This is a case study in how the nursing shortage is really a myth. When you pay RN’s really well and give them great benefits … the shortage, for the most part, disappears. The real solution to the nursing shortage is paying RN’s more money.
This post is going to be long, but I think you’ll find it interesting. Just a little over a year ago, the California Department of Corrections had an RN staff vacancy rate of 40 percent. However, since the level of care was substandard, inmates had filed a lawsuit where a federal judge and receiver took over the prison healthcare system.
To improve the level of care, the judge ordered pay raises last year where corrections RN’s made nearly $80K a year with full state benefits, which are excellent … much better, actually, than most private hospitals. Despite claims that they’re doing everything they can to attract nurses, many hospitals (at least in my area) have actually cut back on benefits (especially pensions) in the last couple of years.
With the first court ordered pay raise, the vacancy rate dropped from 40 percent to 15 percent, which is about the same as staff vacancy rates at California hospitals in my area. That’s a 25 percent reduction in staff vacancies in just a few months. And, this is in California where we supposedly have less nurses per capita than any state other than Alaska.
But the judge didn’t stop there. Since the average California RN already makes more than $70K a year on average, and the judge wanted the prisons to be fully staffed, he ordered yet another pay raise … nearly $90K to start at most facilities beginning this year and, even more pay in the Bay area where the pay and cost of living is higher. Once you put some time in, the pay gets up to $100K at most facilities.
As you know, to make that kind of money with a lot of hospital RN jobs it’s not unusual to have to work two jobs and/or a ton of overtime as well as forfeiting benefits like health insurance, etc. But corrections RN’s did not have to forfeit any benefits in this case. And, while $100K may not be great pay in the Bay Area, it’s fantastic pay in other areas of the state, including where I live.
The result? Not only were the five state prisons in my area fully staffed with RN’s BUT … I discovered that over 3,000 RN’s are now waiting to get hired by the Department of Corrections statewide! In my particular area, each prison had a waiting list of 200-300 RN’s! With a few exceptions, the only available positions were in more rural, isolated areas which have always been difficult to staff.
Could you ever imagine 3,000 RN’s standing in line waiting for jobs at hospitals? Not in a million years but, that’s what’s happened with California Corrections in just a few months because they’re paying so well.
Here’s yet another example of no real nursing shortage. When I realized that the state prisons in my area were fully staffed and there was a waiting list for those jobs, I also applied for positions at the mental health department because they, at least, had some openings. While those RN’s got some but not all of the court ordered pay raises that the corrections RN’s did … the pay and benefits were still much better than local hospitals in my area.
BUT … when I went to the qualifying exam, I discovered that I was competing with 75 RN’s for eight positions. 75 RN’s! That means there were at least 9 RN’s competing for each position. Could you ever imagine 75 RN’s competing for vacancies at any hospital?
It was even worse at the prisons, where the pay is higher. One of the HR staffers told me that when rare openings do occur, there’s at least 30 RN’s competing for each position. 30 RN’s! It was quite a shock, actually. Usually, I could walk into any private hospital and get a job tomorrow, but definitely NOT in this case because the pay and benefits are so much better.
I think the court ordered pay raises have proven that if you don’t nickel and dime RN’s to death and … when you eliminate a bunch of hospital middle men who line their own pockets at RN’s expense … the nursing shortage, for the most part, disappears.
P.S. I did eventually get hired on by corrections in spite of the waiting list but, I had to jump through a bunch of hoops … including getting some prison nursing experience that apparently helped me stand out from dozens of other competing applicants. I just find it ironic that with the supposed nursing shortage in California, I really had to bend over backwards and work every angle I could to get this job.
:typing
