I'm so sick of being accused of trying to discourage potential nursing students when I tell them the job market is tight or that many new grads are having a hard time getting jobs.
They usually say to me, "well, I'm different and its really my dream and I have always wanted to be a nurse". Then I say, "Well,what about the others who thought the same as you and are unemployed?" Then I add, "You may end up working in a nursing home or home health, will you be okay with that? "They then respond, "No,I want to work in the area I choose, and it will happen because it's my dream."
I am in no way trying to discourage them, but I also don't want to lie to them and say there are plenty of jobs in any specialty you want.
Then when they graduate they end up asking why no one told them the truth. I even tell them to read Allnurses and the troubles new grads are having. They then respond "well it has always been my dream and nothing is going to stop me. Some people are trying to discourage me because they don't want others to take their jobs and make as much money as they do."
Is there any other way that I could bring up the subject with statistics and without it making it seem I'm trying to discourage others?
Specializes in E/R, Med/Surg, PCU, Mom-Baby, ICU, more.
I don't know where you all live, but here in Central New York there are plenty of jobs available for new grads.
Where is this place that just has too many nurses? I took my resume off of monster.com 4 months ago and I still average 15 calls a week for travel R.N. jobs. I have to keep my landline off.
I. Would have to agree I think it's half luck half effort. I personally was hired about a month after graduating then received 2 more job offers 3 weeks after the firstSometimes you just can't get through to people and you may never know where they will end upWhen I was in nursing school there was an rpn teacher who graduated 2 years before us and worked in a hospital and told us all one day we would never get a job in a hospital and it was ltc or home health. Low and behold 1 month after graduation and 2/3 of my Jon offers are for hospitalsI should email that instructor and tell her never to assume.......
Meh, I say let them live in their fantasy world. No different that all the people who got degrees in liberal arts ( sorry no offence), and whine that they can't find jobs in "their field". Inform them of the risk, but after that let em believe what they want to believe.
Why is it your job to pound this into their heads?
I'm a nurse, too, and never find myself ever having to dissuade anyone from going into nursing. It just never comes up. Why so often for you, that it's become annoying enough to you that you were prompted to create this thread to vent your frustration?
And, what about all the new grads that ARE getting hired, and some of them even in their field of choice?
I love my job.That isn't the point though.I really don't like lying to people and saying"Yes,as a nurse you will make lots of dough and get weekends off and etc...Neighbors and my family know I'm a nurse and ask me all the time about nursing. I don't tell anyone not to continue with nursing school,but there is this huge student debt loans in America.That's what Occupy Wall street is about.You also have to understand that a Bsn isn't something to be taking lightly.Its not like a Bachelors in communication where you can chose to become a teacher or reporter,or a radio Dj.No,it only applies to nursing. You can't become a teacher with it.I could be wrong though with the last comment,feel free to correct me.
It depends on area I know. But the people who ask about the job market live in my area. Since I know about the job market in my area,I just thought id share it with them.Yes,you get a lot of calls for travel nursing.But we are talking about new grads with no expereince.
These same people ask my salary,and they also ask why I'm not driving the lastest Mercedes or live in a small home.They ask me "Why areyou dressed with Walmart clothes on,your a nurse".As if my pay affords me Prada,lol)
Specializes in Critical Care, ED, Cath lab, CTPAC,Trauma.
peterbrasco mar 19 by peterbrascoa member since sep '10 - from 'chandler'. posts: 37 likes: 11
awards:
quote "you don't like your job, quit the job or nursing profession and move on. why stay in a profession that has made ur life miserable? thats why people are going to school to become nurses and will take ur job, thats why people are going for direct bsn program.
so you mean nurses are not needed now? you mean people should stop becoming nurses? until? when nurses quit their jobs for one reason or the other or move to another state , who takes the open spots? who fills in spots when older nurses retire? what about hospitals that are still accepting new grads? so from this moment henceforth, new grads included, need to find something else doing and forget what they have worked for, since you mentioned nurses are not needed. i would like to know when you have an idea when nurses will be needed or they will never be needed forever?
do you know how many nurses lose their license everyday? do you know how many new grads that get hired that are not even part of all nurses forum?
