where are the nursing shortages?

Haunted · Feb 28, 2005

Three of my nursing instructors work registry and people are begging them to work. My instructors say they could work 24/7 with all of the calls they get. My instructors even get unsolicited job offers in the mail.
BTW, I'm in San Bernardino county, in Southern California, which is next door to Orange County.
There is a shortage here.

Lizz, any registered nurse gets unsolicited job offers in the mail, along with nursing publications etc. Plus, any nurse who works 24/7 is jeopordizing not only their own health but the safety and well being of the patient. I appreciate that they may be using that old chestnut to make a point, but to say such things to impressionable students is terribly irresponsible and frankly untrue.

fergus51 · Mar 1, 2005

The job fair is on March 2nd in LA at the Convention center if anyone is looking for work in California.

redwinggirlie · Mar 1, 2005

About 75 percent of our tele floor is comprised of travelers......we're short all over

sandyth · Mar 1, 2005

North Carolina

COOKIEGABBY · Mar 1, 2005

Hi !! I live near Knoxville Tn.& I can certainly say that we DO NOT have a nursing shortage here. I am an RN & I have been out of work for almost 6 months. I wish that I had went to college for something other than nursing, it totally sucks!! Thinking of going back to school......
Lesi RN

Why dont you move to Nashville they are screaming for applicants. It is hard to believe that two cities that are that close have such differences.

COOKIEGABBY · Mar 1, 2005

Minnesota?? I know RN's forced to stay in LPN positions (some are on this BB) because they can't find fulltime RN jobs.
I agree with Cheerfuldoer's and Haunted's opinions on this subject.

Its a nurses own fault when they work in an lpn position it is the systems way of saving money, I sure would not do what an rn can do, push meds, sign off what only an rn can do.

COOKIEGABBY · Mar 1, 2005

This is an interesting thread, but I think its split over semantics. Whether there's a bona fide shortage of registered nurses in this country is really irrelevant. We're all aware that there are a number of nurses not working at the bedside, or in totally different fields, but what most of us are experiencing is a shortage of bedside nurses, and that's what is relevant in this thread, IMO.
We definitely have a shortage here in MD. Every hospital I've ever applied to has been responsive and interested, if my qualifications are relevant. I think many people have been lulled into the idea that -- since there is a nursing shortage -- all they have to do is show up at the job interview in reasonably appropriate attire with a pulse and a valid license and they'll roll out the welcome mat. That's not entirely the case. Its important to make a "good fit" with the job you're applying for, and there are many new interviewing techniques designed to determine if you're a good fit for the facility, department, and position you're applying for.
If you're very particular about the area you're working in, or the hours you want to work, its going to take longer to find work. I also think that although nurses start at a reasonable salary, it doesn't increase at regular intervals, and nurses often find themselves capped at a certain salary that isn't commensurate with their experience and skills set.
I have a good friend in WI, and she has trouble finding work. She's currently at a NH, which is not where she wants to be, but necessity and child care demanded it.

What some of these applicants dont say is I do not have good references, or there is a limitation on there license. Or they call in 1 once every two weeks. Or they cant pass narcotics. Or they cant get along with with their co-workers. You can not be a bad employee and expect to get hired just because you are a nurse. A warm body is not the answer.

PFDGB · Mar 1, 2005

If that is the case then you are in a bad facility and I know that there are a lot of them out there but keep searching. There are great hospitals, although none are perfect, that offer good, long, solid orientation/preceptorship/internship and give you the foundation you need to succeed.
Don't just look for the best paying facility, some of the ones that pay less (like mine in comparison to other area hospitals) could be the ones that will give you the best experience. I had a great internship and still don't know everything (no one does) but at least I'm no longer freaking out every time I clock in not knowing what I'm going to be walking into and being left on my own.
Shame on the nurse's on your unit who throw you to the wolves but would probably turn around and criticize you at the slightest error.

