So is there really a nursing shortage?

[VegGal]

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?

[Temeika, LPN]

I find that there is a shortage in terms of turnover rate. True we need more nurses, but due to a lot of nurse burnout r/t heavy workloads or long work hours, nurses are always changing jobs and seeking what fits better into their life. ive worked in several areas of nursing and I find that retainment is a big issue with a lot of companies. Ive seen nurses get run off from their positions because of constant dealings with staff members with bad attitudes, nurses that don't want to adequately train nurses that are new to the company, lack of support in the field or on the floor, lack of team work, micro and/or mis-management, changing shift hours or work expectations, callouts with out adequate back up to fill in, poor communications between nurses, management and other staff member, lack of accountability, folk always passing the buck to keep from having to do certain task or the firing of nurses for various reasons, some warranted and some not warranted.

I go on to say that there are also a shortage of good nurses, nurses that care and don't mind lending a helping hand in order to offer good patient/resident care. I've seen countless nurses in nursing homes that do not feel its in their job descriptions to assist CNAs when they can, or provide CNAs with supplies they need to assist residents with ADLs. there have been nurses coming to work under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs. Management having their picks as to who they let get away with what.

I can go on with what Ive seen in my 6 years of nursing.

[deebee20]

In Florida the job market is very poor for new graduates. I do see vacancies for nurses but you need 2 years experience. I find it to be very sad especially for those who need to start repaying debt incurred from nursing school.

[Buyer beware, BSN]

OP: There hasn't been an honest answer to this question in at least the 30 years that I've been behind the stick.

Always a nursing shortage never a nursing glut despite the constant importation of nurses from around the world and the proliferation of seriously dime a dozen schools of nursing of dubious quality.

So who's behind the propaganda of the nursing shortage? Well the biggest purveyor of this canard is the Federal government and those entrpeneueurs who stand to make tons of money from pushing this myth.

I will admit that even though there is no nursing shortage there may be an allocation shortage in those areas of the country known to be working hell-holes with dangerous patients and slave driver employers.

So the next time you hear of a nurse, brand new or not, complain about not being able to find employment ask yourself: "what about the nursing shortage and the boomer issue?"

And if you think you'll find refuge by becoming a NP, think again, they have their own unique set of problems.

[frunalara]

Hi!

If there is a shortage, the government should only get in this forum and realize that there are probably thousand (if not millions) of nurses throughout the country that never passed the NCLEX and gave up because they have no support whatsoever after they graduate, got frustrated with their careers and retired because of the exhausting and high pressure positions, became Pharm Reps because they would get paid more, became mothers and had very little maternal leave so they had to quit the job completely...etc, etc...

You solve those problems and in 5 minutes you would have NO nursing shortage. Make schools support students until they become RNs (even if it means they can't graduate until they have the license). We gotta remember that because students are not paying tuition anymore schools completely abandon them after graduation. "You didn't pass?? sooo sorry..but you're on your own. Unless you want to pay me 40k again??? Oh and if you need your transcripts sent again after you didn't pass for the 5 or 6 or 7th time make sure you call so I don't answer and be oblivious of whats going in and when I do answer you have to pay me a fee so I can do that work for you. Nothing is free my friend, it would do you good to remember that" ....

Then create easier schedules for nurses, a safer work environment, more positions in terms of more nurses per rooms of patients, even better pay, easier reach for the admin and other positions (sometimes a nurse has to go through the whole "hospitalization", "med-surg" process in order to reach positions that are not even clinical, some nurses simply do not want to be clinical!!! I've met pharm reps (ex- RNs) that tell me they hated the clinical part of nursing and that in order to do anything else they had to have X amount of years of clinical experience..seriously??? Whyyyyy do we continuously make things difficult ?? I get that the question of why then did they study nursing raises...but let me answer this...nursing is not only about the clinical part...there sooo much else to it...you can be hard-core cleaning wounds and getting IVs and saving people's lives in an ICU, but you have to completely love that! Some nurses incline more towards papers and quality of costumer experience...or case management.

