Nursing supply vs. Demand in america

nursephillyphil, BSN, RN · Oct 23, 2013

Ok first of all, where are you looking for a job? If you're looking in the Bay Area in Ca then of course the job market is tough. It's one of the highest paying locations for RN's and it's saturated.

Next, it's not "unethical or irresponsible" and students are not being signed up, they are choosing to do so in their own right.

Job markets are pretty good outside of hot-spots.

You sound upset that you can't find a job, if that is the case then i encourage you to look elsewhere, outside of your immediate area. Many newgrad RN's have to move out of state to get experience, and then move back after a few years.

Dranger · Oct 23, 2013

Back during the beginning of the recession the media pushed and pushed the nursing field as the bastion of hope when all other job markets were crumbling. They were adamant in saying that baby boomer nurses were going to be retiring and the gap needed to be filled. Now fast forward 5 years and we all know that isn't the case. A new nurse isn't worth anything to most decent job markets, hospitals don't want them usually ( except for residencihappenes) because they are costly to train and there is enough supply of 1-2 year exp nurses out there to fill the void.

You can think all you want but the supply/demand cycle isn't going to change much for a while even with Obamacare

byrone · Oct 23, 2013

Mr. White

San Diego Area is where I am looking as a Re entry Nurse 27 years exp.

Parameters for hire are 1 year experience in your area of specialty within past 3 years plus BSN preferred in most jobs.

And schools re still pumping out to many students and that is unethical and irresponsible

smoup · Oct 23, 2013

Before I decided to go to nursing school, I looked at the job market in my area, talked to students at the school I wanted to go with, and asked about job opportunities. Almost everyone who graduates from my program has a job before graduation. It's location that matters when finding a job. All of America isn't saturated with nurses.

Also, it's the students' responsibility to chose a program, location, and job that is right for them. No one is forcing people to go to nursing school. If people in a saturated area hear that there is a nursing shortage and decide to apply and attend school without any research on the job market, that is on them, not the school, in my opinion.

Esme12, ASN, BSN, RN · Oct 23, 2013

We are in a situation where there are too many Nurses available to work with not enough jobs out there!
How can we reduce supply and increase demand?
I believe that federal funding that became available during Nursing shortage in USA is contributing to a glut of Nursing programs out there.
I feel it is irresponsible and unethical to sign students up for an intense 4 year nursing program when realistically job market is very dismal!
All they are doing is flooding the job market with unhirable highly skilled Nurses who are gonna wind up working in SNF's or Correctional Nursing or Psych Nursing (places allot of us do not wanna be in) or other positions they do not want to get stuck in. Also the aforementioned Nursing positions do not meet the requirements of most Hospitals for hiring which is 1 year experience in your specialty within the past 3 years! That stipulation means In-Patient not home care, not psych, not Correctional nursing nor SNF.
And for those of us with an ADN The long talked of minimum requirement of BSN is finally here with most Nursing job posts stating either BSN preferred or BSN only. To further the worsening job outlook for the ADN prepared RN "Magnet certified Hospitals" cannot have in their employ more than 20% ADN Nurses!!!
I would like to see Nursing Associations in America get together and set a realistic balance between the number of Nurses needed to fill jobs and the number of students graduating. Set some type of cap on how many nurses are being graduated to have some sort of realistic balance.
If nothing is done about this over production of RN's we are doomed to have a situation similar to that in Philippines where Nurses have to pay to volunteer in hospitals just to get experience!

You answered your own question......free help.

It's all about the money. First you are going to cost them money. You are experienced. How long have you been out? Many want you to take a "refresher course" on your own dime of course.

This is driven by the profession itself, a crummy economy, unemployment retraining, and schools getting their cut of the money train with accelerated programs and for profit schools.

Sad really.

RN9742 · Oct 23, 2013

In my area there are tons of nursing jobs, for ADN and BSN. Those facilities you mentioned are at greatest need for nurses, although it may not be an ideal job, it is still a job that needs to be done. (And still included in the nursing shortage). If you have been out of the workforce for many years, have you not considered going to school for your BSN? I am of course making the assumption you do not have one since that is one of the points you were making. Going back to school to get that would be a good refresher, and with several years of experience very likely give you an edge over new grads. Just because there is not a shortage in your area, does not mean there is no shortage. Honestly I think the real problem lies in well trained nurses refusing to relocate to areas of greatest need (usually because of less money) so areas that are not in greatest need do indeed become over saturated, but that still does not mean there is no shortage. (And no I do not blame people for not wanting to move away from their homes to work, just making a point).

krisiepoo · Oct 23, 2013

So to boil it down, you're trying to get back into the work force and can't because of this "glut" so you're blaming nursing schools for being too lax in allowing students to follow their dreams?

