No jobs or nursing shortage-- Nursing isn't in demand!

NAURN · Feb 10, 2011

Lots of nurses in demand in our area as well.

dance4life · Jun 1, 2011

OK I've read all the replies up until now and have to chime in. I am an LPN, been one since 2005. I am working toward my BSN (will graduate in 2013.) I don't know what the cost of living is in NYC, I suppose it is probably comparable to where I used to live in CA. You will have a chance to make an "honest living." I work double shifts (6a-10p) every weekend and have all week off.....time with the family, time for school work. I have done so for the last 3 years and will probably do so until I graduate. I make a little over $50K a year, own my own home, AND have 4 children. I am the main breadwinner in my home. (Hubby "retired" from bus driving (gave up an $80K/year job) so I could start my career. So, if you are willing to work the trenches and put in your time, you can do almost anything with a BSN. The moon and the stars.....things you can't do with an LPN. My pharmacology instructor is a FNP and she said she has never worked as a floor nurse. How she did that, I have no clue. But my point is, if you limit yourself to just one or two things you will miss the bigger opportunities that are really out there. LTC and hospital nursing are just drops in the bucket compared to what is out there. The opportunities are endless........if you are willing to look for them and put in your time as the new grad. If nursing is truly what you want to do, then you have to think outside the box and get creative. If they won't call you for a job, you call them. You do have a chance. If I did it, so can you!

Comments like these keep me going. :yeah: Someone else told me this too. She is a LPN and owns her own home care business, never set foot on the floor. It is amazing what nurses can do. Where I live there isn't much, but I keep trying. I am not a New Grad either and it is tough for everyone.

ChitownCna · Jul 31, 2011

It the career, or business you're considering has already become an infomercial - you're too late. That's been my credo, for quite some time. It doesn't comply completely to nursing as of yet, but it's getting very close, and the charlatans are just waiting to take your hard earned cash with empty promises, in order to sell you a dream. Having worked the last 3 years as a CNA, I've developed a passion for helping others. Already possessing a 2-year degree, it seemed a natural progression to go further in my studies for a nursing degree. However, given that I have a prior engineering/technical background, the variable admissions policies I see being adapted by nursing schools across the board locally, I find are completely unrealistic - especially if you already have a degree w/unrelated cummulative GPA being considered, which may also make you ineligible for aid, by virtue of the 150% rule. Based on my research, the vicious cycle that remains in place for aspiring nurses is as follows:

1. Everyone wants to be a nurse, over-saturation

2. Private schools are cashing in on the trend with expedited entry, but degree cost is impractical/unjustifiable to the fiscally responsible

3. Public schools have 2-3 year wait time.

4. Expected GPA levels are comparable to medical school requirement (3.5 +)

5. Even those with 4.0 GPA have been known to be turned away.

6. Upon graduation, jobs are scarce without experience.

7. Some graduates have been without work for 1-2 years, while student loans go unpaid.

8. Relocation in order to work, becomes a stark reality.

9. Although thousands of Filipino nurses came to this country for employment, in 2008 there was a cautionary advisory given that demand for nursing was declining.

With all this being said, and the 'hype' behind nursing being a secure choice, the only real beneficiaries of this trend are those who began the journey almost a decade ago.. in my opinion. I haven't even included the other hurdles faced by nurses even if they should find work - having to accept alternative jobs/lower pay, adapting to possible toxic work environments , etc.

In my view, those applicants being turned away with 4.0 GPA is a disgrace in itself - that ANY academic program would love to have them.There is not a program that exists in this country worthy of turning away students of such caliber. Such 'competitiveness' , in my estimation, is unwarranted for the discipline of nursing - it is far from the original intent, or design to be as such. If the government isn't stepping in to help the best and the brightest find their way into these programs, it's my contention a crisis truly does not exist - but rather it is an imagined, if not misconstrued reality. Not unlike the technology rush a decade ago (*degree in hand*), it is yet another bubble waiting to burst. Don't take my word, surely you can search out veteran opinion that is of greater detail as a predictor of the future. I simply trust my intuition above all else, that this is simply a trend/hype.

