I've been a nurse (LPN) for several years, and a fairly new RN now in California. While in school, both ASN and now my BSN I kept hearing about the huge nursing shortage we're facing, and how much worse it's going to get, and I still hear it. Then I read posts from experienced nurses on here who state that there's no nursing shortage in most US cities.
So which one is true? I read about how the Baby Boomers will need many more nurses, and I also read how there aren't enough Gen X and Millennials to take over the Baby Boomer Nurses' jobs once they retire. I also read statistics by the ACA 2010 that state that we're facing a major nursing shortage and how many more nurses are needed, and in fact many agencies and companies have been bringing in foreign nurses to fill these so-called vacancies in nursing.
So what's the real truth? In my state of California I see lots of nursing jobs posted all the time, and I wonder if it's because of nurses retiring, quitting, new positions being created, or if it's truly a shortage of nurses at all times. What do you think? Is there a shortage? Do you see a shortage in your city / state?
Where I live, there is an extreme shortage of new and experienced nurses in all area. Like someone said in a previous post, there are pockets of shortages; however, my whole state is experiencing staffing problems, and I do not see it getting better/
The shortage is the number of hospitals willing to hire or take a chance on new grads or "unskilled" RNs. So basically, they would rather be short staffed than to hire these folks.
Hospitals used to routinely hire new grads; although they invested significant amounts of time and money in new grads before they became functioning assets to the hospital, they felt that this was a piece of the "social contract," if you will -- it was their responsibility to do so, and their investment in the new grads would pay off over time. Over the last 15 - 20 years, hospitals that used to welcome, support, and nurture new grads found that they hired new grads only to have many (not all!) of them turn around and leave in a year or so, long before the hospital came close to recouping its initial investment in orientation costs, and that many (not all!) new graduates started having an entitled attitude that new grads did not have in the past; many acted like they were doing the hospital some kind of favor for agreeing to work for them. The turnover rate for new grads is higher now than it's ever been; two years used to be (not that long ago!) considered the minimum acceptable amount of time to stay in a job to be a responsible employee and avoid the "job-hopper" tag; now people routinely say that the appropriate amount of time is one year, and people post here all the time about wanting to leave a job after six months or less, and plenty of people here encourage them to do just that. A lot of hospitals feel they have been badly burned by new grads too many times, and are becoming increasingly reluctant to take a chance on them. Many of them would rather be short-staffed than hire new grads. This is a situation which previous cohorts of new grads in recent years have created.
The shortage or surplus of nurses depends on a lot of factors. Some areas, mostly large urban areas with exceptional pay [and often exceptional cost of living to go along with it] seem to have an extreme surplus. This is to the point that it is not too uncommon for a new grad to be looking for that first job for a long time. In contrast some of the more rural areas with lower pay and smaller, less technically advanced medical facilities along with fewer options for housing, schooling and entertainment have an extreme nursing shortage.
Another factor that seems to go hand in hand with the size of the general population of an area is amount of nurses searching for the available jobs. If you live in an area with a large number of schools proportionate to the number of medical facilities there will of course be a job shortage since there are more new grads than there are jobs. The flip side is living or moving to an area with limited nursing programs where there won't be enough new nurses to fill openings as facilities expand or current staff leaves for whatever reason.
I can't speak for any locale other than my own, but the problem where I am is a nursing surplus in acute care and a nursing shortage everywhere else. There are a couple of hospital systems that are union with decent pay and benefits that seems to hire new grads in cycles. There are always jobs posted, but out of that hiring cycle many of them either require experience or are posted with no intention of ever actually being filled from outside as internal hires have preference and the "good" jobs get snapped up by current staff. Then there is everywhere else but acute care that offers lower pay and no union benefits that can't seem to hire enough staff, ever. Add to that we have one BSN nursing program and four ADN programs pumping out grads every semester in an area with a population base of about 125,000 resulting in the number of jobs available for new grads being pretty slim while many places can't hire nearly enough experienced staff as they mostly try to get in to acute care or mangement.
Pockets of severe shortage, clearly. But nationwide, there is a shortage of jobs for the glut of new grads, starry eyed, thinking they would roll out the red carpet once they passed the NCLEX. Nursing schools are to blame; they put those ideas into their heads often.
If you want to live in rural areas, say of Kentucky or North Dakota, yea you will get a job, more than likely. You have to be willing to uproot your life and relocate if you want work, in many cases.
There is a shortage of experienced nurses willing to put up with the outright crap many hospitals and other places dish out, demanding more and more for less and less. Many are going to retire, many more cut back and move on. Sadly, many others FORCED out due to being "topped out" on pay with seniority and being asked to settle while watching a new grad hire on for 1 dollar an hour less. What a slap in the face.
But, I, on the other hand, applaud the Millennial generation. They are not willing to put up with the crap their elders traditionally have. They see what loyalty and faithful long-term employment will get you, nothing at all. They are not going to stay around when moving on will net more. They are smart; they are advancing their education sooner and moving on faster. Gotta hand it to em.
This will get really interesting when the Boomers really have all retired. I just hope there are competent, caring nurses left when we oldies in the Gen X and Boomer generation need them.
Whew.
So true. My employers have never felt a nursing shortage, but my RN coworkers and I have. Mandatory overtime, limited vacation and time off coverage have been the norm with my employers.
I predict a change to a shortage once the new generation refuses to put up with the work environment the boomers have tolerated.
So true. My employers have never felt a nursing shortage, but my RN coworkers and I have. Mandatory overtime, limited vacation and time off coverage have been the norm with my employers.