I also find it discouraging that you have such a negative attitude towards nurses/nursing positions that maybe YOU don't find desirable but are what some people want to work.

perhaps it's not the "glut" but your attitude that is keeping you from getting a job

meanmaryjean, DNP, RN · Oct 23, 2013

Thank you posters so far for not suggesting that all the nurses age 55+ retire and get out of the way of the new grads!

HouTx, BSN, MSN, EdD · Oct 23, 2013

Just want to shed some "historical" light on decisions & strategies that have led us to the sorry mess we're in...

There IS a joint body of the 'movers and shakers' in nursing. It's called the Tri-Council (not to be confused with the Triad - fabled Chinese Mafia) It is composed of AACN, ANA, AONE & NLN. Yep, I know that's four, not three... maybe they should call it the Quad-Council, right? Anywhooo... about 10 years ago, 'they' decided that the US was going to be in dire straits (AWK Severe Shortage!!!) unless the number of new grads increased dramatically. So the strategy was borne. Schools responded by gradually increasing their enrollments every year. Commercial schools sprang up all over the place. Media hype convinced everyone that Nursing was a stable and wonderful career.

In the meantime, the general economy took a nose dive. Healthcare reimbursements went into free-fall. So the number of available positions has steadily declined. Recent info indicates that nearly 42,000 health care industry jobs have been lost since January 2013. Bottom line? Even experienced nurses are now scrambling for jobs. New grads are in a world of hurt.

So - as usual - today's problems are the result of yesterday's brilliant solutions.

JustBeachyNurse, LPN · Oct 23, 2013

Just want to shed some "historical" light on decisions & strategies that have led us to the sorry mess we're in... There IS a joint body of the 'movers and shakers' in nursing. It's called the Tri-Council (not to be confused with the Triad - fabled Chinese Mafia) It is composed of AACN, ANA, AONE & NLN. Yep, I know that's four, not three... maybe they should call it the Quad-Council, right? Anywhooo... about 10 years ago, 'they' decided that the US was going to be in dire straits (AWK Severe Shortage!!!) unless the number of new grads increased dramatically.
So the strategy was borne. Schools responded by gradually increasing their enrollments every year. Commercial schools sprang up all over the place. Media hype convinced everyone that Nursing was a stable and wonderful career. In the meantime, the general economy took a nose dive. Healthcare reimbursements went into free-fall. So the number of available positions has steadily declined. Recent info indicates that nearly 42,000 health care industry jobs have been lost since January 2013.
Bottom line? Even experienced nurses are now scrambling for jobs. New grads are in a world of hurt.
So - as usual - today's problems are the result of yesterday's brilliant solutions.

Best explanation I've seen yet. Kudos!

PMFB-RN, RN · Oct 23, 2013

We are in a situation where there are too many Nurses available to work with not enough jobs out there!
How can we reduce supply and increase demand?
I believe that federal funding that became available during Nursing shortage in USA is contributing to a glut of Nursing programs out there.

*** There was no nursing shortage. The nursing shortage was only propaganda in order to attract a vast number of people into the profession who otherwise might not have considered it. The goal was to create the current oversupply. This was deliberate and intentional and was done to save nurse employers money and make money for nurse educators.

All they are doing is flooding the job market with unhirable highly skilled Nurses who are gonna wind up working in SNF's or Correctional Nursing or Psych Nursing (places allot of us do not wanna be in) or other positions they do not want to get stuck in. Also the aforementioned Nursing positions do not meet the requirements of most Hospitals for hiring which is 1 year experience in your specialty within the past 3 years! That stipulation means In-Patient not home care, not psych, not Correctional nursing nor SNF.

*** Yes, that was the plan all along.

To further the worsening job outlook for the ADN prepared RN "Magnet certified Hospitals" cannot have in their employ more than 20% ADN Nurses!!!

*** That is actually false.

If nothing is done about this over production of RN's we are doomed to have a situation similar to that in Philippines where Nurses have to pay to volunteer in hospitals just to get experience

*** YES! That is exactly the situation nurse employers desire to have and have worked towards for years now. Their false propaganda campaigned has born fruit. They are reaping the benefits in many ways from being able to actually cut wages, to being able to fire any RN that has a flaw or imperfection.