RN shortage

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Really, do you think there is a shortage of RNs where you live. Have all of the RNs recently graduated found jobs? Is it a ploy to bring in more immigrant nurses???

Specializes in Psych, Peds, Education, Infection Control.
Actually, that's a point well taken: the desire of new grads to move on to advanced practice nursing.

I am the minority of my graduating class, and the year before that, and the class before that, etc. I have absolutely no desire to move on to advanced practice nursing. I am happy with my schooling, am so far pleased with my lot in life, and there are so, so many things within the realm of nursing that I don't think I could ever get bored.

Those who graduated in my school of nursing in 2015? Almost half are in an APRN program. Those in 2014? Almost 75% (my alma mater loves sending out these stats). Those who JUST GRADUATED IN December? Many are already considering the application process.

I really think there should be at least 5 years of experience before APRN, not to solve this problem, but really...there's so much as a brand new nurse I just did not know. All of the excellent APRN's I've worked with had several years of hands-on experience before moving on, and it shows in their practice.

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Specializes in Medical-Surgical/Float Pool/Stepdown.
The way the schools in my local county are cranking out nurses every semester, I highly doubt we have a shortage around here. I could not help and lol at your immigrant comment, c'mon!

I would not be so quick to shrug off hospitals going to great lengths to recruit international nurses, especially from the Philippines. My hospital will soon get their third wave of Filipino nurses in a few months (third in the past 15 years I think).

I work with many Filipino nurses and have a great respect for most of them so I mean no disrespect by this post. I was told by someone higher up though that our Filipino nurses tend to stay at the bedside which seems to be true. Can't blame my entity for looking for quality international nurses that are going to stick around longer than the local new grads that are just using the hospital for experience before they go on to grad school...

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I graduated last August, passed my boards in November, got an offer in Dec. to my dream job at a large teaching hospital. I had heard stories of new grads having trouble finding jobs. I went to an Accelerated BSN program that had a good reputation, and many classmates and I had multiple offers from big hospitals to choose from. Within 2 weeks of getting my license, I had 5 offers, not hospitals but sub acute, outpatient surgery center, SNFs, and I was getting a lot of calls from recruiters. Some of these jobs actually pay better than hospital jobs. I live in LA, and what I think is 1. having a BSN helps. 2. there is a shortage of experienced nurses in the hospital 3. there is a demand for RNs, maybe not shortage here, but you can't take your pick like back in the day.

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Specializes in Nurse Leader specializing in Labor & Delivery.

Rather, many geographical areas have a shortage of RNs who would willingly work in undesirable conditions for noncompetitive pay.

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Or in the case of where I am, the location is remote enough that nobody knows about it. The conditions are good and the pay is very generous , particularly considering the cost of living, and the area is GORGEOUS, but there just isn't much here. And unless your spouse is also in healthcare, s/he likely won't find a job because other than the hospital, there's very little in the way of employment that pats a living wage.

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There is no nursing shortage in my area as we still have diploma schools, community colleges and universities. We have some poorly managed hospitals that are always hiring but that's a different type of shortage. I live in the Northeast/Mid-Atlantic where there are no true shortages and doubt there will ever be.

My former career was teaching and the patterns of true shortages of teachers (even non-STEM teachers) and nurses are very, very similar.

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Specializes in Psych ICU, addictions.

I graduated nursing school just after the job bubble burst. The year prior to graduation, hospitals were throwing themselves at nurses' feet promising them the moon and lots of money for them to come work at their facility. The year I graduated, it was drastically different. Suddenly jobs were in short supply and the sign-on bonuses were gone.

My class did all right though--I think all but one of us was hired someplace within 6 months (the one that wasn't hired had been putting off her NCLEX for whatever reason). But only a few had their pick of positions, and that was due to their working as a CNA/LVN/PCT before graduation and thus being an internal hire. Most didn't end up in their dream specialties or even in acute care. Several eventually worked their way over to their dream specialty; others floated around to different areas finding their niche. Still others (including myself) fell in love where we started.

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Depends. Med-Surg night shift there is a shortage. Many nurses are going into advanced practice. Specialty areas are harder to get into as an inexperienced nurse. It also depends on location.

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Specializes in Geriatrics, Home Health.

I graduated in 2008. I started nursing school in a nursing shortage and graduated into a glut. No one wanted new grads, especially without a BSN (I have an ADN). The hospital where I volunteered didn't hire its own CNAs into new grad positions. It took me 10 months, a cancelled job, and a 250-mile move to find my first job, in an ALF.

Many of my classmates moved, or spent close to a year looking for a first job. My godmother's youngest daughter graduated with a BSN, looked for a year, then took a yearlong mission trip to Haiti to get experience. When she came back she still couldn't find a job. She finally found a nursing job after she went back for her master's.

I work in home health now. I have never worked in a hospital, so a lot of positions are closed to me. I can't afford a BSN (even public schools are very expensive here).

Call me jaded, but I firmly believe the nursing shortage is a myth. Employers could fill every open position tomorrow if they wanted to. Instead, they insist on looking for "purple squirrels" with the perfect mix of education and experience.

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There is no shortage in California (except maybe in prisons or extremely remote areas)

The cities have a huge overage of nurses.

Recruiters make huge profits by bringing in Foreign nurses (from 139 countries!)

One MD from India fills up PLANES with women with an BSN. He gets $20,000 per nurse. Then hospitals pay the nurse a lower rate. This doctor made five million his first year of recruiting

In 2014 the H1B visa was lifted up and anyone with a BSN can move here. The floodgates are open.

My daughter had great grades and recommendations. NO Jobs here! So she moved north to Portland. Still very competitive, but she did find a job.

People are moving here by the hundres/thousands to get better salaries.

A nursing job in the Phillipines pays almost nothing.

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Specializes in Geriatrics, Home Health.

Death squads have returned to the Philippines. I don't blame anyone for wanting to leave.

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There is a shortage of nurses with BSNs from legit programs who are willing to work the floor. There is a surplus of nurses with dumpster degrees from online or for profit colleges, who don't have the critical thinking skills.

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There is a shortage of nurses with BSNs from legit programs who are willing to work the floor. There is a surplus of nurses with dumpster degrees from online or for profit colleges, who don't have the critical thinking skills.

Can you really earn your degree online? I'm not talking about the RN-BSN bridge programs. I mean legitimate BSN or ADN? I didn't think that was possible.

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