:chair: I have not started out there yet because I'm having a courage problem. Even though I graduated among the top of the class; academics are one thing and reality is another. There is a marked difference between the two. During my ethics course the primary topic always moved towards how "nurses eat their own" and this scared the daylights out of everyone that was going out there for the 1st time. Unfortunately when your in a mixed class (those already LPn's) you learn things that maybe you would have been better off not knowing. I know I have to just jump in but I would feel a lot better if I knew the experienced nurses would continue to teach and guide those of us that lack real training and experience. Given the "noted nursing shortage" one would think an added nurse to the unit would be welcomed. That is "if you are experienced" The nurses say this happens because they don't have the time to help new nurses. I'm sure this is very true but why can't they just give us a chance. All nurses were new at some point. Maybe it's just here in NY...What say you? :chair:

Sheri257 · Mar 1, 2005

Lizz, any registered nurse gets unsolicited job offers in the mail, along with nursing publications etc. Plus, any nurse who works 24/7 is jeopordizing not only their own health but the safety and well being of the patient. I appreciate that they may be using that old chestnut to make a point, but to say such things to impressionable students is terribly irresponsible and frankly untrue.

The 24/7 remark was merely descriptive and to make a point, not to be taken literally. Neither I nor my instructors was suggesting that people actually work 24/7.

I seriously doubt that any students would take that literally either ...

Ridiculous ...

:rolleyes:

Silverhawk · Mar 1, 2005

:chair: I have not started out there yet because I'm having a courage problem. Even though I graduated among the top of the class; academics are one thing and reality is another. There is a marked difference between the two. During my ethics course the primary topic always moved towards how "nurses eat their own" and this scared the daylights out of everyone that was going out there for the 1st time. Unfortunately when your in a mixed class (those already LPn's) you learn things that maybe you would have been better off not knowing. I know I have to just jump in but I would feel a lot better if I knew the experienced nurses would continue to teach and guide those of us that lack real training and experience. Given the "noted nursing shortage" one would think an added nurse to the unit would be welcomed. That is "if you are experienced" The nurses say this happens because they don't have the time to help new nurses. I'm sure this is very true but why can't they just give us a chance. All nurses were new at some point. Maybe it's just here in NY...What say you? :chair:

Nurses eat their young because of inadequate staffing levels. It's all managements fault due to managements push for profits. If they can make a profit in FL, CA, etc. with staff ratios of 1:6; 1:7, they surely can elsewhere. The unnecessary stress, overworking of employees (leading to firings for sleep deprived errors), and therefore generally bad attitudes would be so much better, and the patients/residents would receive better care as a result. How many of you nurses actually complete your med passes within in the two hour window. I know it doesn't happen in LTC, yet it's our license on the line if state shows up at med pass time. Nursing is in need of a cure. How can we really help others in the long run if we can't even help ourselves?

Silverhawk · Mar 1, 2005

Northwest Ohio! My hospital is looking to hire 50 new nurses by June 1st.

I live near Auburn, IN. Where is this hospital? Which one? How far?

Silverhawk · Mar 1, 2005

I don't believe the healthcare industry is honest by any means. I believe they're interested in the bottom line and only the bottom line. And, if the whole game is to bring in new nurses and discard the old ones ... the question is how do they profit from this?
If they profit by paying the new nurses less money, then ok. But then you'd have to also add the costs of all the advertising, recruiting etc. which, for all we know, could make this proposition just as expensive as keeping the old nurses. Especially when you figure additional training, orientation and other costs that you have with new grads.
The motivation can't just be tax writeoffs because all expenses are tax writeoffs. So the question is: do they make more money with this alleged charade that you have described? And, if so, how?
If, in fact, this is more profitable then, I would tend to agree with you. I'm just not sure that it is, in fact, more profitable when you consider the other costs. Every study I've read points out that high nursing staff turnover actually increases costs so, that's why it doesn't make much sense to me.

The advertising in specific newspapers that meet specific ethnicity reach goals is required advertising. This is one aspect of affirmative action. The biggest savings found in employee turnover is the ability to raid their retirement funds. A retirement plan that is fully funded by an employer is theirs, (the employers) to take and keep if the employee leaves before being fully vested. This is 5 years minimum. (Don't forget the compounded interest this money has made too.) This is what corporate raiders do when looking to buy a company. If their retirement plans are overinvested, they raid that money. If the company goes bankrupt, the government, i.e. you and I, pay the retirement bill.