Massive RN Layoffs

Nurses Activism

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For the last month or so I have been reading many news stories of Nurses being layed off from hospitals across the country. Along with layoffs many hospitals are doing hiring freezes. I remember back in the 1990's when Hillary care came about, many hospitals did hiring freezes, even if a nurse quit they were not replaceing the nurses.

The scope of whats going on today is 10 fold worse than the 1990's. Hospitals are laying off nurses by the hundreds each and every day. Some hospitals are firing nurses on the slightest infraction.

The difference of the 1990's and today is that the economy is so bad many people have lost their jobs. No jobs, no health insurance, less admissions, less census. To add more pain to the situation many hospitals are claiming the decrease in medicare funds in payment from state governments, which leads to layoffs.

I remember back in the 1990's a friend of mine went to school for IT, after all, companies were taking students who didnt even finish the school because they needed people so bad. My poor friend started the school to late the dot com bubble came and he couldnt find a job in IT any where in the country! He went back to his faithful job as a RN only to be layed off. After 300 applications sent around the country he still hasnt found a job in med surg. Hospitals will not start to re-hire until the economy picks up and the unemployment goes below 8%. For people looking for a career in nursing dont think that nursing is a recession proof job, it isnt. Most new students who graduater cant even find a job, you may be better off going into therapy, OT jobs for now.

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Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.
For the last month or so I have been reading many news stories of Nurses being layed off from hospitals across the country.
This has been occurring longer than "a month or so."

The hiring freezes and layoffs in healthcare started to accelerate in 2008, during the financial meltdown. Things have been dismal in the nursing job market for quite a while, and you cannot pinpoint it to any particular presidential administration or health care reform that has not even been enacted yet.

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I never pin pointed it to any political party. Just stated facts from what the news articles state.

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Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.
I never pin pointed it to any political party. Just stated facts from what the news articles state.
That's fair enough. Perhaps I am looking too deeply into your user name.
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Specializes in Peds/outpatient FP,derm,allergy/private duty.

The "dot com bubble" burst years ago - so your poor friend has been looking for an RN job for 10 years?

It's puzzling to me how you could remember "when Hillary care came about", when in fact Hillary care never did come about.

With a username of "Obamacare" and a topic about healthcare reform, one might be inclined to think you have an agenda of some sort here on allnurses.

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Specializes in ER, Trauma.

So what are you doing to fix the problem? Hillarycare, Obamacare, can you tell us which hospitals are "laying off nurses by the hundreds each and every day?"

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Specializes in ICU of all kinds, CVICU, Cath Lab, ER..

Me thinks there is a foul odor to thy posting!! Thee should never think thy readers are shallow and without their wits......begone, imposter!!

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Specializes in Oncology/Haemetology/HIV.

Several of your facts are wrong.

"Hillarycare" has never existed and certainly never came about. Blaming something that does not or has not existed for a slowed hiring period for nurses costs you credibility.

And given that there was a much more severe hiring slowdown in the 80s, do you want to blame "Reagancare" or "Bushcare".

The slowdown of hiring occurred several years ago, prior to Obama, with the recession. No big mystery there. Thus it occurred well before the last month.

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well, all i can say is that ma has been struggling under its own local version of obamacare for the past few years now, with disastrous effect. umass memorial in worcester closed an entire wing and laid off scores of nurses, and it's extremely difficult to get a job as a nurse in this state now. bottom line is socialized medicine is a disaster for both patients and healthcare providers. and i'm not just being politically partisan - romneycare in ma was enacted by a republican governor. i'm not looking for a partisan argument; i'm simply applying some critical thinking to the evidence at hand.

plus, now we have this to consider: the entire economic argument for justifying obamacare turns out to be fallacious: cbo says repealing obamacare would reduce net spending by $540 billion

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Specializes in Hospice.

Thank you, dp1200, for trying to introduce a little evidence into the discussion. I tend to disagree with you, but it's nice to see someone arguing from real evidence.

As to the OP, this person signed up this month and these are his/her only two posts. Considering the Republican's stated agenda of repeal, I'm thinking the misinformation campaign (Hillary-care???) has begun.

They must think we're stupid!

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Specializes in Med/Surg, Ortho, ASC.

Inflammatory, misleading and just plain incorrect post.

Facts are our friends. As is spellcheck.

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1. Layoffs are due to the poor economy and state budget cuts. It has nothing to do with Obama.

2. There is no such thing as "Obamacare". The new policy is simply that people MUST buy insurance from a private company (the same private companies we've been using for decades) under penalty of fine. This policy wasn't even Obama's idea, it came from Republican Presidential candidate Bob Dole back in the 1990's. If you want to name it, a more appropriate name would be "Dole Care"

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