THERE IS NO NURSING SHORTAGE in 2010.

Nurses General Nursing

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Monster.com NursingLink articles often seem like they were written by students in healthcare administration or MBA programs. This Silicon-Valley-based website combines cliche'd management and business jargon with very topical treatment of nursing issues, many of which seem to be 10 years behind the latest developments.

At a time when there is already a glut of nursing students and nurses due to returners and those holding off retirement, and when jobs are hard to come by, Monster.com is STILL encouraging people to enter this "hot" career field in droves.

THERE IS NO NURSING SHORTAGE in 2010. THERE IS A GLUT OF NURSES , particularly New Grads. There will always be room for new grads, but not for droves upon droves of new grads as there have been in the last 2-3 years. Many of those grads have moved on to other career fields such as PA, PT, or law school. Others have taken refuge in CNA or other healthcare positions and continued job hunting.

Specializes in Critical Care, ED, Cath lab, CTPAC,Trauma.
I am curious as to why you are having trouble finding a job. You seem to have the credentials that any facility would be begging for! :confused:

Scary isn't it?

I have applied to more positions than you could ever dream of. There are many nurses my age in the same boat. Some have blogs on this very site. I got laid off from my night supervisor/day educator job for a small local hospital and I have been looking ever since. Things are very tight in the northeast. I am at the top of the pay scale with 31 years experience. There are many that can do the same job with less experience for less money.

There is a lot of re-entry nurses now and they can be paid less because they have been out of the field for a while....that coupled with Master's degree nurses out of work and new masters grads they are being hired to the "middle management" That I had filled with a BSN and experience.....which by the way had never been an issue.....until recently. I tried returning to the bedside but I have been told my bedside experience is "Dated" and they are looking for someone with a little more "recent" bedside experience. My personal favourite......"You are over qualified for this position".

I recently was joking that it must have leper somewhere on my references. I do however, have a auto immune disorder (originally thought to be MS is actually myasthenia gravis) which that too, had never been a problem until recently........I don't share it on an interview but word does get around. And to be honest right now, I am really having a hard time physically........I am applying to phone triage positions and still cannot find a job. Let's face it...... NO ONE wants a nurse with a cane or wheelchair/scooter that walks funny, whether or not I sit at a computer and answer phones.............but I keep trying.

Fair? NO....Can I prove it? NO Does it happen? YES. At least I still have unemployment and I keep on plugging.

But there are many nurses out there my age that are not,and I hate this word, disabled, that are in the same boat I am.........

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Specializes in Med/Surg, Acute Rehab.

Esme, I am truly sorry for your plight. :hug: Even though this won't get you a job, it's these hospitals that are the losers for not hiring someone like yourself.

I wish you the best in your continuing search.

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Specializes in Critical Care, ED, Cath lab, CTPAC,Trauma.
Esme, I am truly sorry for your plight. :hug: Even though this won't get you a job, it's these hospitals that are the losers for not hiring someone like yourself.

I wish you the best in your continuing search.

Amen! and thanks for the hug!!!!! everylittle bit helps!!!!!:redbeathe

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Specializes in ER I/CCU Cath lab LTC.

My 28 year old daughter knows about 7 or 8 people who are either in nursing school or are planning on going. They think they will be able to find a job immediately after graduating. I feel sorry for them because it will be awhile before the job market opens up. I agree that different areas have different needs. Not many of us can move to the areas that have jobs. In my area, you would have to bump someone off to have a job open up.I have never seen it this bad, and I don't think it's going to get better for a long time.

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Specializes in geriatrics.

While relocating is not always feasible for everyone, if you are able to do so, go for it. I have also noticed with respect to people who are obtaining jobs in this terrible economy....perseverance and networking. Eventually, you will find a job, and, hopefully, by mid-year 2011, things will begin to seem more promising overall.

In this economy, it is often who you know that helps land a job. I was very fortunate as a new grad to have landed a job (which I am relocating for) through a friend I made on this site. She is a blessing for me, and so is the job.

For those nurses who are older, you have a wealth of knowledge that someone will surely want. Have you looked at teaching jobs? I have noticed RN positions for experienced nurses to teach Nurses Aide or PSW courses. Or what about Agency work somewhere?

Realistically, this cannot last too much longer. For all of you looking for work, I sincerely hope that something positive happens for you.

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Specializes in Cardiac - ER.

agism is a factor in employment. employers would rather hire a new grad for $10 less an hour... that unfortunately is business.

here are a few other reason for the nursing glut.

currently, new nursing graduates are having a difficult time finding jobs. not just difficult, extremely difficult. this is for three reasons.

reason number one - the schools love the money..

the state and federal governments have pumped millions of dollars into promoting "nursing education". this in of itself is not a bad thing as long is kept in line with the actual need for nurses. unfortunately, schools have put out so many nurses that here in san diego, you may have hundreds of applicants for a single nursing position at a local healthcare facility. this is not just a phenomenon of san diego, as we have applicants as far away as san francisco who apply for jobs here in san diego.

so why do the schools not stop producing nurses? simply, it is because of the dollars the government pumps into the schools for the nursing education programs. they do not want to diminish these programs and lose this money. unfortunately, they do a great disservice to their students who take a nursing, and to the community who pays for this governmental funding.

reason number two - the government wants to cut healthcare costs.

our government, particularly the federal government, does not want to see any type of nursing shortage. one of the biggest costs of healthcare is in the provision of nurses for care. by flooding the nursing market, they will force nurses wages to go flat or decrease, allowing them to claim victory on reducing one of the costs of healthcare.

this fits right in with the obama national healthcare plan. what will it take in the future to reduce the cost of healthcare? number one: reduce the cost of nursing as this is one area that you cannot turn over to a robot or a computer to reduce the cost. so you provide the funds for schools to be able to pump out an excessive amount of nurses, cheapening the wages and the profession.

reason number three - the professional nursing organizations want to raise the bar for education.

professional nursing organizations such as the ana and others have long promoted that the basis for even beginning nursing should be a four year bachelors degree. they have been unable to do this because there have been nursing shortages, and two year degree nurses or adn nurses were necessary to be able to provide bedside nursing and meet the need for the market.

these professional nursing organizations have long promoted, and specifically since 2006, encouraged federal and state governments to provide funding for nursing schools. this funding covered both two-year degrees and four year degrees and is quite successful as evidenced by the nursing glut at this time. now the professional organizations have created a mandate for accreditation that requires a minimum percentage of staff have a bachelors degree or greater. now that we have a nursing glut, institutions do not have difficulty hiring four year degree or greater nurses to meet this percentage.

overall, this leads institutions to hire four year degrees. this is now leaving the two year degree or adn nurse out in the cold, having spent two years of their lives getting an education that they cannot use and making them less or useless to the job market.

unfortunately, the schools have pumped out so many bachelor degree nurses that even the bachelor nurses are having trouble finding jobs.

i do not see a benefit of this in the economy. we now have educated people, who have no jobs, who will seek public assistance, and without work, they will not provide any taxes into the economy or system that helped them get educated. yet we continue to pump millions of dollars into the schools and universities to make nonproductive individuals.

there needs to be a method to match the actual job need with the number being educated for the jobs.

this is not just a phenomenon as local san diego. i have been reviewing many online nursing forms. there is a major glut happening across the nation in most metropolitan areas.

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