RN shortage

Flatline, BSN, RN · Apr 6, 2017

Just because they may be reaching retirement age doesn't mean they're going to be able to retire. Some lost their retirement savings when the economy tanked in 2008. Others may not have saved anywhere near enough to actually be able to retire. Some may be supporting adult children who have been having difficulties.

Even if they work until they die they will eventually die. I mean, they could still roll around pushing their own vent and drag an IV pump or two while passing meds but eventually the vent will give out.

The Baby Boomers have such a wide age range that it will be hard to point to an exact year that they will all fall off but we certainly have started to see it and over the next decade or so the trend will only increase.

SmilingBluEyes · Apr 7, 2017

The Baby Boomers have such a wide age range that it will be hard to point to an exact year that they will all fall off but we certainly have started to see it and over the next decade or so the trend will only increase.

True, but, they are a huge generation/demographic and this "falling off "--- so delicately put--- will still take a while. At least a decade or even more. The youngest boomers are just in their early 50s.

And not to worry, the ones choosing to work will probably be in pretty good shape, hardly pushing vents around while passing meds.

Squad51KMG365 · Apr 7, 2017

True, but, they are a huge generation/demographic and this "falling off "--- so delicately put--- will still take a while. At least a decade or even more. The youngest boomers are just in their early 50s.
And not to worry, the ones choosing to work will probably be in pretty good shape, hardly pushing vents around while passing meds.

AND, some of us healthy boomers had their nursing school interrupted by a sick family member, decided to move to where the doctors are instead of driving 6 hrs for a Dr appt, and STILL would like to resume nursing school and work into our 70s or beyond. Thankfully there are many programs here in the Houston area, but that's a topic for another thread...

BedsideNurse · Apr 7, 2017

I agree that NP's should have at least a few years experience. I am surprised it's not a requirement. I can't imagine feeling comfortable being an NP if I didn't have solid clinical experience as a bedside nurse. Seems like it would be very difficult to make clinical judgements if you hadn't done a whole lot of assessment/hadn't seen a lot of patients. Of course, look at PA's. From what I gather their program is a bit more rigorous in certain ways (could be wrong about this, but it's my impression from what I've heard), but a lot of them never touched a patient before school, and they seem to fare okay, so...

IEDave, ASN, CNA, LVN · Apr 7, 2017

True, but, they are a huge generation/demographic and this "falling off "--- so delicately put--- will still take a while. At least a decade or even more. The youngest boomers are just in their early 50s.
And not to worry, the ones choosing to work will probably be in pretty good shape, hardly pushing vents around while passing meds.

Why, thank you for the kind comment - I'll be sure to share my Metamucil with you. :cheeky:

Ahem - for the record, 54 and on the cusp of starting out as a brand-new LVN in one of the most economically depressed areas (San Bernardino/Riverside) in the People's Republic of California. Can't really say there's either a glut or a shortage - depends on what you mean. True, getting a dream job around here as a new grad is unlikely, but the Subacutes/LTC's are willing to hire for pretty decent wages ($20ish/hr for LVN, mid $30's for RN). Once you've established yourself, moving to acute care tends to be doable.*Vastly improved from the job market of '09, when I had to kiss my IT career good-bye, along with most of my personal belongings and my retirement nest egg.

So...better than it was, but not back to the standards of '05-'06. Interestingly, most of the area hospitals have restarted their new grad programs, and the job ads for "BSN required" are pretty uncommon. The new grad ADN/ASN RNs I've talked to have had pretty good success getting acute care gigs pretty much at will, though again getting a dream gig is still tough.

For me - already have some LVN gigs lined up; just waiting on the BVNPT. See you on the floor (so to speak...)

----- Dave

Rocknurse, MSN, APRN, NP · Apr 7, 2017

Well I can definitely tell you there is no ploy to hire foreign nurses. That's a myth. I'm a foreign-born nurse and it was incredibly difficult to get over here. It took me nearly 3 years and I was eventually hired to a hard-to-fill position in a part of Arizona you wouldn't really want to go. In those days green cards were given to nurses but it was still difficult. As far as I know, green cards are no longer given to nurses and they only qualify for a work visa (H1-B?) and the waiting lists are incredibly long...several years. I believe in this profession that it is worth investing in a good school and a BSN. There are a lot of ADN grads and it's harder for those nurses as new grads to get positions, partcularly in acute care, but again...it is location dependent.

