Nursing layoffs or difficulty getting jobs? 2011 wages?

U.S.A. Florida

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I am beginning to hear rumors of nurses being laid off in Florida and/or nurses having difficulty getting jobs. I am in the process of changing careers from my current one to go back to school for nursing. My current profession has a complete saturation of the job market and virtually no available jobs. I don't want to jump from one sinking ship to another. Anyone know what the employment market is like? Do the nurses out there have jobs? I would be going for a BSN at UCF, through their Accelerated program, and then sitting for the RN shortly thereafter. The UCF advisors tell me that all their graduates have jobs lined up before graduating. What is average starting salary for Central FL RN's with a BSN? Do the salaries go up over time or stay the same as when you start?

"The UCF advisors tell me that all their graduates have jobs lined up before graduating"

Schools like hospital's are a business... getting you fully in the program is job security for the recruiter's and instructors..

Please read this forum and other's out there as this is a really bad time to go into nursing. If your heart is not in taking care of sick people, doing all the things that they need, Everything they need, for little pay and lot's of responsibility, don't do it....

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I have been having a terrible time finding RN work anywhere. I have 10 years of experience and am finding that the job market is so over saturated that most jobs are either part-time , per-diem and dont even last more than a few months anyway. Benefits are really hard to find. New grads dont have jobs, but have student loans to pay. Even getting an interview is tough. I have had so many short term jobs, that my experience is discounted and I am called a "job-hopper." It couldnt be further from the truth. It just doesnt seem that any healthcare job provides any kind of job stability anymore. I would advise anyone thinking about nursing school to think long and hard before taking out those loans. I am in a terrible predicament because I still cant pay mine back, even after all these years. This field has been an overall disappointment.

LET ME TELL YOU, IT'S ALL ABOUT MONEY. IN PLANT CITY FL, DOCTORS HIRE OFF THE STREET FOR VERY LOW PAY, TEACH THEM TO GIVE SHOTS ( AND NOT THE CONSEQUENCES THEREAFTER), AND TAKE VITALS, PUT THEM INTO SCRUBS AND VOILA, U HAVE NURSES.

AT LEAST THAT IS WHAT THE PUBLIC CALLS THEM EACH TIME THEY VIVSIT THE MD OFFICE. I MADE A COMPLAINT TO THE NURSING BOARD AND THE OFFICE INVOLVED ABOUT THIS, TO NO AVAIL.

AND EMPLOYERS TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE FACT THAT IF U WANT A JOB, U'LL TAKE WHAT THEY GIVE U. THERE IS ALWAYS SOMEONE WAITING IN LINE IF U REFUSE. I HAVE 17 YEARS EXPERIENCE IN A LOT OF DIFFERENT SETTINGS, ER, ICU, ACLS, TELEM, NURSING HOMES, AND I AM FAST APPROACHING THE SAME MONEY I WAS MAKING WHEN I GRADUATED. WHAT'S WRONG WITH THAT PIC?

THERE IS ZERO UNITY IN THIS FIELD HENCE RESULTING IN IT BEING JUST BLUE COLLAR A JOB, AND NOT A PROFESSION. THE SOONER EVERYONE REILIZES THIS, THE SOONER IT MAY BE SAVED.

MDS DON'T CARE, AS LONG AS THEY MAKE THEIR MILLIONS ON OUR BACKS, THEY'LL CONTINUE TO OPERATE AS THEY ARE. SHOULD THEY HAVE TO GET DOWN AND DIRTY AND MAKE HOUSE CALLS ETC,, AND BE LIABLE FOR HIRING NON LICENSED INDIVIDUALS, AND I REALLY DON'T SEE THAT HAPPENING, DO U? I WONDER WHAT COLOR PIC WOULD DEVELOP THEN...

IF WE DON'T STAND TOGETHER AS ONE PROFESSION, WE ARE SCREWED. THE SYSTEM NEEDS US!

BUT WE NEED TO BE UNITED.

MONEY IS NOT WHY I GOT INTO NURSING AND RELATED FIELDS... BUT U KNOW WHAT? TELL THAT TO THE BIGGEST PONZE SCHEME EVER DEVICED BY MAN, THE BANKING SYSTEM. MY HOUSE PAYMENTS STILL NEED TO BE MADE, AND I CAN NOT CONTINUE TO TAKE IT IN THE CABUSE. I DON'T KNOW ABOUT ANYONE ELSE, BUT I CAN'T.

WE R THE LICENSED PROS, WE MUST BE THE ONES TO SET THE PRICE AND NOT THE EMPLOYERS. DOCTORS DO IT, BIG PHARMA DOES IT, PLUMBERS DO IT... BUT NOT NURSES.

HELL... MASSAGE THERAPISTS, SIX MONTHS WORTH OF SCHOOLING, CAN HANG THEIR SHINGLES AND CHARGE INSURANCES, SET THEIR PRICE FOR THEIR SERVICES, AND MAKE MORE MONEY THAN NURSES, CAN NURSES? NO!

I HAVE YET TO SEE NURSES WORK ONLY 9 TO 5, AND NO WEEKENDS AND HOLIDAYS AND WHAT ABOUT NIGHT SHIFTS? NO PT'S, OT'S, ETC WORK WEEKENDS, HOLIDAYS AND **** SHIFTS, BUT NURSES DO.

AND UNLESS U BECOME ARNP TO HANG THE SHINGLE. U STILL GOT TO LIVE WHILE GETTING THERE. AND ONCE ALL NURSES ARE ARNPS... THEN WHAT?

