Nursing Shortage Expiration A Myth!

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I was trying to find out about a few things that I heard regarding the nursing shortage ending back in 2009. I heard today that the nursing shortage only depends on the area. In some areas, there is indeed a shortage; in other areas, there is a glut of new grads. How true is this and what are these areas? Thank you for any response, even if you just wanted to tell me that what I heard is good info.

Specializes in Critical Care, ED, Cath lab, CTPAC,Trauma.
Maine

[TABLE]

[TR]

[TH=align: left]City and Area[/TH]

[TH=align: right]Median Salary[/TH]

[TH=align: right]Employees[/TH]

[TH=align: right]Job Density[/TH]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]Bangor[/TD]

[TD=align: right]$69,000[/TD]

[TD=align: right]1,930[/TD]

[TD=align: right]+72%[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]Lewiston[/TD]

[TD=align: right]$61,000[/TD]

[TD=align: right]1,580[/TD]

[TD=align: right]+75%[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]Portland

[/TD]

[TD=align: right]$60,000[/TD]

[TD=align: right]4,800

[/TD]

[TD=align: right]+21%

[/TD]

[/TR]

[/TABLE]

Maryland

[TABLE]

[TR]

[TH=align: left]City and Area[/TH]

[TH=align: right]Median Salary[/TH]

[TH=align: right]Employees[/TH]

[TH=align: right]Job Density[/TH]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]Baltimore[/TD]

[TD=align: right]$78,000[/TD]

[TD=align: right]30,670[/TD]

[TD=align: right]+14%[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]Bethesda[/TD]

[TD=align: right]$79,000[/TD]

[TD=align: right]9,040[/TD]

[TD=align: right]-23%[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]Cumberland[/TD]

[TD=align: right]$58,000[/TD]

[TD=align: right]1,350[/TD]

[TD=align: right]+111%[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]Hagerstown[/TD]

[TD=align: right]$66,000[/TD]

[TD=align: right]2,050[/TD]

[TD=align: right]+11%[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]Salisbury[/TD]

[TD=align: right]$64,000[/TD]

[TD=align: right]1,400[/TD]

[TD=align: right]+45%[/TD]

[/TR]

[/TABLE]

Massachusetts

[TABLE]

[TR]

[TH=align: left]City and Area[/TH]

[TH=align: right]Median Salary[/TH]

[TH=align: right]Employees[/TH]

[TH=align: right]Job Density[/TH]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]Barnstable Town[/TD]

[TD=align: right]$75,000[/TD]

[TD=align: right]2,580[/TD]

[TD=align: right]+36%[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]Boston[/TD]

[TD=align: right]$93,000[/TD]

[TD=align: right]48,240[/TD]

[TD=align: right]+35%[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]Brockton[/TD]

[TD=align: right]$79,000[/TD]

[TD=align: right]2,320[/TD]

[TD=align: right]+36%[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]Framingham[/TD]

[TD=align: right]$76,000[/TD]

[TD=align: right]2,990[/TD]

[TD=align: right]-7%[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]Haverhill[/TD]

[TD=align: right]$67,000[/TD]

[TD=align: right]1,580[/TD]

[TD=align: right]+3%[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]Lawrence[/TD]

[TD=align: right]$79,000[/TD]

[TD=align: right]1,920[/TD]

[TD=align: right]+76%[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]Leominster[/TD]

[TD=align: right]$79,000[/TD]

[TD=align: right]1,300[/TD]

[TD=align: right]+47%[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]Lowell[/TD]

[TD=align: right]$71,000[/TD]

[TD=align: right]2,360[/TD]

[TD=align: right]+2%[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]New Bedford[/TD]

[TD=align: right]$73,000[/TD]

[TD=align: right]1,560[/TD]

[TD=align: right]+31%[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]Peabody[/TD]

[TD=align: right]$68,000[/TD]

[TD=align: right]2,320[/TD]

[TD=align: right]+19%[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]Springfield[/TD]

[TD=align: right]$71,000[/TD]

[TD=align: right]6,610[/TD]

[TD=align: right]+10%[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]Taunton[/TD]

[TD=align: right]$78,000[/TD]

[TD=align: right]760[/TD]

[TD=align: right]-4%[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]Worcester[/TD]

[TD=align: right]$83,000[/TD]

[TD=align: right]7,510[/TD]

[TD=align: right]+49%[/TD]

[/TR]

[/TABLE]

look up your state.....Nurses Schools, Salaries, and Job Data

While I believe the market will loosen up a bit...it will never be what it was.

