How are Schools getting away with pumping out so many new graduates for no jobs?

Nurses Job Hunt

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Question: How are Schools getting away with pumping out so many new graduates for no jobs?

Thoughts: My first thought on this is that there is a lack of education or better yet lack of information discovered by students prior to taking the plunge. Then couple this with all of the public announcements in the media about a "Nursing Shortage"...Next thing you know, everybody wants to get into nursing.

I think that if someone wants to learn the field of nursing, then they should by all means DO IT! Nothing should stop your dreams. What I don't agree with is all of the media exaggeration in regards to a nursing shortage. Dont get me wrong. In locations where there is a nursing shortage it should be stated and addressed. Nursing schools should not be taking advantage of students be perpetuating the lie. Some of the costs to go to accelerated BSN programs is ridiculous...you might as well go to med school at those prices! I think that there should be a law that says that the schools will only be allowed a certain number of students based on the guarantee of a certain amount of new graduate jobs per year for the areas. Also, schools and hospitals should be required to provide residency type jobs after graduation at lower wages. Another option could be for the nursing schools to create an entrepreneurial track for students to have more options.

Nurses are not Doctors, but if doctors had to face this challenge after graduation, do you think that they would risk wasting their money on a slim chance that they would get a job?

-Zenally

Specializes in School health, Maternal-Newborn.

Nursing in recent years has attracted adults as opposed to 22 year olds. That can make moving complicated. What if your spouse owns a business? That was what kept me near my college town...leaving would have ended the relationship. when you have kids it can be tough to leave, or kids and an ex spouse, kids need the other parent and sometimes you are obliged to stay nearby so you don't make visitation an undue hardship.

Some people are very mobile, others are not and it's not a matter of being short sighted.

Specializes in School health, Maternal-Newborn.

Adding too...maybe the ANA should take a harder stand on accrediting colleges of nursing. Try and even out the boom/bust cycle and pay closer attention to state licensure data as well as job forcasts.

I understand that many folks going into nursing are tied to a particular area for family reasons -- however, I think that has to be considered when considering a career in nursing, and when criticizing schools for continuing to offer nursing programs when the employment market for nurses in a particular area is saturated. It's not the fault or responsibility of the schools if their nursing graduates can't/won't relocate to get a job. The graduates from other departments of the school are not expecting to be able to get a job in the town they went to school in, and you have to think about how realistic an expectation that is.

Also, the ANA has nothing to do with accrediting nursing programs. They are accredited by the NLNAC or CCNE, but, even then, accreditation is voluntary -- there is no state in the US that requires a program to have NLNAC/CCNE accreditation in order to operate. Nursing programs are approved by the state BONs, and, in the five states in which I've practiced over my career (I can't speak for the other 45, although I expect it's the same there), programs have to get approval from the BON not just to open and operate, but also to increase the number of students they are allowed to enroll. However, there is a lot of pressure from state legislatures on the BONs to increase enrollment in nursing programs, and BONs often run into problems if they attempt to tighten the requirements/standards and have little or no ability to refuse to approve a program just because there are already plenty of nursing programs in the state.

I dearly wish that TPTB in nursing were able to do as good a job of looking after the interests of current US RNs as TPTB in medicine do of looking out for the interests of US physicians. But I can't imagine we will ever have that kind of clout or status.

Specializes in OR, Nursing Professional Development.

Why does it seem no one takes responsibility for their own choices anymore? "I went to school to be a nurse, now the school should find me my dream job where I want to live." No. People need to take responsibility, research their potential job field, research schools, and then make an informed decision. The entitlement attitude has got to go.

Sure, schools may offer aids to finding a job, such as job fairs, resume critiques, and interviewing skills seminars, but they should not be required to help their students find a job. So much more is involved in making the decision on whether to hire someone or not besides education. People need to step up to the plate instead of relying on someone else to do everything.

Specializes in Clinical Research, Outpt Women's Health.