The maternal leave...grrrrr...A woman that had to quit her job because the hospital couldn't wait for her after she had a complication during delivery and had to be bed bound for weeks and wanted to bond with her baby after that will MOST LIKELY not want anything to do with nursing or minimum THAT HOSPITAL. Plus she has a baby now! that crazy 12 hour schedule hmmmmm NOT precisely convenient.

Shortage or no shortage, something has to change.

[KeyMaster]

Our system leadership mandated a minimum BSN requirement and won't accept applications from nurses with an Associate degree. Yet they are willing to moan, groan and complain about the severe nursing shortage that is keeping them from filling the HUGE number of open positions we have in our system. One of our busiest acute care floors only has two actual hospital employees - the rest of the staff is agency or travel nurses. Rather than accept an application from nurses who have graduated from one of the FOUR of the Associate degree programs in our area we are bringing in large numbers of contract nurses from outside the country. The total irony is that many of the temporary and contract nurses don't have a BSN, which is apparently OK because we haven't hired them as permanent employees....meanwhile we have a surplus of RNs who can't find jobs in their own city.

[CKPM2RN, ASN, EMT-P]

Where I live, yes there is. There is a huge shortage. New grads can get a job anywhere. My unit all the time offers huge overtime incentives. Huge. They recently stated they hired over 30 nurses this year and still need to hire over 15 more to be adequately staffed. ]

Which state are you in? I may be willing to relocate or work something out. I'm a new grad as well.

[Scroll89]

My region seems pretty much like what others are saying here.

We have plenty of new grads looking for beginner-level jobs ... most of whom have no desire to stay in the long enough to become worth the expense of training them for high level acute care. They just want 1 or 2 years of experience before moving on to something else. The constant training (and turnover) of new grads increases the stress of units considerably. (Typical med/surg nurse/patient ratio is 3:1, sometimes 4:1)

What we need are people who want to specialize in acute care and who can handle the stress that acute care involves -- and who will stay in acute care long enough to become proficient care givers and front-line leaders.

I'm an ICU nurse, and it was my first position in nursing. I'm actively looking for a position in my town (I drive an hour to work) and I can't get an interview. Mind you i've only been there for almost a year and I'm motivated to find other work because of distance driven and scheduling issues (I might get 1-4 day off block per month....) but they aren't even considering me with my experience. I'm probably going to have to take a telemetry position and then step back into ICU or ED. Aside from a short orientation to a unit, I already have the critical care components down, but don't have that magical 2 years experience that they're all looking for (and that the stupid applicant tracking systems look for).

[Funkymiss187]

Well dang. What motivates you then ? Time and a half plus $100, that's almost an entire day of pay !

My hospital motivates with $75 extra per shift or a pair of movie tickets

[RNMgrSarah]

Been a psych RN for 10 years. Barely get applications AND we take new grads and have both days and nights available.

[Retriever5280]

There's a shortage of people wanting to put up with all the BS in nursing: backstabbing peers, management 50 yrs behind the times, bed ragers, constant complaining by everyone....

[ainas]

The shortage depends on geographical location, experience, and specialty. Big metropolitans are oversaturated, but more rural areas are experiencing huge shortage. Let's say, person just after school probably will have huge difficulty to find a job in Chicago, LA, San Francisco, NYC, or Miami (here you need to know Spanish on top of all requirements) because of the lack of experience. However, the same person will be hired the very same day in New Mexico, Arizona, or Montana. The same situation with specialization. A novice nurse probably will be hired faster at SNF than a prestige hospital. Thus, shortage exists in some places and areas of nursing.

[Hollidenton]

There is a shortage of nurses who want to do long term care. The need for nurses will greatly increase because there are more baby boomers now and as they get to the age of needing care we will not have enough nurses to meet the need . Do yes there will be a shortage. Unfortunately the powers that be don't want to pay the nurses what they are worth. Instead they want to capitalize on these aging people and make money on them providing the minimal staffing overworking the buses that care for them. Let us hope it will change. For the sake of the patients and the sake of the nurses who went into this profession to care for people but also to eat a decent living at it.