RN jobs drying up?

U.S.A. Colorado

Published

Holy Moly!!! I just spent a few hours looking for Full-Time jobs in CO that are in areas outside of Denver and there doesn't seem to be much available. Is it always like this? I've been looking in Fort Collins, Boulder, Steamboat Springs, Durango and Loveland. Are people having a hard time finding work? I've seen a lot of per diem and part time stuff, but very little full time.

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Specializes in Freelance Writer, 'the nurse who knows content'.

I can't entirely answer this, but I just wanted to comment that Colorado really only has one major metropolitan area: Denver/Boulder. Colorado Springs is getting good-sized, but beyond that, Colorado mostly consists of small towns. For example, you named Steamboat, Durango and Loveland. Not only are those all quite small, but Steamboat and Durango are west slope towns where the cost of living is high and employment is almost always difficult to obtain (regardless of the industry).

I am not an expert on the current nursing climate in Colorado, but I know that jobs of any kind are hard to come by in ski country. Thousands of people want to live in a resort town, but there are only a handful of year-round jobs in any given spot.

Good luck to you!

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I did know that jobs in those towns are traditionally hard to come by, but just 3 or 4 years ago, there were TONS of full-time nursing jobs in Durango, Steamboat Springs, Loveland, Boulder and Fort Collins. I was just really shocked to see just a few years later that there are very few full time jobs to be had. Gee, I guess we're closing in on the "shortage". I just hope this isn't forshadowing the Dever area's nursing opportunities in 5 or 6 years... yikes.

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I work in Lone Tree, CO. There are quite a few RN jobs in the area, you just have to be willing to hunt for them. I think the big upset with HCA and United Health Care caused a backlash with HCA affiliated facilities and they have been slow to post position openings. Also, I have noticed that in order to apply for jobs at some hospitals, you have to actually log onto that facilities website as they don't seem to be posting openings with job search engines.

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Specializes in LTC, Psych, M/S.
I did know that jobs in those towns are traditionally hard to come by, but just 3 or 4 years ago, there were TONS of full-time nursing jobs in Durango, Steamboat Springs, Loveland, Boulder and Fort Collins. I was just really shocked to see just a few years later that there are very few full time jobs to be had. Gee, I guess we're closing in on the "shortage". I just hope this isn't forshadowing the Dever area's nursing opportunities in 5 or 6 years... yikes.

Nursing programs here in Northern CO have increased their admissions in the past few years.....I think that has alot to do with it. FRCC Larimer more than doubled the number of students they admit each year.

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