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Specializes in ICU.
I don't have a crystal ball, and the results of the ACA have yet to be seen. However, there are a lot of nurses in their 50s and 60s who will have to retire eventually.

My best guess is 'not anytime soon'.

You mean there are a lot of nurses in their 50's and 60's who will be thrown under the bus so their employer doesn't have to pay their high salaries and medical expenses.

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Specializes in Pediatrics, Emergency, Trauma.
I disagree. I read a ton of articles on job demand and jobs that are the easiest to get. 75% of the time nursing is usually on the top of that list; followed by IT, engineering, and teaching. So, if you think it's hard for a nurse to find a job, imagine what it is like for a teacher. [/quote']

I have an issue with the above; these articles do not always have an accurate picture of the job market.

Based on my experience; a nursing job is NOT "easy" to get; unless you have the right experience for a position; gone are the days in transitioning to another specialty; it takes time to build a career; and most of the times the delay to get a new job or even the first job can become a distant memory.

The problem with finding jobs for ANYONE seems to be the economy. I know engineering graduates who are having a tough time finding a job. They tell me that every company that they talk to wants someone who is EXPERIENCED. So, this fact seems to ring true for recent grads in any occupation.

Yes, every sector is having a hard time in terms of finding a job; HOWEVER don't fall into the trap that many people chose to do when the economy tank-think that nursing would be a path to choose, where the options and the flexibility would be in their favor- :no: the work and the business that we are in is a different animal; and it takes experience to get into-and right now there will be a preference for those who already have developed in the profession. BEFORE anyone else.

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Specializes in Primary Care, OR.
I disagree. I read a ton of articles on job demand and jobs that are the easiest to get. 75% of the time, nursing is usually on the top of that list; followed by IT, engineering, and teaching. So, if you think it's hard for a nurse to find a job, imagine what it is like for a teacher.

The problem with finding jobs for ANYONE seems to be the economy. I know engineering graduates who are having a tough time finding a job. They tell me that every company that they talk to wants someone who is EXPERIENCED. So, this fact seems to ring true for recent grads in any occupation.

I think everyone should stop reading all those phony Yahoo articles.

You do realize all those journalism majors have to write about something since everyone and their mother has a blog to report all the news! !

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If you're willing to go all the way to a master's degree, there are plenty of faculty positions everywhere!

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Specializes in ER.

In my area, the hospitals are able to hire part-time with ease. Each semester, my area pumps out 200 RNs and about 250 LPNs each semester. The summer semester is only about 40 RNs since only two or three programs have an RN program that will end in the summer. So there are hundreds of RNs attempting to get a spot in the hospitals and yes we have a lot of hospitals, but there comes a point when the market is too saturated. They also cut hourly wages recently because they could.

We were hit with the economic downturn so many people returned to school or even were paid to return to school as part of a retirement/lay off package.

It did make me sad at how many peopled whined about the hospital system only hiring 25 people for their residency program. They had been taking 50 but they run it about 4 or 5 times a year so that would be 200 RNs each year assuming they didn't fire anyone. They couldn't sustain it with those numbers anymore.

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I think everyone should stop reading all those phony Yahoo articles.

You do realize all those journalism majors have to write about something since everyone and their mother has a blog to report all the news! !

LOL. Actually, I got those articles off of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Forbes, Bloomingdale. If everyone that is credible is saying the same thing, then--bi-god--it must be true. The only point that I was trying to make was that nursing is not the only profession that is struggling. But, compared to other professions, nursing struggling the least.

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Specializes in Primary Care, OR.
LOL. Actually, I got those articles off of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Forbes, Bloomingdale. If everyone that is credible is saying the same thing, then--bi-god--it must be true. The only point that I was trying to make was that nursing is not the only profession that is struggling. But, compared to other professions, nursing struggling the least.

I'd like to see those articles. Maybe you can provide a link.

