The imporrtance of having a degree in this economy especially In Nursing !!

[Blessed S.N.23]

So I was having a talk with some of my peers on the importance of having or fulfilling a degree in this economy! Its been reported this week on CNN that job losses continue to be on the rise and that there are to many people without jobs right now and how people need to start getting into degree programs that are recession proof! Ive been hearing alot of new grads not being able to find jobs after graduation but i still believe Nursing is one of the top professions in America besides Law, medical, and dental school! Im glad to be in the program(BSN)! Its so important to hold some form of degree to fall back on because jobs these days are not easy to come by! A ADN and BSN are the best to have right now because Nursing will always be here! People get sick and die everyday so there u have it why Nursing is in demand right now! Anyone agree?! :stdnrsrck:

[PMFB-RN, RN]

Right now I know lot's and lot's of RN who are working full time and don't want to be. I know lots more who wanted to retire last year or this year and didn't. They are working full time because their spouse's jobs are in danger, or have been lost. Or they have lot vast amounts of money from their retirements accounts in the economic down turn.

I think when these nurse do leave, or go back to part time there is going to be a lot of RN openings and plenty of nursing jobs.

OR I have a skewed perception.

[sarahsmile44]

It's hard to get a job in any profession right now and it can be discouraging for nursing students; especially ones like me who took ten years of night classes just to get my pre-reqs done! But, to the OP, I LOVE your optimism. I tend to be more optimistic myself. Relocating is an option for me, but here in Michigan, graduate nurses are still being hired. I also agree with the other poster about the nursing profession being a bit flooded by older nurses who've had to go back to work. That will change as well. Keep positive, do great in school and do anything extra as far as volunteering and honor society work to make yourself stand out and network with other healthcare professionals that you know. Stay positive!!

[MsQueensRN, LPN, LVN]

Nursing is recession proof? I live in the NY metro area, and 10 (TEN) hospitas have either: closed, laid off nurses, put hiring freezes on nurses and/or given existing nurses more and more work to the point of MAKING them quit!

I love how all nursing students have the fantasy of "Be a nurse. Save a life. Get paid well. Ahhhhhhhhh."

In reality, these days it's "take what you can get." Those student nurses that have narrowed down areas they WON'T work for are in for a rude awakening. Nurses that won't DARE do "menial" things like bed baths, changing diapers, dealing with screaming patients, annoying staff.

Ain't ya ain't seen nothin' yet....

This is so true. That fantasy is the one that gets spoon fed to us all the way up until maybe the last semester of nursing school when we are finally told to take whatever job we can get, hold on tight, and don't let go until you have secured some type of certifications and a new job. lol. I wish that the real deal had been told to me earlier in nursing school so that I wouldn't have been in for such a rude awakening now. I am not bitter, and I know that I will survive until I find that first RN job. But it wouldn't have hurt to hear a dose of the truth earlier on.

[MsQueensRN, LPN, LVN]

I know NY is a tough place to move away from, I've been there and I loved it, but have you ever thought about relocating because I heard about the NY nurse situation from this Manhattan doctor I know, but it's not like that in the Southern states. I mean, I can't speak for all of them but the ones South and Southwest aren't like that. I mean, it's just a suggestion but man from the sounds of it NY is a tough place.

It is extremely tough at the moment with such a flood of new grads. I am learning to drive now in hopes of going elsewhere to gain some experience and hopefully be able to come back and work in the city. I still have this dream in my head of having an apartment in the city and being able to walk to work **sigh** but until that fantasy day I will make moves.

[JenniferSews]

This is so true. That fantasy is the one that gets spoon fed to us all the way up until maybe the last semester of nursing school when we are finally told to take whatever job we can get, hold on tight, and don't let go until you have secured some type of certifications and a new job. lol. I wish that the real deal had been told to me earlier in nursing school so that I wouldn't have been in for such a rude awakening now. I am not bitter, and I know that I will survive until I find that first RN job. But it wouldn't have hurt to hear a dose of the truth earlier on.

My first semester an instructor told us this. Sadly we thought she was crazy since every other instructor was still promising the pie in the sky dream of nursing. I was even a bit mad that she would tell us that our first weeks of class when we'd done 2 year of prereqs and waited 3 years on the waiting list to start the program. But when that class graduated in May 2009 some had trouble finding jobs. By now it's nearly impossible. If I ever ran into that instructor again (she retired after our class) I would kiss her for being honest while everyone else was blatantly lying. They knew the score. They saw the signs of how hard it was to get clinical sites, how no one was offering nurse intern positions anymore, more hospitals moving to bsn only, no facilities wanting to do preceptorships for seniors. If they were qualified to teach me critical thinking skills they should have been able to put the big picture together from all that. But still they wouldn't tell us the truth. She knew she was retiring and refused to buy in to the story we were being fed.