Yosemite, RN, ASN, EMT-I · Jul 31, 2011

ChitownCna, you are right... except it is getting hard to get a job even WITH experience in some areas, especially if you want full time!

Even Yahoo! hasn't been suggesting nursing as "hot" jobs in the last month or so, they've switched to "medical assistant."

ThePrincessBride, MSN, RN, NP · Jul 31, 2011

May a nursing student comment?

I see way too many unqualified, uneducated people entering or trying to enter the field of nursing. Some who are functionally illiterate, others who cannot do simple math. I consider myself of average intelligence, and I am amazed at some of the doing prerequisites.

Good thing that the prerequisites weeded out a bunch of people who were not meant to be nurses. Most of the unqualified people, from my perception, attend these for-profit University of Phoenix type Nursing schools. Most employers will be able to distinguish a good nursing program from one that is a crock of crap and will look for BSN/ADN students, not the diploma mill ones.

I hope that the economy improves and that the best and most deserving come out on top.

MKS8806 · Jul 31, 2011

I had a range of emotions when I read the OP. First, let me start with my background. I am a BSN grad in 2010. I am located in central US, where there is definitely a nursing shortage - there are PLENTY of jobs around this area, and I had no problem getting a job in OB, which is where my heart is.

Back to the OP.

I empathize for you and the others that are struggling to find jobs. It must be extremely frustrating. Have you looked at Doctors offices?? In my area, LPNs do not get hospital jobs. I'm not even sure if there are any LPNs currenlty employed at the hospital I work at. However, in the same respect, it is getting increasingly difficult for an RN to get a clinic job. The doctors offices have figured out that they can hire an LPN to do the same job for a lower wage. This is the trend I have seen in my area.

I was a little upset about your ranting about the nursing profession. I feel that your heart may not be in this job. Yes, its not always the most glamerous job, and there are definitely days when I say "ugh! Why am I doing this?!" But, as you stated, this is what I wanted to do my entire life. I love my job and wouldn't trade it for the world. At my hospital, we currenlty had 3 positions open last week; so there is certainly an element of stress. I was also a little bit upset about your take on BSN. Maybe I misinterpreted what you said, but I felt like you see it as a waste of time. Being a BSN grad, that was a little offensive. The reason I went for my BSN was because of the opportunity for career growth. My plan is to work the floor for the majority of my career, and maybe someday go into management.

I know it is easy to say "there are jobs out there. You're just not looking hard enough." And I know that there are shortages in some places and maybe not so much in others. I wish you luck and hope your attitude toward your career turns around.

pinkishlimegreen · Aug 2, 2011

Lol! You know what's funny? I just got hired as a cosmetology instructor ranking 4thousand full time/month 2tho part time/ month.. So I am just taking things as they come on this nursing voyage! Lol!! I'm finally saying THANK GOD FOR BEAUTY SCHOOL!! I still love nursing though both fields consist of taking care of another individual. one hair and the other holistic. The whole reason for me getting into nursing was to ensure work in this crazy economy. to be honest, no matter what field you work in, this economy really sucks! and i am so tired of hearing people say "you have to love what you do" ummmm it use to be a time where that made sense, but now days people have to do what is making money and that's just the way it is. even though i'd be the first to say that nursing is def not for someone who just cares about the money, however, i don't knock them for trying they'll get ruled out during schooling so with that being said i'm sure everyone who is a nurse these days are because they want to be and not just for the pay because this isn't an easy field of study!! I am so happy that I got hired and if i don't make it out of this program because it's so fast paced and accelerated, atleast i'll be making just about the same as i would be in nursing as LPN! as for the people who say '' rn's are more respected" i laugh, because it is not easy being an lpn and i can see that just by the study.. sometimes i feel as though i'm in med skool lol! obviously if a doctor's office feel they can cut cost by hiring a lpn instead of and rn shows that the 2 are more equal than they like to claim. if i could have went to skool to become a rn i would have but unfortunately life is life, and i had kids at an early age so i chose a quick fix that ended up coming in handy. i have only been a cosmotologist for 5 years worked on comission for 3 and owned my own business bringing $600 on a bad day for about 2 years, after i got a hang of the business where i knew i could jump in and prosper at anytime, i thought why not go back to school and see what else i can accomplish. i chose nursing because my grandad died as a diabetic and i could remember as young as 14 giving him insulin shots, checking his bs.. it was fun and came natural. he said one day that i'd become a nurse so uncontiously that's what i persued. people in this world can do anything if they put their mind to it, it's not a matter of who is better than who because we all know that if one can make it as a lpn they can make it as a rn it just depends on the circumstances in life. i like challanges so for me this is interesting!! but once again i am so glad for beauty skool =) but keep your head up because when it all bears down, it's up to god and if you believe and trust no matter how this economy, your friend's situation or who ever, you will be kept! just continue on there is no reason to stop now you've gone this far might as well keep going. you can never fail by over planning but under planning is another story ;-)

