Surplus of Nurses - should I think twice?

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According to this article it is expected to be a surplus of 340,000 nurses in US by 2025. Should I think twice before going to nursing school? I would appreciate any input of this.

Goodbye shortage: Feds now predicting a 34

According to this article it is expected to be a surplus of 340,000 nurses in US by 2025. Should I think twice before going to nursing school? I would appreciate any input of this.

Goodbye shortage: Feds now predicting a 34,-nurse surplus by 225 | Healthcare Traveler

My dear one of the best tools you can obtain from a good nursing education (or most post high school for that matter) is the ability to research and acquire critical thinking skills. As such it pays not only to read one study or article, but look at their research and also those who have and issued a critical review.

For what it is worth here is a start: 1

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Thank you for the article! It is very helpful.

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Five years ago they predicted a SHORTAGE of nurses in the same time frame.

Pursue what you love. None of us is qualified to make job availability forecasts - and neither is the press. A lot can change in nine years.

This is my second career and the best move I ever made. I don't want to do anything else. Do more investigating and decide for yourself.

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Specializes in NICU.

If the current rate of obesity in this country continues in its current trajectory there will be a shortage of nurses to deal with the medical conditions associated with obesity.

A View of the U.S. Obesity Epidemic | NIH Director's Blog

Adult Obesity Prevalence Maps

| Overweight & Obesity | CDC

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Add to that the fact that the population is NOT getting younger - we're getting older, with fewer of us having fewer children leaving fewer people to "replace" others, if you get what I mean.

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Specializes in PCCN.
Add to that the fact that the population is NOT getting younger - we're getting older, with fewer of us having fewer children leaving fewer people to "replace" others, if you get what I mean.

Yes, this may be true, but all I see is that the "companies" are not planning to replace the loss in nurses thru attrition/changing jobs, etc.

They just keep raising the ratios, and telling us "welp, thats the new staffing pattern. You don't like it, dont let the door hit you..... "

Which means there will be no shortage of nurses, and the pts aforementioned in the obesity article which just get less care.

Sucks to live in this era.

Oh well.

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Specializes in Pediatrics, Emergency, Trauma.
Great advice from llg, especially since OP would be pushing 50 by the time that NP goal was realized... not much time to realize a return on such a significant investment. Also - in my part the country, there aren't any NPs who practice exclusively in LTC. Is this a new model of care that's developing?

In my area, there are NPs that work in LTC and round, as well as employees for Medicare insurance companies that round and update plans of care; they are the first to be called with a change in condition as well.

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I turned to nursing at your age and it turned out to be the biggest mistake of my life. Now I am in that decade that you talk about and I couldn't retire if I needed to. How many people go into nursing to spend most of their time being unemployed? If you were in your 20's I would say to go for it if it is what you want to do. In your 40's, think three times as previously advised.

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Don't put yourself in the "lower levels" of education, experience, and credentials and you should be OK. People will still need nurses -- just maybe not in the same ways or jobs as they need them now. Be prepared.

What are the lower levels of experience and credentials?

To the underlined,I think most new nurses should be prepared to work in LTC facilities or home health.

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Specializes in ICU.

That is not necessarily true, Smartnurse. Many employers are letting their more experienced nurses go, in favor of inexperienced new grads simply because they can pay them less. Been happening around here, anyway.

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Specializes in Infection Control, Med/Surg, LTC.

I can tell you that nursing at 60 ain't easy! Bad knees, arthritis, and 12 hr + shifts don't mix.

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Specializes in Nursing Professional Development.
What are the lower levels of experience and credentials?

To the underlined,I think most new nurses should be prepared to work in LTC facilities or home health.

What I meant by the comment you quoted in your post was that there will almost always be competition for the most popular jobs -- and the people with the best credentials (education and experience) will be the most likely to get those jobs. People with the bare minimum of education -- no relevant experience -- and graduates of schools that are not respected will have the least likely to be chosen for the most popular jobs. People with more than the minimum amount of education, relevant experience, and graduates of highly-respected programs will have better chances of getting the most desired jobs.

It's up to each person to prepare themselves to be marketable, regardless of the economic conditions that may arise in the future.

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