Oversupply of Nurse Practitioners

[guest416560]

I recently received a published form from the State of Florida showing that ARNPs increased 22% over the past two years. RNs only increased by 7.4% If you are a new grad wondering why you can't find a position here is your answer. Our NP mills have pumped out too many graduates for the demand of society. I don't have the data to back it up but if this is happening in Florida I would assume it is happening around the nation.

I'm licensed in Florida but moved to California years ago because I could see the tsunami of new graduates slowly starting to erode the wages of established NPs. It's now happening here in California and I have been directly affected. I can count at least another dozen of my NP colleagues around the nation who are complaining of wage deflation happening because new grads will accept a position at almost any wage. Starting wages are below those for RNs in some cases.

For those of you thinking of becoming a NP think and long and hard before you commit your money and your time. The job is enjoyable but the return on investment is declining year after the year with the flooding of the markets. Maybe one day the leaders of our nursing schools will open a book on economics and understand the relationship between supply and demand rather than stuff another useless nursing theory down our throats.

[Catherineann, BSN, MSN, APRN]

I'm in my last month of my post-masters FNP program and am feeling quite discouraged about my decision. I came to the realization that there are too many of us when I was trying to find preceptors for my rotations and had to make literally hundreds of phone calls to find someone who didn't already have an NP student. There are 10 FNP students in my small community hospital alone and some of them have only been nurses for a short period of time. I've been offered a specialty job that pays significantly less than my job as an ICU nurse. When I told them what I currently make as an ICU nurse with 14 years of bedside care experience, they were shocked. In addition, the benefits are far better at my current job. I'm feeling quite deflated.

[guest416560]

That really sucks and I hate to hear that. Unfortunately your story is becoming the norm and not the exception. Some on here will tell you go west and work in a rural clinic. Most new NPs can't just pick up and move to the middle of nowhere to start a new job. Those that can have already started to do so and this just pushes wages down as the flood of new grads accept any job at any wage to just get experience. As a whole, the leaders of NP schools have destroyed us by flooding the market with an overabundance of new NP graduates. I expect NP wages to equal or be below RN wages within 3 to 5 years across the country with the continuing mass production of NPs. It's simple oversupply vs demand.

[Catherineann, BSN, MSN, APRN]

Unfortunately moving is not an option. I'm seriously considering going back to teaching and picking up some hours on the side at an urgent care to keep my license and maintain my skills. I honestly feel that there should be some sort of minimum on the number of years someone works as an RN before they can apply to NP school. That would not only help control the influx of NP's, it would increase their knowledge base. In addition, it would help to keep RN's at the bedside a little longer, improving the problem of having a lack of seasoned nurses that hospitals (mine included) are experiencing.

[BostonFNP, APRN]

Catherineann said:

Unfortunately moving is not an option. I'm seriously considering going back to teaching and picking up some hours on the side at an urgent care to keep my license and maintain my skills.

Remember if you take the boards as an NP you are on the clock for your practice hours if you want to be able to re-certify in five years.

Catherineann said:

I honestly feel that there should be some sort of minimum on the number of years someone works as an RN before they can apply to NP school. That would not only help control the influx of NP's, it would increase their knowledge base. In addition, it would help to keep RN's at the bedside a little longer, improving the problem of having a lack of seasoned nurses that hospitals (mine included) are experiencing.

The RN role shouldn't be a holding pattern for NPs. There are other ways to address the supply problem, mainly making the standards for entry into the NP role considerably higher. The main problem is with nursing as a whole wanting to "give everyone a chance" regardless of whether or not the individual really has what it takes to do the job best.

[BostonFNP, APRN]

FNP2B1 said:

I expect NP wages to equal or be below RN wages within 3 to 5 years across the country with the continuing mass production of NPs. It's simple oversupply vs demand.

If nothing else it will fix the problem.

[chiromed0]

Yep, Texas is the same way. Sad but as a former chiropractor the same thing happened. Schools pumped out grads and need vs supply was drastically changed. There has been a sizeable change in the DFW market (which a few years ago was one of the top in the country) and now I've seen salary offers (hope nobody accepts) dwindle back down into RN territory. Unbelievable how misguided leadership is in these professions. They have DNP's without any real experience now either in nursing or advanced practice...how in the world?

[elkpark]

BostonFNP said:

There are other ways to address the supply problem, mainly making the standards for entry into the NP role considerably higher. The main problem is with nursing as a whole wanting to "give everyone a chance" regardless of whether or not the individual really has what it takes to do the job best.

I would add, also, increasing the standards for the schools. A weak, sorry program that has higher admission standards is still a weak, sorry program. It's not just who's getting into the programs, it's the caliber of the programs as well. We (nursing, students, the country) would be better served by a smaller number of robust, respectable programs, instead of all the cheesy, diploma mill schools offering advanced practice degrees.

[BostonFNP, APRN]

elkpark said:

I would add, also, increasing the standards for the schools. A weak, sorry program that has higher admission standards is still a weak, sorry program. It's not just who's getting into the programs, it's the caliber of the programs as well. We (nursing, students, the country) would be better served by a smaller number of robust, respectable programs, instead of all the cheesy, diploma mill schools offering advanced practice degrees.

Yeah that's why I feel that it needs to come from the national accreditation and certification side of the equation: increase the board difficulty and make programs maintain a upper 70% board pass rate to keep accreditation. This higher hurdle would force programs to be more selective and teach better, result in loss of accreditation by sup-par programs, while also decreasing the numbers coming into the APN role.

[guest416560]

The CRNAs did it. We should follow their example.

[Jules A, MSN]

FNP2B1 said:

The CRNAs did it. We should follow their example.

But they didn't have to un-ring the bell. It will be nearly impossible to shut the barn door.

[djmatte, ADN, MSN, RN, NP]

Jules A said:

But they didn't have to un-ring the bell. It will be nearly impossible to shut the barn door.

Exactly. That would require both AANP and ancc to develop stricter guidelines. Neither of which is motivated to with the money they bring in for exams and membership of quickly growing ranks.