Nursing Shortage? Not Here!

NurseShelly · May 18, 2009

I'm sorry... I wish I could help you. I was practically laid off for almost two months myself; during which I applied to every contract state and prepared myseld to move wherever a job turned up. I know you aren't able to do that, but I'll say a prayer for your situation to turn around. I never thought that I would ever find myself without work, but when I did it was a struggle not to get depressed, and worry myself into an early grave over finances. Hopefully somebody on here will be able to offer some helpful info to soon. Good Luck!

dreavt, BSN, RN · May 18, 2009

Sorry, no message of hope, just commiseration -- I'm a new grad in Vermont, and there doesn't seem to be a nursing shortage here either -- a nursing JOB shortage, yes. The small (100ish beds) community hospital where I've worked as a secretary through school recently filled 4 new grad internship positions -- they had 40 applicants.

I hope things turn around soon!

Good luck,

Drea

diane227, LPN, RN · May 18, 2009

There was some article in the news this week about the areas that are needing nurses but I can recall the name of the article. I remember Austin Texas, San Antonio Texas, many states up north. You might want to do a search to see if you can find it.

texastaz · May 18, 2009

I remember Austin Texas, San Antonio Texas, many states up north. You might want to do a search to see if you can find it.

I live in San Antonio and there are jobs here - I don't know about Austin, I have heard that Houston there are many but mostly through Agency, PRN and Pool.

Roy Fokker, BSN, RN · May 18, 2009

Not too many jobs up in the North East the last time I checked...

- Roy

dollphyn · May 18, 2009

I live in San Antonio and there are jobs here - I don't know about Austin, I have heard that Houston there are many but mostly through Agency, PRN and Pool.

Also in Dallas, Texas, at least at the hospital I work for. I was a part of the June 2008 new grad preceptorship and we had at least 250 new grads. Don't know yet for this year, but do know they have been recruiting for this year's internships. (Jan, June, Aug/Sept)

rnffemtguy, BSN, RN · May 18, 2009

Not too many jobs up in the North East the last time I checked...
- Roy

I can commiserate that!!!!!!

TeeTee,RN · May 18, 2009

I am convinced that the whole "nursing shortage thingy" is a myth perpetuated by universities and nursing schools to boost enrollment.....and it worked!! Where I am from in Mississippi, there are waiting lists for all of the nursing programs. I have moved to the Atlanta area but my classmates in Mississippi say jobs are scarce there. Here in Atlanta its just as bad. I spoke with a nurse recruiter at one of the big hospitals and she said there is no nursing shortage in Atlanta because it is so heavily saturated with nursing schools/programs, thus an abundance of nurse grads. She said there are areas in other states that have a tremendous shortage but it is usually a remote place that no nurses want to go to which is why they have the shortage in the first place.

For those who may be willing to relocate, I know there is a shortage in the Philadephia area. A nurse recruiter from a Philly hospital called me and offered me a job over the phone without an interview. I asked him how he got my resume and he said one of their affiliate hospitals in Atlanta shared the new grad resumes because they despearately need nurses. He actually said, "I will make it worth your while, I can pay you much more than they will offer in Atlanta." Unfortunately, I don't want to relocate. But if I were younger, single, without children....I would be in the city of brotherly love. :)

Also, I want to say that experienced nurses don't have a problem getting a job here in the Atlanta area. There were over 600 nurse jobs listed in the local paper (ajc.com), but its the new grads that are having trouble here. The hospitals require that you have at least one year of experience unless you get into one of their nurse residencies. They only take residencies twice a year and there are usually only about 10-15 positions available and there are literally hundreds of new grads every May and December. So, if you are experienced you wouldn't have a problem finding a job in Atlanta.

Wund5 · May 18, 2009

Indeed, the propaganda of "nursing shortages" is really nauseating. The only reason the ANA, NLN, nursing schools, colleges, and universities perpetually manufacture this false crisis is to lobby for monies from the state and federal government. Without a shortage- the governments will not allocate fundings towards potentially derailing it. The ANA has just recently asked for $215 million dollars- an increase of $44 million for 2010. Other subsidiaries are asking their congressmen/senators, etc in individual states for increased funding or to abstain from any budget cuts concerning this bogus issue. Although there is a shortage in nursing faculty-(the average age for faculty is around 56). But mostly this is due to the fact that faculty are extremely under paid and that it is too expensive for most to continue on with studies to earn an MSN or PhD. There are some professors in their late 70's and early 80's who still teach only because the colleges are unable to find replacements.

Right now, RN grads face competition from foreign nurses (hospitals want a return on their invetsment- and the ones I have met get paid much less), nurses who may have retired, but decided to stay in nursing due to the recession (their husband lost his job, they've lost hundreds of thousands of dollars in the market, they're paying their grandchild's tuition, etc), internal hiring freezes/downsizing in hospitals, LTC, as well as competition from

the numerous grads within their area. Incredibly, there are 16 nursing schools within a radius of 150 miles where I live. Eight years ago, the main paper for this city posted 4+ pages of ads for RNs in their Sunday edition. This Sunday there were 3! - yes, 3 ads for RN's

and 2 of them required master's degrees! Even with the influx of computers- there are a very limited amount of openings. It is truly sad to think of the innocuous hopes of people going into nursing schools (after a 1 or 2 yr wait), changing professions, thinking they will always have a job and be employed only to find out unless they relocate to CA,TX, or NYC,

they are facing the same situation- if not worse.

sunray12 · May 18, 2009

I am wondering where the nursing shortage is. I live in Central Wisconsin and there are no jobs for experienced nurses or new grads. I have been in nursing for 18 yrs. and have been unemployed twice in the past 18 months. I have a high school teenager and a husband who currently has a job, so moving is not an option right now. Any suggestions out there?

I'm guessing that you might live in a small town or rural area and you'd have more options if you were willing to drive a few hours to a bigger metropolitan area. You don't have to move the family if you have to take a job outside of your immediate area. I live in a very small town and there are never a lot of jobs here other than maybe harvesting crops and sometimes construction in any market, so I have often had to travel three hours in one of two directions to work. I've been doing this for about 16 years. I've owned the same home throughout, and my daughter has grown up here. I typically rent out of town and come home on weekends.