Even with these credible articles I personally take everything with a grain of salt.

I do admire your gravitation towards research, IMHO the best way to gather research is to get in the trenches, interview nurses in your area and speak with hiring managers to find out what they are looking for.

You say "nursing is struggling the least". I don't see that comforting the tons of new grads and even experienced nurses that are currently unemployed/underemployed.

It seems the current "shortage" is for nurses with specific credentials.

My crystal ball says there will be some change in the winds as far as employment in the coming years. With the ACA and all their business we're all guessing there will be more opportunities in home health and outpatient. But I highly doubt new grads would qualify for such positions due to lack of experience and the large amount of autonomy required for the job. I guess that creates another problem.

So hopefully everyone isn't rushing to the nearest college admissions office with their nursing school application waving around!:eek:

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Specializes in geriatrics.

There is a nursing shortage everywhere. We're all working short, working overtime, missing breaks....some facilities are managed better than others. HOWEVER, due to budget constraints, few places are hiring nurses, and it's been this way for 7 years.

Yes, more nurses are needed. No, facilities are not hiring in general. Emergency, ICU, OR, mental health, palliative care, community, and teaching roles will continue to be in demand. Many of these areas require additional training and a few years of experience.

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Specializes in geriatrics.

Just to give you an idea:

In my Province right now, there are roughly 500 nursing positions. Most of them are casual, temp and part time. Positions are posted and then cancelled every month.

Keep in mind also, that over the last 2 years, roughly 1000 nurses have been laid off across the Province or had their hours cut. New grads unfortunately are not getting hired. Maybe there are 40 new grad positions in the entire Province. The only areas desperate are rural and remote. This trend is sadly apparent across Canada, the US and Australia. Regarding the "nursing shortage", you've got to read between the lines and really assess the true situation.

As for retirees? Many of those positions are not being filled. Instead, existing staff works short.

Jobs? Yes there are, but that means moving for the job and/ or accepting whatever you can get. It's an employers market and they all know this.

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Specializes in psych.

As I posted earlier, in my state, new grads are not having a problem getting a job. 37 graduated in December from my 2 year ASN university program here in the capitol. At the pinning ceremony, the graduates were asked what they were going to do after graduation. Most were able to say they had already accepted a job. The remaining had jobs before the end of the month. Some of us that are going to graduate in May have already started applying for jobs based on teacher, nurse, and previous graduates recommendations. I've already got 1 job offer contingent on graduating and so do several others.

In my university program, most of the instructors and all the clinical instructors also work either full time or part time in the hospitals. When I did my peds rotation last November/December, all 4 instructors also worked full time at children's. They all told us children's is actively hiring. I've got a friend that did 4 years as a travel nurse there saying the same. Several of the new grads got hired on. I can't imagine why new grad hires, instructors that work there and friends that work there would say children's is hiring if they are not.

Same for my instructors in the other 3 hospitals I've been at. My instructors that work at those hospitals are saying the same as the nurses we were paired with. They are all actively hiring. St Vincent hires so many new grads they offer a nursing residency program. They also offer $5000 tuition reimbursement program to continue past diploma/ASN degree. The nurse I was paired with this week was a newish nurse that is using this option to continue with school while she works. Since St Vincent is a Magnet hospital, they are encouraging everyone to get a BSN.

Baptist hospital is another nursing program here. It has its own diploma program. They admit around 30 a year. I've got several friends that graduated from there either last year or within 6 years. They guarantee to hire their graduates. Some stayed, while one got hired at children's and one at heart hospital and another got hired as a school nurse. And that's as a new grad with a diploma program. And of the 100+ jobs being advertised between the main hospital and the smaller baptist hospital north if the river, about half say experience if 12 months or more, while the other half specifically say its for new graduates with no experience. Same goes for the jobs advertised at St Vincent main and the smaller one north of the river plus the other hospitals.

I can see why some nurses might have a hard time getting a job. But I've noticed that the nurses saying they can't find jobs seem to live in a high density area like California or Pennsylvania/New York. I think most people forget that the majority of this country is not a high density area like Cali or East Coast. It might require you moving to someplace like Arkansas, Oklahoma or one of the many other rural type states.

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What programs are in that area? I would love to get more info.

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