There is a shortage of highly trained acute nurses. I have never had trouble getting a job as I have experience, but since I obtained my BSN and a couple of certifications I have noticed that it's even easier to get a job, and good ones at that. I applied last year to the number 1 hospital in the state to the trauma ICU and I clicked on send on the online application and within an hour I had a phone call from HR already. If you invest in the education, and the letters after your name that many on this site seem to ridicule, you'll find that it works in your favor. It's all about that resume.

Lastly, again while there is truth in the glut of new grad NPs, I don't believe that it's true for all NPs. I believe that acute NPs will fare better in the future job market and will earn higher salaries as long as you've gone to a good solid school. I find that in my grad program it's all about who you know and word of mouth. My school has the best reputation and almost a 100% job placement after graduation because you're already set up with clinicals in the best hospitals. The reputation of your school precedes you. If you're doing an online program and fixing your own clinicals you're at a huge disadvantage. This is in no way in disrespect of online graduates and says nothing about your skills or work ethic, but it's really about setting yourself to succeed and using the advantage of a good reputation, and that can't be underestimated.

Rocknurse, MSN, APRN, NP · Apr 7, 2017

Oh...and one last question to ask ourselves....does being short staffed actually mean there is a shortage or is it that facilities are purposefully running units short to save money and pretend they are hiring but not actually doing so. Food for thought. It wouldn't be the first time dummy job listings were posted.

SmilingBluEyes · Apr 7, 2017

Oh...and one last question to ask ourselves....does being short staffed actually mean there is a shortage or is it that facilities are purposefully running units short to save money and pretend they are hiring but not actually doing so. Food for thought. It wouldn't be the first time dummy job listings were posted.

I think we all know it's deliberate.

klone, MSN, RN · Apr 7, 2017

Oh...and one last question to ask ourselves....does being short staffed actually mean there is a shortage or is it that facilities are purposefully running units short to save money and pretend they are hiring but not actually doing so. Food for thought. It wouldn't be the first time dummy job listings were posted.

Perhaps other nurse managers can weigh in. I can say without question that, the case in my hospital, we absolutely ARE trying to hire nurses, but aren't getting any applicants.

While I'm not going to say it never happens, I think the idea of dummy job listings that they have no intention to fill is more myth than reality.

If/when it *is* happening, it is a decision of the individual hiring manager, not the facility (because the job wouldn't be posted if HR and Finance have not approved the FTE). In that case, it's an incredibly short-sighted manager who would shoot themselves in the foot in that way, and I certainly would not want to work for that manager.

llg, PhD, RN · Apr 7, 2017

Perhaps other nurse managers can weigh in. I can say without question that, the case in my hospital, we absolutely ARE trying to hire nurses, but aren't getting any applicants.
While I'm not going to say it never happens, I think the idea of dummy job listings that they have no intention to fill is more myth than reality.
If/when it *is* happening, it is a decision of the individual hiring manager, not the facility (because the job wouldn't be posted if HR and Finance have not approved the FTE). In that case, it's an incredibly short-sighted manager who would shoot themselves in the foot in that way, and I certainly would not want to work for that manager.

We definitely do not do dummy jobs either. If a position is posted, it is real.

As a tertiary care peds hospital, we have trouble finding people qualified to work in our environment. Most of the patients are not only at an intermediate or intensive care level, they are children. It's also a charity hospital, so there is not much money lying around for orienting new grads looking for that "job to work for 1-2 years until they go to grad school." We hire a lot of new grads, but we have to believe they will be easier than most to orient and/or be planning to stay for a long time to be worth that investment.

umbdude, MSN, APRN · Apr 7, 2017

I was in a fairly large BSN cohort. Very few of my classmates have plans to go back to grad school right away. Most of my classmates are young, and they are sick and tired of school. They want to work a few years so they could get a nice car and enjoy life (save money too).

SmilingBluEyes · Apr 7, 2017

I guess it depends on where you are; I have seen jobs posted for months and longer, that people applied for, that qualified for, but somehow, no one ever hired.

Suspicious to me.