Merlyn · Aug 2, 2011

You have a lot of guts and I admire you for telling it like it is. Every rotation I was on was full of foreign nurses. You can barely understand their English Most were from Africa and Jamaica. New grads, from the USA, aren't #1 in line for hiring..that's for sure. I don't blame the foreigners either.

I doesn't take guts, Sweet soul. It takes having been in the Air Force where the lead was flying around and about. So far this hasn't happen in Nursing...Yet! What is the PC police going to do lock me up? When the one thing for which I went into Nursing "...To dedicate myself to those who are place within my charge.", (as the old oath says) is taken away from me, then it just becomes a job. So it's not guts. It's I don't care.

savvyrn2travel · Feb 7, 2012

I have worked as an RN for 15 years...ICU,CCU, CVCC, PCU, neuro ICU and some med surg...all with "just an ASN" When I was admitted to nursing school there was no shortage at all. There seemed to be limited spots and it took a competitive GPA. I graduated with High Honors. I did not want a BSN because I was sure I did NOT want to be in management/administration.

In 2010, I was working weekend option nights making $48/hr. We got a new unit manager who began looking at everyone's attendance history and other issues...especially the RNs making the most. I had a medical issue and had to take ShortTerm Disability and was not FMLA eligible (due to a surgery the previous year). I was terminated. Recently I became aware that returning to the job force as a nurse is difficult now BECAUSE I have 15 years and DO NOT have a BSN

Merlyn · Feb 8, 2012

I have worked as an RN for 15 years...ICU,CCU, CVCC, PCU, neuro ICU and some med surg...all with "just an ASN" When I was admitted to nursing school there was no shortage at all. There seemed to be limited spots and it took a competitive GPA. I graduated with High Honors. I did not want a BSN because I was sure I did NOT want to be in management/administration.
In 2010, I was working weekend option nights making $48/hr. We got a new unit manager who began looking at everyone's attendance history and other issues...especially the RNs making the most. I had a medical issue and had to take ShortTerm Disability and was not FMLA eligible (due to a surgery the previous year). I was terminated. Recently I became aware that returning to the job force as a nurse is difficult now BECAUSE I have 15 years and DO NOT have a BSN[/quote
Didn't you know that BSN piece of paper will help you assess the heart better as a well rounded nurse? Right now you are just a half rounded nurse.

dance4life · Feb 10, 2012

Didn't you know that BSN piece of paper will help you assess the heart better as a well rounded nurse? Right now you are just a half rounded nurse.

:rolleyes:

spartanurse117 · Dec 20, 2013

Hello,

I understand there is frustration in not being able to find a job in Mississippi. I left and moved to Texas to start a new one. Healthcare is undergoing some big changes as a result of OBAMACARE. It has caused a great deal of confusion as to the costs of care, reimbursements, labor costs , etc. It is a mess! Up until a few years ago nursing was very recession resistant but the healthcare law messed that up. Best advise me mobile, you may have to travel some distence to find a job...but do not give up