I ONCE TOLD A DOCTOR, FRIEND OF MINE, THAT I SAW BIG FARMA AS CRACK HOUSES, DOCTORS AS THE DEALERS OF DRUGS, AND NURSES THE PUSHERS. AND DAMN IT, I WANT MY CUT ALSO OR HE CAN PUSH HIS OWN DRUGS. HE THAUGHT THAT WAS AN INTERESTING ANALOGY. I REPLIED THAT IT IS FACT! HE CHOCKLED. SO, NOW I WORK IN HOME HEALTH AND REFUSE TO PUSH DRUGS. I TEACH MY PTs ABOUT MAN MADE DRUGS VS NATURAL ALTERNATIVES, AND LET THEM MAKE THE DECISIONS. SOME DOCTORS DO NOT LIKE THAT, HMMMM... I WONDER WHY.

I AM SIMPLY DOING MY JOB. I TEACH PATIENTS. AND THAT IS PART MY JOB AS A NURSE.

THERE, I'VE SAID MY PEACE. THANK YOU

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Well in putting my 2 cents in it...Im from Chicago originally. I moved to Fort Myers 8 years ago and have worked for the health system Im in for that long as a CNA. I got my RN, and stayed where I am...lets just say no one is getting a raise this year. We have a "wage freeze" going on as well as benefits going up for some. Believe, me, outta the area is sounding great right about now!

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I am an RN with over 5 plus years experience with that being critical care. I have not been able to find a decent job in three years. The jobs that are out there require you to work for only 18 an hour...are these people for real? Better yet, no benefits. I may live in Florida but this is down right absurd. I started out at 27 an hour in my first year...at a Florida hospital, so when I hear recruiters say "oh, that is how much the salary is here in Fl", it is a real slap in the face.

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Who said there was a nursing shortage? Get real.... if there was a shortage you would be valued more....i'ts been bad for a long time and you won't see it any better...

As long as Nurse's continue to work for pitiful wages it will continue. They need to close at least 50% of the schools and quit recruiting to this field.. it is so overloaded with out of work Nurse's and Nurse's that work because they love slave labor..

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To all those who commented and implied that I was changing careers just for the money...you are all wrong.

Originally, when getting my first Bachelor degree, I was pre-med. I wanted to 'take care of sick people' and work in the medical field. Then, I got a Master's degree, specifically in a field designed to help people--psychology. Then, I lost my way for a while. Now, that fate is forcing a career change on me, I am going back to my roots, so to speak. I can't go to medical school, because I am already servicing over $100K in student loan debt and would never be able to afford it. But, that doesn't mean that I gave up on working in the medical field.

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I gave kudos to all for the answers! This is what I was wanting to see, as painful as it is, the real scoop in the area. Well, I will continue on with my studies as I am not in debt at all (house pd for, car pd for, school pd for, no cc debt) but at least I know it will be a snail's pace and I will not be upset when the phone does not ring, etc! Guess I'll be a licensed volunteer until things get better???!!! I tell myself: at least we are in a land of peace no war no famine, etc. And there are still things to be thankful for.

BUT - to all you younger ones: a word of caution: STAY OUT OF DEBT as far as is possible. Do not succumb to anmy temptations. This slow down will not go away any time soon!!! I say that just 'cause "been there done that"!!

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More debt is not a reason to stay out of medical. Hospitals still offer loan repayments to MD (And I mean big loan repayment). If your lucky they might give you 2k as an RN for a 2 year commitment (which you only qualify for if you were there a year so = 3 years total)

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I am a new grad. Graduated in September and took my boards in early early October. I'm from SC and nurses are a dime a dozen... there is no demand for them here, especially in my area. They want nurses with more than a year and I have even seen two-five years of experience. Hospitals are having a blast picking who they want and its not new grads. I'm sure they put my resume and app right to the side when they get see it, because I'm a new grad. I have applied to 40 jobs, so far, and not one interview. I would definitely move somewhere that really needed nurses, if those places still existed somewhere. Problem is, I'm a single mom of a 5yo son. I'm considering going back to bakeries to do cake decorating while I look for a RN job, just to have some cash flow. Those student loans will want that money soon. Its a sad case, and I loved clinicals and practicum. I'm just going to have to keep trying to get in somewhere.

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I graduated Aug 2010 in an ADN program. I am a career changer and my "current" pay was considerably higher than nursing, so I took my time making the transition. I passed boards Feb 7 (first try) in 2011. By April my IT job was over and by June I had a LTC position in NE FL that was he//-on-wheels. I did first try to look in SC (where my hubby is stationed), but all I got was crickets. I believe it is because I didn't have my SC endorsement yet.

By 60 days in the LTC, I decided to hit the pavement. Quit that job and moved to SC (Charleston area). Sent out resumes. Within days I had 3 interviews - 1 LTC, 1 DOC-prn, 1 Med/surg. Of those, I was offered the LTC and Med/surg. I took the latter. ALL the recently hired nurses in my hospital are NGs! We have a 1:4 or 1:5 ratio on the floor! The nurses there are great to work with....I have yet to meet a hostile MD....patients are happy with our "customer service" because we have TIME to work with them with those low ratios and this is a for-profit facility!!!! :D

You CAN get a job. You CAN do this if you want. :nurse:

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Thank you for giving me some hope. I have continued to put in more and more applications since my last post. I'm really hoping I get called soon.

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Where in SC are you? Are you looking for FL or SC? I know my hospital in SC is still hiring NGs.

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