where are the nursing shortages?

Published

I am hearing that there are shortages in some areas while some are cutting back jobs.

Can anyone tell me for sure where thet know there are nursing shortages in the U.S or Canada.

Thanks

: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:

For all the nurses out there who are not welcoming new grads, there are more who are more than willing to help you out as you learn the ropes. It's too bad your class is scaring you that much. The longer you wait to "jump in" as you put it, the more difficult it will be. You will be given a chance. Just don't be afraid and go for it! Good luck!

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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?

Nurses who "eat their young" would do that regardless of the staffing levels! That is a mentality, not something that is caused by inadequate staffing levels. Who says profits are being made in specific areas? Is that true? If they are making profits in Florida, it is because the pay there is among the LOWEST in the nation for RN's.

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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:

I would wager to guess that MANY classroom nursing professors haven't seen a bedside in years (and on occasion, NEVER). They are truly among the most clueless. I always feel bad that they are the ones teaching our up and coming nurses!

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Specializes in Trauma ICU, MICU/SICU.
Erie, Pa. and most of Pennsylvania.

Definitely PA. I live in the Lehigh Valley (Allentown/Bethlehem) and I will graduate in December. I am already scheduled to start my paid 6 month Critical Care Internship in January.

Alternatively, if you agree to do med/surg nursing you get $4000 for one year. If you agree to 2 years med/surg, you get $5000 first year and $7000 second year.

Hospital offers all kinds of scheduling options too such as no weekends, weekends only with prem pay, summers off, 12's 8's or combo of both. The list goes on. Also, no one has to pay their own tuition the hospitals fight over us. They feed us well too. Recruiters come to our school. Spa days to tell nurses about how great it is to work here, etc.

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Specializes in Trauma ICU, MICU/SICU.
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.

Impressionable student here. I didn't take it as literally striving to work 24/7, but that shifts are available 24/7. Come on haunted, some of us (especially the younger students, may be impressionable, but we're not stupid).

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: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:

Well, SOMEBODY had to take the time to help me become a good Med/Surg LPN then SOMEBODY had to take the time to help me become an ICU RN.

That whole "we only want experienced people" thing because "we don't have time to teach" although can be true at times because of healthcare in general and what is expected of us as nurses, is a total cop-out.

Especially for the specialty nurses, at one time someone had to give them extensive training. I challenge anyone to name a nursing program (pre-licensure) that churns out grads ready to scrub, circulate, take ICU patients on their own, cath lab, dialysis, etc. with no or minimal orientation. No way.

Speaking from an ICU standpoint, all ICU's have no choice but to start teaching new and younger people.

If you keep hiring "experienced only" you're eventually going to run out of nurses who are young and strong enough to lift and turn 300lb sedated dead weight patients.

It's not just the technical stuff, it's a physically demanding job and I know that I won't be able to do it for the next 25 years.

I work with nurses now who are getting a little "up there" in age who decided to move to ICU for whatever reason and they are learning the hard way of how physically difficult it can be, most people for some reason don't think about that when they think of working ICU.

My advice: Get out there and look for a good facility and keep looking.

I suspect that, in addition to your "Nurse's eat their young" class, which is probably inappropriate to be teaching students ready to get out there and start by filling their heads with some exaggeration of the reality or give you the impression that all facilities are run this way, combined with your already LPN classmates filling your head with their "war stories" has caused some understandable anxiety but probably more blown up than needs to be.

You've worked very hard to get to where you are, eventually you're going to have to get out there and reap the benefits of your education, why put it off?

You may end up finding a place that you really like and wish you would have started there sooner.

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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.

No it is NOT the fault of the nurses I refer to. There IS no RN position for them (they are LPN's who went on to RN school) so they are forced to stay in their LPN role if they want a job.

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I would wager to guess that MANY classroom nursing professors haven't seen a bedside in years (and on occasion, NEVER). They are truly among the most clueless. I always feel bad that they are the ones teaching our up and coming nurses!

Most of my instructors do work the bedside, mostly registry, while they teach. Some only work a couple of days a month during school and then pick up additional assignments on school breaks. Others work a lot more than that, especially the part-time instructors.

The only one I know of that doesn't work bedside is the head of the nursing school.

As you may know, teaching doesn't pay that well, which is why my instructors work registry.

:coollook:

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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.

Affirmative action? Never heard of hospitals having the worry about that but, I'll take your word for it.

Good point about the retirement funds. I hadn't thought about that. Although the big fight in California right now is over 401K plans, which nurses are fighting since hospitals would make less retirement contributions.

Still ... you have a good point there.

:coollook:

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No it is NOT the fault of the nurses I refer to. There IS no RN position for them (they are LPN's who went on to RN school) so they are forced to stay in their LPN role if they want a job.

Sounds as if maybe these new RN's should look elsewhere for jobs.

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Most of my instructors do work the bedside, mostly registry, while they teach. Some only work a couple of days a month during school and then pick up additional assignments on school breaks. Others work a lot more than that, especially the part-time instructors.

The only one I know of that doesn't work bedside is the head of the nursing school.

As you may know, teaching doesn't pay that well, which is why my instructors work registry.

:coollook:

Lizz - my instructors were the same. The most awesome and organized teacher was a nurse for years and a real stickler for doing things right. Another very cool instructor worked peds in the summer.

steph

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Lizz - my instructors were the same. The most awesome and organized teacher was a nurse for years and a real stickler for doing things right. Another very cool instructor worked peds in the summer.

steph

That's my entire point!!!! The GOOD QUALITY instructors that teach their students well are the ones who do STILL work at the bedside: NOT the PhD's who haven't touched a patient in 30 years! I truly believe that research is important for the student, but Ot at the expense of the students learning curve. I still feel that some students burn out because they ahve NEVER gotten a real doseof what it will be like to be a nirse after they graduate.

Now I went to a hospital based program (whihc I know are almost non-existant now) because I already had a non-nursing bachelor's degree. In our Senior year, we were taking 2 or 3 patients for an entire shift (all by ourselves), With our instructor around if we needed her. So by the time we graduated, we at least had an inklig of what it was going to be like to ahve to manage a patient load by ourselves. We also had to function as the med nurse for a floor of between 30-40 patients. It wasn't fun but it gave you a hnt of what the reality of nursing was, even back then.

I have always appreciated the experience I got in that type of program and as important as I thnk a BSN is for those coming out now, I sure wish they could improve the clinical component of those programs.

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