Remember When? Where have all the Nursing Jobs gone?!?!

[hkrntobe]

I remember a time when AllNurses.com used to be full of posts from Employed Nurses whom where asking questions related to daily on the job duties. Now it would seem that the only posts I ever see are for Nurses looking for employment or Students looking for internships. Where have all the RN jobs gone and when did the Nursing profession become so desperately undervalued and unappreciated? I read a post just the other day in which a nurse with over 10 years of experience shared what she made hourly when she fist started. I was horrified to find out that it's approximately the same rate (if not a bit more) as Nurses start out making now!?! That is to say, if there lucky enough to find a job. Is there any relief in site? I hope and pray that this situation resolves itself with the next presidential election. Our profession is loosing some phenomenal nurses due to this "Low Ball Pay" and High Nurse to Patient ratio environment that this economy has created. I wonder what the future of medicine holds if it continues to turn it's back on Nurses?

[NickiLaughs, ADN, BSN, RN]

Yeah I agree, it's scary. I started out as an LVN and would get hired the same day or to "come back when I had my RN." Now, you have to put in 500 apps for 2 interviews, and never even get a call back (and that's with my RN, experience, and BSN). I'm moving to case management, I just have bad feelings about where nursing is going.

[cayenne06, MSN, CNM]

I agree. I am a new grad, and I certainly don't feel like anyone owes me a job. However, I have a killer resume and a 3.97 GPA, and it is very disheartening that most hospitals don't even take a second look at new grads.

[TheCommuter, BSN, RN]

The current nursing job situation is closely tied into the horrid economy. Contrary to popular belief, nursing is certainly NOT recession-proof.

During the recession of the early 1990s, some nurses would remain unemployed for 6 months or longer as they looked for jobs. This severe nursing glut continued well into the middle 1990s.

During recessions, patients avoid having elective surgeries because they are fearful of taking the time off work that is needed for full recovery, which results in low hospital census. When hospital census is low, less nurses are needed to keep the floor running. Therefore, less nurses are hired in bad economic times. Many facilities prefer experienced nurses because new grads need to be trained, and this training requires hefty expenditures of money and time.

More people become unemployed during these rough times and, as a result, lose their health insurance. Uninsured people are definitely not inclined to seek healthcare unless it is an absolute emergency. In addition, medical bills incurred by uninsured patients tend to go unpaid, which means less money for healthcare facilities. If facilities are cash-strapped, management will attempt to squeak by with as few nurses as legally possible.

A mass of part-time nurses accept full-time positions during recessions to keep their households afloat when a breadwinner spouse loses his/her job without notice. Plenty of retired nurses are reactivating their nursing licenses and returning to the nursing workforce due to the high costs of food and fuel, and the effects of rapidly dwindling retirement funds.