Nursing shortage...is it true?

I was reading a thread that was posted on this website a couple of months ago that was talking about nurse shortage's. The way I heard it, their seemed to be a shortage of working nurses not a nurse shortage. I read all the time about how hospital admin. are driving the nurses away with poor managment. So my question is....is it all true? B/C i'm going to be a senior this year and my plan was to go to ccccd for 2 yrs. then transfer to TWU to become an L&D nurse or an ER nurse. I'm just wondering if maybe I should think about signing up w/a travel agency and become a traveling nurse. All i know is that you hear all the time on the news about how nurses are in high demand and ppl always tell me that i will always have a job no matter what. So if anyone could give me a insight about that...I would appreciate it! Thanks!

CC*

[austin heart, BSN, RN]

There really is not a shortage here in Austin but I don't know about other parts of the state. But, I see from your profile you are only 16 which means you have a good 4 or 5 years (depending on what route you take to your RN) and things will definatly change every where between now and then.

Unfortunatly, I dout you will be able to obtain a job as a travel nurse until you have a few years experiance under your belt. I don't know of any agencies that will hire new grads.

Good luck at what ever you choose!

[llg, PhD, RN]

The situation is very complicated. Anyone who tries to tell you that it is a "simple matter of .... anything" is not seeing the whole picture.

Yes, there is an actual shortage of nurses that is expected to worsen over the next several years. As health care has become more complex/sophisticated, society needs more nurses (and more highly educated nurses) per 1000 people than in the past. Combine this growing need with the increased availability of other career options for women -- and we have an underlying societal problem that can not be denied.

However, working conditions for nurses have not been very good in the past -- and in many cases, have deteriorated significantly over the past few years. Salaries have not always kept pace with the increases in other professions, etc. Also, the working conditions in nursing (such as the need to staff hospitals 24 hours/day, 7 days/week etc.) seem even worse when compared to those in other professions. Some (but not all) employers have failed to adequately respond to the changing conditions and that has made everything worse. So ... the people who say that "If only employers would improve conditions, there would be no shortage" are not totally wrong either.

As with many complicated issues, the "truth" lies somewhere in the middle. Improved working conditions would help -- but at the expense of other important things that make it a politically difficult problem to solve. While there are some people out there who would return to nursing if conditions improved, it would not be enough to solve the problem.

There simply are no simple answers to this one.

If you want to be a nurse because you want to be a nurse -- then be a nurse. You can find decent jobs and decent work environments if you can be flexible. You can find or make a way for it to work for you. If your heart is not in it, you probably will not be willing to do what it takes to make it work for you -- and that will cause you problems and may lead you to regret your decision. It's up to each individual to make things work or not.

Good luck,

llg

[AtlantaRN, RN]

I'm in atlanta, GA and oh YES there is a shortage. check out http://www.discovernursing.com

it's a johnson & johnson website where you can get information about the nursing

profession...

My son is 19 and was accepted to Gordon College, Barnesville, GA, #1 nursing program in Georgia (I graduated 1996). Best decision I have ever made. The hardest part is turning down work. They are ALWAYS needing help.

I've thought of travel nursing also...

Good luck to you!

Atlantarn