This Current Recession!!!

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How has the current recession impacted your job, your place of employment, your outlook, etc.? I'm quite curious. They say that nursing is recession-proof, but is it really? I'm from Michigan and am wondering what the lay of the land is like from nurses all over the country (including here in Michigan).

Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy Hannukah!

Specializes in Emergency Medicine, Dr. Office, Psych.

here in pa we are hiring more nurses than ever, the recession leads to homelessness, to more crime to more people out on the streets pan handling, our er's are bursting at the scemes! we have most local hospitals looking for more nurses, both lpn & rn alike, as well as the increase in mental health diagnosis, we have opened many new mental health units........

[color=#48d1cc]so i have to say, atleast in erie, pa we havent felt the recession at all, we actually have more need for nurses, i know at my prison we are hiring more nurses because we have such a large turn over, we actually started a preceptor program, we bring nurses into the jail for an 8 hr shift & see if they even like it, because working it & seeing the daily operations are totally different than seeing the job description on paper..

[color=#48d1cc]it seems to be working!

[color=#48d1cc]but we are always in need of per diem staff... :cry:

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Specializes in Rehab, Med Surg, Home Care.

I predict the trend toward higher acuity will get even worse as more workers lose jobs that provide medical insurance, and others put off routine care until a condition becomes emergent. We will be pushing the limit even more in terms of patient ratios and at the same time support personnel such as nursing assistants, unit secretaries and housekeeping will be pared to the bone and beyond, especially on the off shifts-which is when most emergencies and admissions are seen! :o

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Thanks for all of the thoughtful replies!

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Specializes in Nephrology, Cardiology, ER, ICU.

I live in central IL and our bid (710 bed) hospital is in the middle of a huge renovation and they have slowed waaayyy down. The second biggest hospital has delayed even starting their renovation project. We also have a new 100 bed long term acute care hospital that is being built and it is going up fast! So...kinda of a mixed bag.

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I got canceled at work last week.

As a per diem employee, that is a risk I take.

It seems the per diem nurses have been scheduling themselves for more shifts than usual, and people work overtime a bit more.

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Specializes in Critical Care.

In no way is nursing recession proof. I'm in MI too..Oakwood is in a hiring freeze and Beaumont is scaling back and laying off non nursing personnel. I'm at U of M and they are starting to hand out pink slips to some non nursing personnel and while no mention has been made of laying off nurses, I know some positions have been frozen and aren't being filled in the near future. The budget is getting huge attention and it's tight all over. I'm not sure what's going to happen. Scary time for all of us

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Specializes in CVICU, Burns, Trauma, BMT, Infection control.

I'm in central Fl(Vero Beach) and there are lay offs and nobody is hiring. It's definitely an employers market here,the few that do get hired are younger and able to work the 12 hour shifts with more higher acuity pts.

It's pretty sucky here.

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Specializes in Just about everything.

Here in werstern Pa I managed to hold on to my fulltime position, but the agency I picked up extra time with sold its healthcare division. Unfortunately, our census has been down and the hospital closed a floor which dispersed the staff throughout the house. This cut down the available overtime to nil. Its hard to believe that as an RN with 17 years nursing experience, I'm having a hard time finding a second job for extra time and money.

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I dont do any agency nursing yet, but I heard that agency nursing is drying up. our census has gone down are people too broke to afford to go to the doctor? harder to get incentive shifts I had been getting them the past two years.. our unit is way overbudget, so staffing is thin.. bummer

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Here in werstern Pa I managed to hold on to my fulltime position, but the agency I picked up extra time with sold its healthcare division. Unfortunately, our census has been down and the hospital closed a floor which dispersed the staff throughout the house. This cut down the available overtime to nil. Its hard to believe that as an RN with 17 years nursing experience, I'm having a hard time finding a second job for extra time and money.
Oh my gosh, I remember in early 90s when I was doing agency and loving it and making GOOD money. Everything just came to a screeching halt back then when the economy changed. Lucky, in addition to the agency work I had a steady casual position at a hospital. They liked me and took me on part time because they had cut out casual employees completely. However, my wages dropped about $8 an hour when I went from casual to part time. I was so glad to get it that I just bit the bullet and worked for the lower wage. Now I am in my early 60s, retired with kids grown and out of college. Beings that our house that is paid for and my hubby is pretty steady in his postion I will just sit at home and watch the telly. Hubby will be retiring in not to distant future also.
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Specializes in Government.

I had my hours cut in the 90's and 2 places I worked at went under. I'm in the rust belt.

However, right now I am completing 2 months of job seeking and I got offers at every single place. I have a lot of varied experience so that probably helped. I see the situation right now as actually better than I experienced in the 90's. Go figure.

Oops...wanted to add....I did note that non-patient care jobs (public health, community health) are frozen in my state. But direct care positions are hiring.

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Specializes in Community Health, Med-Surg, Home Health.

We received a notice about budget cuts and at this time, they are not speaking about layoffs, but are tightening. There is a hiring freeze, and positions that are empty due to disciplinary action are the only way at this time for a promotion. Consultation services that do not generate money have to be reviewed, even people who went to school on grants may not automatically receive the position unless it is appealed to the vacancy board, to be reviewed for consideration. At this moment, I am not sure how this may affect nursing per se, but we do have people on leave to attend school to obtain their RN. I somehow doubt if they will be affected just yet, because of the heavy investment they placed on these candidates, but I think that the well will run dry after those licensed people return back to work and get jobs.

Travel expenses are heavily scrutinized now, and goodness knows what else is in store.

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