A letter I wrote to Senator Schumer. I am a new grad like many of you who CANNOT find a job.
I am writing to you today to raise awareness of the "nursing shortage" that has been reported by the media for some time. I am sure you are well aware that this is a problem that needs solving. If you visit a hospital, you will find that there are not enough nurses. Patients are being neglected. Yet this year alone, there will be 10,000 new graduate nurses.
For as long as I can remember, I've always had a love for medicine. It was not my first career choice when I graduated from high school. However, as time went on, I realized that the need for health care professionals was growing. There was one time in particular when I was in the hospital for surgery. It was 3 am and the pain medication had worn off. I called for a nurse three times, finally getting a call back on a loud speaker. I tried to raise my voice telling the nurse I needed more medicine. It took about 15 minutes for the medication to be delivered, and that was the one and only time I saw that nurse for the entire night.
As a nursing student, I experienced this situation often. Nursing trainees are able to dispense medication and care for patients just like the R.N. on staff. I cannot recall how many times the patients stated they were so thankful we were there to help. The patients constantly said that they had seen their particular nurse once or twice in a twelve hour period, and it took a lot of persistence to get the assistance they needed.
I know this business well after devoting three years of my life to learning about it, and realize that not only are the patients suffering but so are the nurses. Of course on paper the job seems like a win-win situation. The starting base salary can be anywhere from 55,000-60,000 annually. Well, I urge anyone to go onto a medical surgical floor and try to have one conversation with an R.N. while they are doing their rounds, dispensing medication, and writing documentation (which is constant). You will soon understand that there is no time to chat. To further complicate this scenario, what if one of the eight patients under their care has an emergency? In many cases this means that the other patients will be neglected or the emergency will go unseen for quite some time.
You are probably asking yourself if 10,000 student nurses will graduate this year, why is there a nursing shortage? It has been my mission to understand this over the past four months. I graduated in December 2009, and received my license in February 2010. I have been searching for a position as a new graduate R.N. for this entire time. What I have been told by every nursing recruiter is that there is no funding for newly graduated nurses. Many have said that the hospitals are broke and cannot afford the staff they already have. How can this issue of a nursing shortage be rectified if no one is willing to hire and train new nurses?
Since you are a part of the "baby boom" generation, I am sure you are well aware that if there are not enough nurses now, what will happen in the next 10 - 20 years? As the clock ticks, only a small percentage of the nursing students who graduated with me in December 2009 will have a position. Those of us who don't find jobs will lose the skills we acquired in school. At one hospital in particular, I was told that a position would possibly open in September 2010. That would be nine months after I graduated from my last clinical rotation. I have tried to gain employment in home care, nursing homes, outpatient facilities, doctor's offices, and any other place a nurse would be hirable. For every position I've applied for, the recruiter says the same thing, "We cannot hire new grads." Forty nurses from my graduating class are at a loss for ideas. Some have moved to other states, only to find the same exact situation.
I urge you to please consider a New York State funded program for new graduates. Ask anyone of us to take a pay cut just to have an opportunity to work and learn, and we would gladly oblige. Some of us may only have an Associate's degree in nursing. However, we've received same education that B.S.N. graduates enjoy, but at an accelerated pace. The hospitals are denying us jobs because they say that they cannot afford to further finance our education. Does this mean that being accepted into one of the most difficult and demanding nursing programs in the country and graduating magna cum laude was all in vain? I certainly hope not.
My newly-licensed colleagues and I are the future face of healthcare. But without jobs and training, our skills will go unused. This would be truly shameful, not only for my nursing sisters and brothers, but for the future retiree generation that will someday include you and my parents.
Hi everyone...I've been reading this thread. Great job of the letter Sunshine RN!
I have a really dumb question - I just accepted to NCC and I know when I am done I have to take the NCLEX. When I decide to continue my education and achieve my Bachelors degree is there another state test I have to take?
No, there is no additional test. You will be a licensed RN when you pass the NCLEX-RN after graduating from NCC, no matter the degree. Getting you Bachelor's is a good choice to increase your employability, broaden your education beyond nursing and to prepare you for graduate school if/when you decide to take that route. Good luck with your nursing program!
So if everyone regardless of ASN or BSN takes the same test I don't understand why the ASN student would have such a hard time finding a job and BSN is preferred. If the position is for Registered Nurse then it shouldn't make a difference
No, it shouldn't make a difference. It makes no sense whatsoever. A licensed RN is a licensed RN...period. The two year program I went to is consistently ranked as having one of the top few NCLEX pass rates in the state--well above the BS programs in our area. Simply put, these 2 year programs grads are coming out better prepared to practice clinical nursing, yet we can't find jobs.
Many of our local area hospitals claim that they are only hiring RNs with Bachelor's degrees in order to increase their chances of getting Magnet status, but the small, community Magnet hospital 2 miles from my house hires ADNs and always has. If the larger hospitals that haven't been able to achieve it believe that only hiring BSNs will miraculously grant them Magnet status, they're completely missing the point of what Magnet is all about.
I know nursing administrators who are ripping their hair out; they are being forced to pass up great nurses, because they "only" have their ADNs. Compounding their frustration is that they cannot hire somebody like me, who has a BS in another field, a great professional background, and an ADN. I spoke to a recruiter at a large, prestigious hospital in our area who even told me that she can't hire Associate's educated nurses with 20 years of experience because of the cookie cutter approach they're force to take when hiring. I could go on until I'm blue in the face.
What?! No! If you pass the licensing exam, you are a licensed RN. Nobody is taking away your license unless you have it revoked for malpractice, negligence, etc. You have to renew your registration every few years. The answer to your question about the hospitals not seeing what we see is very simple. The hospitals are businesses, and marketing is extremely important. Hospitals want to be able to say that their nurses all have their BSN, because it sounds better to John Q. Public, the prospective patient. Also, Magnet is a marketing tool; if the hospitals believes their chances of getting Magnet status are significantly increased by only hiring BSNs, they'll do what they have to be able to call themselves a Magnet hospital. Don't get me wrong, as you can see by my earlier posts, I'm a huge proponent of CE and higher education, but it's silly to use a BSN shaped cookie cutter when hiring, because you're passing up outstanding licensed RNs who don't fit the mold.
Maybe certain hospitals that want to make the switch to all-BSN educated nurses are allowing their currently employed ADN-educated RNs 10 years to earn their Bachelor's? Could be. Or maybe another state has instituted a rule that RNs have to have their Bachelor's and are giving them 10 years? Not sure. I know NY has been discussing requiring a BSN for years, but no change has been instituted.
If you graduated in 2010 you are required by NYS to gain your BSN within 10 years. Before that we do not have to get it however we are being FORCED BY the hospitals obviously! Going on 5 months now without a job!
SunshineRN79
150 Posts
well at least you have a BSN!!! ugh its all so frustrating!! :flamesonb