I still think there is a ton of misinformation out there about job opportunities in the field and that it is propaganda from those that profit including some schools and administrators who can now lower wages......

Personal responsibility is one thing, but I still see articles all the time that state it is practically guaranteed life long employment with tons of opportunities and great pay and that belabor how dire the nursing shortage currently is and will be in the future. Even experienced nurses often seemed shocked at the difficulty finding a job.

The government moves slowly; they are constantly well behind the cutting edge. For example, many segments are still reporting a nursing shortage. They would be (are?) trying to increase the numbers now. And that is just on a report/recommendation level, which is much, much quicker and easier to change than a law.

Y'know, there are more situations than just the people who want to stay in their current area after they graduate. There are also people who want to stay only long enough to graduate. My sister graduated from a state school near where her husband was in seminary. They knew there was virtually no chance that they would stay in that area after they graduated (and they didn't, they went to a rural area with a very severe nursing shortage and a very long commute to the nearest nursing school). It would have been sad if she had been unable to go when and where she did just because there were too many nurses in that area.

Specializes in ER, Med-surg.

There are schools that get rid of programs when their students can't find employment afterwards. A technical school in my area got rid of many programs because they found that their graduates were no longer getting hired in these areas. I think community college and technical schools do have a duty to provide training for jobs that are in demand in those areas. They have a duty to their community. I think, for the most part, community college and technical schools try to offer majors that are in demand in their community, but it is the student's job to do their own research.

Specializes in nursing education.

This would be easier to understand if all the nursing students were paying their own hard-earned money to attend nursing school, but that isn't the case. Why people are still getting loans and grants is beyond me.

Everyone has the right in our country to pursue happiness- so if that means becoming educated as a nurse because that was their life long dream, helping people is their passion, or they feel that they will be more financially stable as a nurse, that is their choice as it was yours, before and after you made that choice. It is also their responsibility to find a job for themselves afterwards. I was educated in CT and I had to move to FL where there is a severe nursing shortage in order to have a job, and I am glad I did. There are many people from many walks of life that have much to offer their future patients. These people are excitedly preparing to enter nursing school, or about to finish school, and some of them may be smarter, more compassionate, more passionate about nursing, and make better nurses than the ones educated before them. It is their right to out-compete you if necessary if that is what you are so worried about.

[h=1]“Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great.” -Mark Twain[/h]

Specializes in Med/Surg, Oncology, Epic CT.

Good point of view, but...here is my opinion:

The media will always be the media. They tend to exaggerate about a lot of things. However, there is always a need for nurses, especially with the baby boomers starting to age (gracefully, of course:D). As with any job, you have to hunt for it. Which brings me to my next point...

As someone stated earlier, 'schools provide education' and support for the student to help them try and find a job...but they do not guarantee one. Most students who are headed off to nursing school are competent, responsible adults, it is their responsibility to understand what they are getting into...

If you ask the right questions and do all the required reading, a prospective student will be more than aware of the pros and cons of going to nursing school.

I should know, because I am example of one.

As a final thought: I think we are all capable of deciphering truth from... exaggerated details. Whether it be information we see in the news or the fluffed data(advertisements) we get from schools.

There ARE jobs out there in some parts of the country. I had a job offer two weeks after I started my search. It wasn't exactly my dream job, but it pays well and I'm learning every day. What more can you ask for?

The newly licensed nurse might not be able to waltz directly into the maternity ward. He or she might even have to consider re-locating. But if someone really wants to be a nurse, there's a way to make it happen. The days of huge sign on bonuses and 24 for 40 might be over, but there are jobs to be had.

PS to hey_suz: I paid for my education out of my own pocket - every penny of it. They don't give grants to people who already have a degree.

Specializes in Med Surg.

Schools exist to make money. If people are willing to hand over their tuition dollars, the school will take it. It's up to the individual to research the job market where they want to work. I don't feel bad for someone who didn't do basic research and is now paying the price.

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