Status of the Industry

That is a good question...wish I had an answer. I was recently talking to a nurse where I live, and she was saying that the nursing market was saturated here (in Colorado). But I know every time I pick up the paper, there are TONS or nursing positions listed. I frequently go on hospital websites to keep up with open positions, and there are always a lot on there as well. I mean, more nursing jobs than every other type of position combined.

I have been looking for a travel nurse assignment in AZ and TX for the winter and it is bone dry at least for ER jobs. Hardly anything listed. Last year there were tons.

Probably just a sign of the economy and times

Many of those who are looking for work and not finding it, are looking in major metropolitan areas with tons of new grads flooding the market with every graduation ... ie Boston, NYC, etc.

Inactive or part-timers are also getting back into the work force due to economic need.

It's a cycle. In the 36 years since I've been licensed I've seen tight job markets come and go. Like the weather, just wait a bit ... it'll turn.

As for people changing fields ... right now nursing is the job-du-jour for people seeking a middle-class income. Remember when it was engineering, MBA or computer science (web design, etc.)?

It's being said that these are unprecedented economic times ... life will be interesting over the next couple of years. This makes it hard to predict where the nursing industry will go from here. One thing is sure, those who are changing field JUST for the paycheck are in for quite the reality check.

It will be interesting to see where the economy goes from here. In the eighties we started using credit cards big time, and that was one way out of a depression. In the nineties, we had the internet boom, and that brought us out.

What will bring us out this time? Are people suddenly, for no reason at all, going to start earning more and spending like crazy again. Will we go back to the ATM housing loans? I don't see something coming that will "bail us out."

I see people either going bankrupt, going into foreclosure, or starting the long hard road to paying off debt. If people decide to pay off debt, it will drive us into a depression--and yet, we have to pay off debt or we will all be bankrupt.

I wonder what effect a depression will have on this nursing shortage we all counted on.

I am hoping it will blow over soon. I had an ad out for a couple of PM positions and had resumes on my desk but, our census is and has been down quite a bit that after a chat with my CEO, we are choosing to not fill the positions at this time. The hospitals in the St. Paul area are laying off not only nursing positions but other departments as well.

The economy seems to be the major factor at this time. So, as my administrator stated yesterday, the nurses we do have had better show us they are the best as he wants the "cream of the crop" since, there are others out their looking for a job.

I am hoping it will blow over soon. I had an ad out for a couple of PM positions and had resumes on my desk but, our census is and has been down quite a bit that after a chat with my CEO, we are choosing to not fill the positions at this time. The hospitals in the St. Paul area are laying off not only nursing positions but other departments as well.

The economy seems to be the major factor at this time. So, as my administrator stated yesterday, the nurses we do have had better show us they are the best as he wants the "cream of the crop" since, there are others out their looking for a job.

That's very interesting. I didn't realize there was an impact on census when the economy is turning down. And it's a bit frightening to hear CEOs say they want only the "best" nurses in such times. Given that "best" often equates economically with "10 pts per shift, high acuity, and no complaining about it, or you can hit the door and we'll hire another nurse who's waiting in line for your place."