Minnesota Nurses Please Respond!!!!!!!!

tuppence · Aug 25, 2004

I didn't see the Pioneer Press article. I'm interested in the answer to your question, too! (I'm in the Cities and graduating in 3 years.) The last I heard was when the Strib and one or two news stations were doing stories last month on the people lined up for three nights outside Anoka-Ramsey Community College, and they were saying there was a shortage and it was projected to get worse over the next few years.

scottp118 · Aug 25, 2004

The article about nurse overcrowding in MN somehow scared me a little, even though I'm in MD and know it probably shouldn't have.

Here's a link to Newsday, but the article was in MANY newspapers:

http://www.newsday.com/news/health/wire/sns-ap-too-many-nurses,0,3041539.story?coll=sns-ap-health-headlines

Thoughts anyone?

b_m_prosepct · Aug 25, 2004

http://www.newsday.com/news/health/wire/sns-ap-too-many-nurses,0,3041539.story?coll=sns-ap-health-headlines

I read the same article on yahoo news. Seems there is no job for new graduates in these areas. Anybody graduated from there recently?

ceecel.dee, MSN, RN · Aug 25, 2004

I'm in MN, and have heard that the city hospitals are well staffed enough that they do not need to hire new grads. In fact, out here (rural) we hired a local girl as a new grad (were surprised that she came back home after graduation), and 8 months later, she was out of here, just using our place to get some experience to have on her resume.

Rurally, we could use nurses, but city folk do not typically relocate to Timbuctoo for good, so we are leary of their interest (it is so expensive to bring someone up to speed on everything a small hospital nurse needs to be competent at, that we really need them to stay for at least 2 years). We are forced to utilize agency and travelers, and there are lots of OT shifts available to the staff nurses here.

The shortage is in the nurse educators, and it has become more and more difficult to get accepted into schools of nursing, especially the BSN programs.

rstewart · Aug 25, 2004

This non shortage news from Minnesota should come as a surprise to noone. I have been stating for years that there is no shortage right here in this forum. The fact is, there are more RNs than there ever have been.

One should not confuse the hospital industry's inability to fill certain undesirable positions with a shortage of qualified, licensed nurses. The nurses are out there, they just don't want certain jobs. Which jobs are those? Night/evening shift staff nurse jobs, particularly in med-surg---- The jobs where you work weekends and holidays, where you have to work through your breaks/lunch, suffer abuse from patients, families, physicians etc., where the physical demands are difficult for the young nurse and impossible for the old-----those jobs.

Additionally, the hospitals and the media have gotten the message out that the shortage is regionally universal; but actually the states have had significantly different ratios of nurses to populations. Minnesota has always been a state with relatively high numbers of RNs relative to population----in fact in 2002 only three states and the District of Columbia had more. By way of comparison, Minnesota had 102 nurses per 10,000 population where my state of Oklahoma had 62 per 10,000. Add the effect of students graduating from new/expanded programs mentioned in the news article under discussion----doesn't take rocket science to see that the new grads will have problems.

The health of the state/regional economy will also determine how fast the undesirable jobs are filled. Minnesota has lost 26,000 good paying manufacturing jobs in the past 4 years. Nurses in the household reenter the job market in response.

Those of us who have been nurses a while know that these so called shortages cycle. And it doesn't take long to reverse the cycle.

hellerd2003, RN · Aug 25, 2004

I received a sponsorship from a Twin Cities hospital, which covers $15,000 tuition, in exchange for me working for them 3 years post-graduation.

The nice thing about this is that, if they have no job available for me, then they will "forgive" the $15,000 and I can look for another job elsewhere (and my husband and I are willing to relocate out-of-state . . . specifically, the southwest . . . if need be).

The bad, naturally, is that I'll probably be working nights and evenings and weekends, but I always *assumed* as a new grad I would be getting those shifts. Having worked as an NA, I've seen that new grads don't just get put into days, no-weekend shifts unless they are very lucky or know someone within the hiring/ HR system.

And, once my 3 years are done, I'll have the experience other positions with better hours require; and while I'm in the hospital's system, I can always apply for different positions and make my hours more palatable. While I'm completing my sponsorship, if I'm working evenings/ weekends, I can work on my MA part-time during the day, while the hospital pays for my tuition. In 3 years, I plan on having my master's at least half-done, no student loans, and plenty of experience. Call me naive, but I think it's ideal. If this is what an overabundance of nurses looks like, bring it on!

In my class alone, I know of 19 people (out of 21 applicants) that were offered these sponsorships. So, there has to be *some* shortage, or the hospitals wouldn't shell out $15,000 in advance for a person whose work they've never seen. Sure, the hours will be tough, but who really assumes as a new grad that they'll get the perfect shifts?

--Heather

luvbug · Aug 25, 2004

I don't really know of a nurse shortage in the area, either, but it does seem like they talk about shortages every once in a while. We have an area nursing home on strike right now, but surprisingly, it doesn't have anything to do with wages or working conditions. It is a conflict between union and non-union workers, I believe. Also, don't you think that the rural jobs have their positives and negatives? I have a rural job, and I personally love it. I don't make near the money I would if I went to one of the bigger cities, but then, you have more of a chance to get the "weird" shifts. I think for some people, it's a conflict of money vs. liking your job. There is a lot to be said about liking your job and wanting to go there every day, in my opinion. Anyway, aren't there always pools hiring as well? Maybe facilities don't like to use pool nurses? I know a lot of places offer the hiring bonuses, but there are usually strings attached--like you get it in installments and only after you have worked so many hours, etc. Has anybody out there ever gotten one of those bonuses? How does it really work?

mom-student · Aug 25, 2004

You are starting to make me nervous! I just started my pre-req's and don't really plan on graduating from the BSN program for 5 years or so. I am only starting PT so I can stay at home with my kids. I really hope that I will have a job after graduation!

Suninmyheart · Aug 2, 2007

3 years later now - It appears there is not a nursing shortage in Minneapolis hospitals. I just graduated in May and most of my classmates have had a hard time finding hospital positions. However LTC appears to be more open.

jennyfyre · Aug 2, 2007

oops, posted in wrong area!

PrincessAnnie · Aug 2, 2007

There is a nursing shortage in the Twin Cities...(I live in Minnesota).

As a matter of fact,there are supposed to be more nursing programs opening up so people don't have to wait so long to get in.

Also,the population is growing FAST...largely because of the people from other countries. It would be a good idea to take classes to learn to speak Somali or Spanish.