the process of starting up a couple online classes to keep things going. We'll see from there. Im not basing anything on others input, however I do like hearing what others have to say about it.

I think over analyzing is part of the nursing mentality. We are people who pay attention to detail and dont leave things to chance. :wink2:

I was once told that the best place to be during a recession is in school. This is because you are not missing anything anyway Good luck!