the fact that american soldiers are dying in middle east, hasn't stopped people from joining the military. i think as a nurse people coming into the profession should be encouraged and negativity should be out of it. how many nurses here have been told they can't make it through nursing school, how many people here have been discouraged about nursing and it has been the best thing for them or decision they have ever made.
nothing personal, i just don't believe that i will read a statement like this on this site.[/quote] (quote feature not working again.....)
i gave you all the information that is out there. all the back up proof about the reality of the job market right now.
i say this with love about i profession i have spent a life time loving. it's a tough market out there. you haven't even started school yet and i hope that when you graduate the economy and job prospects will be improved. i think if nursing is really your passion nothing will dissuade you. statistically speaking the amount of nurses that loose their license everyday is miniscule when compared to the amount of nurses licensed and the amount of nurses becoming licensed everyday.
i have lived and loved this profession for 33 years, at the bedside. i feel the passion of your words and beliefs. i also know of nurses laid off from hospitals that have been looking for work for over a year. i know of new grads that have been looking for almost two. search this site and you will see how many new grads are looking for jobs, one or two years after graduation.
i know nurses are needed..... but the supply exceeds the demand right now. will there ever be a shortage again? yes.....but i don't ever think it will be what it was a few years ago. if you really want to be a nurse then be one, but be willing to work very hard at becoming one and very hard at finding a job right now.
i have never just blindly encouraged people to be a nurse.
it's a hard, demanding, heartbreaking job. it takes devotion, guts, intelligence, reverence, dedication, hard work, resilience and tolerance......with a willingness to put up with physical, emotional and verbal abuse. this is not a job for the fainthearted. this job deals with the hardcore realities of life.......no rose colored glasses allowed here. i was told i would never be a good nurse by my first nusing instructor becasue i was a loner and i didn't delegate tasks well and did too much work mysef......that was 33 years ago.
i didn't say don't be a nurse. i didn't say no one should go to nursing school. i said really self examine your motives why your are choosing this profession. it's a tough job and you will find that although the money sounds really good.......it is nothing in compairison to the job you will be required to do and the responsibility you will be expected to carry.
Specializes in Critical Care, ED, Cath lab, CTPAC,Trauma.
I mentor high school and pre-nursing students through a community organization. I see exactly what you describe: if you are realistic, you're squashing their dreams, but if you aren't honest it does them a tremendous disservice.
Many students I deal with are from low-income families and they see nursing as an opportunity to make a substantial income and have job security and flexibility as well. Unfortunately, these young adults were born ten years too late to enjoy the huge bonuses and perks available when there was a critical nursing shortage, but they believe the bonuses and limitless overtime still exist. They also have unrealistic expectations of the job, some of it based on watching too many TV programs about hospitals and also from hearing romanticized stories about nursing. I can't count the number of times I've heard students talk about 'holding the hand of a patient'.
I encourage these students to shadow a nurse for a few days. I also encourage them to sit in a nursing school classroom and see how rigorous it is. In the end, they have to make their own decisions. I suspect one of the reasons so many new nurses quit is because they never had a clear picture of the working conditions and the stresses.
Honesty is important, but it's also important not to go out of your way to give people unsolicited advice.
Truth has gone the way of "right" and "wrong"; for most people these concepts don't exist anymore and they are not interested in being told about them. These people don't listen for the same reasons diabetics are non-compliant. The easiest person to fool is yourself. A healthy dose of reality concerning working conditions and the current job market is not the same as 'downing' the profession. People fantasize about how something is going to be and really think something is wrong with you when you tell them otherwise. They view you as either "misinformed" or "you're doing it wrongly". The smart ones will thank you for the candor and ask how they can help themselves while the chaff will continue to 'sing the same ole song.' I don't think you are out of the way for stating the facts, but don't take it personally when your points are rejected and don't feel obligated to save folks from themselves. Wish them well and change the subject. The truth has a funny way of eventually making itself known whether people want to recognize it or not.
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AndyB
176 Posts
Where is this place that just has too many nurses? I took my resume off of monster.com 4 months ago and I still average 15 calls a week for travel R.N. jobs. I have to keep my landline off.