I predict a change to a shortage once the new generation refuses to put up with the work environment the boomers have tolerated.
Exactly!!! I am seeing this already. The new generation of nurses do not put up with any shenanigans. They want life/work balance and if they feel that they are just a commodity that gets "used" they are gone.
I am glad that the baby boomers are in the process of retiring. Don't get me wrong - great nurses - but because they put up with almost everything and anything they also enable administration /nurse managers to not change anything and just continue to short staff and promote work environments that are not that great.
Specializes in Specializes in L/D, newborn, GYN, LTC, Dialysis.
Personally as an "old" Gen-x'er I am always keeping an eye out for a better opportunity. I have the Boomer values of hard work, loyalty and only calling out sick when dead. But I have begun to see how little all that is appreciated by some employers. They want a warm body, that's it. And pay raises are ridiculously low, if at all. I began to open my eyes and see that I, alone, will be the one to take care of me. My employer has does not have my back. I have to. Praise for a job well-done is not forthcoming. I have to pat myself on the back for doing a good job and being a nurse who strives for excellence.
Some employers actually forbid, in writing, discussing pay and compensation among coworkers. I see that as a way to keep their staff "under control" and not to rock the boat when they see a brand-spanking-new graduate making a couple dollars less an hour than those with 20, 30 or more years' experience make.
Forcing nurses who have 30 or more years' experience to go back to school to earn a BSN or MSN makes them want to quit. After all, who in their right mind, would take on 10s of thousands of dollars of debt to advance their education, yet still make no more than the ADN working by his or her side---especially when retirement is looming? I think it's a clever plan to get rid of outspoken seasoned nurses, and replace them all with what (they hope) are malleable new graduates.
Ah, but "they" did not count on the new generation being smarter than that, and seeing that it pays for them to job-hop or go for that NP or CRNA ASAP cause that is where the money and opportunity for advancement are. So hospitals are increasingly and chronically poorly-staffed with a continuing flow of new grads who have zero intention of sticking around, putting up the with the insanity floor nursing has become. The oldies are gone, and patients suffer. This is where I see the "shortage" exists, not of sheer volume of nurses, but the right skills and experience mix to keep patients safe and units running smoothly.
It's quite a dilemma, really. What you get is a unit with nurses with less than 2 years' experience, running the show, not knowing WHAT they do not KNOW.
So, I am adopting the Millennial attitude, "do what is best for me, because no one else will". I am no longer settling, staying for years upon years in one place, only to be worked to the bone for little reward and zero appreciation-----that is no longer on my radar. Seeing myself into retirement, happy, content and reasonably well-compensated, is. I am no longer afraid to move on if things are unsatisfactory. An unhappy, burned-out nurse helps no one: not her patients, not management, and certainly, not herself. I can't continue to fill others' cups when they are in need, if mine is empty. I also have to consider my wellbeing, happiness and attitude directly affect my family and if I am unhappy, it isn't good for the spouse, kids or grandkids.
Anyhow the point of that little diatribe is, while there may or not be a shortage as most perceive it, I have to do what is right for me in the end. You see, it's never too late for an old Boomer or Gen-X'er to learn from the Millennials, after all.
Some employers actually forbid, in writing, discussing pay and compensation among coworkers.
Which is an illegal policy and should be politely challenged, when possible. Although in a right-to-work state, that's not going to matter much, they'll just find another reason to fire you if you stir the pot too much.
Seems to me that the strongest pressures for higher wages are unionization and strong state labor laws. Don't forget to research candidates and vote on Nov. 8, everyone!
Specializes in Psychiatry, Community, Nurse Manager, hospice.
This is your answer. Don't listen to nursing schools who are trying to get your money or a bigger budget.
You need to read the whole article. It's not cut and dry. This isn't accounting for new delivery methods which could wipe out the surplus. It isn't accounting for future limitations on nursing education. And the surplus is quite small.
Meh. I am in a large city in the midwest. There are definitely MANY more new grad jobs out there then when I graduated at the end of the recession. It's really not the 100 applications for one spot atmosphere I job hunted in. It's still conservative flyover country but my city isn't exactly Grand Forks, ND either.
As has been mentioned previously, nurse retention is the bigger issue. We have spots because we can't keep our new grads beyond a year or two. This poses its own set of problems but I feel like the general advice that you will need to move to BF, Nowhere in order to get a new grad job that isn't nights on the worst MS unit in the city is a bit outdated for the large chunks of the country in between the coasts.
Just because a job is posted does NOT mean it exists. This has been going on since the last recession. I do not understand the benefit to the hospitals of doing this but there must be a financial incentive to them. I was a traveler RN for years and I heard the same thing over and over.
Specializes in OR, Nursing Professional Development.
Just because a job is posted does NOT mean it exists. This has been going on since the last recession. I do not understand the benefit to the hospitals of doing this but there must be a financial incentive to them. I was a traveler RN for years and I heard the same thing over and over.
The position exists. The intention to actually fill it does not. Basically, if a manager decides that a position is not needed and gives it up, there is a huge gigantic often unsuccessful attempt to get it approved. Posting it with no intention to fill it means they aren't giving up the position and won't have to fight to get an additional position approved if they decide in the future they do want that extra person.
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DisneyNurseGal, BSN, RN
568 Posts
Where I live, there is an extreme shortage of new and experienced nurses in all area. Like someone said in a previous post, there are pockets of shortages; however, my whole state is experiencing staffing problems, and I do not see it getting better/