Too many new grads??

Christie RN2006 · Jan 30, 2008

Back when I started nursing school, they only accepted 30 students a year into the program, which meant only 15-20 actually graduated. Now they accept hundreds every year!! My hospital goes in spurts, they will hire a bunch of people, then they will go on a hiring freeze. We average about 3 new grads per year in the SICU where I work.

Roseyposey · Jan 30, 2008

I have sneaking suspicion that we live in the same basic area. The CC in my city doubled their enrollment the semester after I started and just graduated its first December class - and there are very few jobs. The local hospital is not hiring very many of them and the next closest major hospital, 45 miles south, is in a hiring freeze altogether. I know that this CC increased enrollment because the hospital insisted they do so and contributed big $ for the cause. Now, these people have no jobs. When the college announced the double enrollment, I thought it was a bad idea all the way around. There isn't room for all of the students, limited clinical spaces, and it gives the hospital fresh people to hire every few months rather than try to retain nurses it already has.

llg, PhD, RN · Jan 30, 2008

It's happening in a lot of places. While there are plenty of jobs for nurses across the entire country, the areas in the cities with lots of nursing schools have plenty of new grads to fill the vacant slots. As the OP said, a lot of the "new people" entering the nursing workforce these days are "non-traditional" students with families who are not interested in relocated to an area where the jobs are.

If you think of it in big broad historical terms .... Back in the olden days, people moved to where the jobs were. They immigrated (and still do) from other countries. They rode in covered wagons to go "out west" to where they could build a better life for themselves. They moved from rural areas to cities where the factories (and jobs) were. Now-a-days, people are less willing to move for a job. They want to stay in their home region. There are still plenty of nursing jobs for people willing to move -- and for people willing to suffer some hardship for a time while they build a successful career.

Society has changed -- for both the better and the worse, depending on how you look at it. It's complicated.

Diahni · Jan 30, 2008

I have sneaking suspicion that we live in the same basic area. The CC in my city doubled their enrollment the semester after I started and just graduated its first December class - and there are very few jobs. The hospital I work at (the only one in this town) is not hiring very many of them and the next closest major hospital, 45 miles south, is in a hiring freeze altogether. I know that this CC increased enrollment because the hospital insisted they do so and contributed big $ for the cause. Now, these people have no jobs. When the college announced the double enrollment, I thought it was a bad idea all the way around. There isn't room for all of the students, limited clinical spaces, and it gives the hospital fresh people to hire every few months rather than try to retain nurses it already has.

Oh my! I guess it depends on where you live! In my area, Western Mass, sometimes people have to be on a waiting list to get into school, but we are sporificely populated. Probably those new nurses ought to spread out a bit. After all, there truly is a shortage. In one of our local hospitals, the patient load has been downright unsafe on occasiona. I do know that new nurses often have to take undesirable shifts - you know the ones! But I never heard of a hiring freeze - apparently, spreading out is the only solution to your local grads - believe me, they'll find jobs.

Diahni

Roseyposey · Jan 30, 2008

Oh my! I guess it depends on where you live! In my area, Western Mass, sometimes people have to be on a waiting list to get into school, but we are sporificely populated. Probably those new nurses ought to spread out a bit. After all, there truly is a shortage. In one of our local hospitals, the patient load has been downright unsafe on occasiona. I do know that new nurses often have to take undesirable shifts - you know the ones! But I never heard of a hiring freeze - apparently, spreading out is the only solution to your local grads - believe me, they'll find jobs.
Diahni

This brings up a whole other (local) issue...This school does not have a waiting list, but doesn't take everyone who applies either. The student selection process "starts over" each semester; it's a point system. Because this CC does not have a wait-list, it attracts a lot of people from the state directly south of mine who commute every day to attend class. Not exactly a problem given the employment situation, except that due to the doubling of the nursing program, the CC came to the taxpayers and begged for money to build a new health education building. They talked about the so-called nursing shortage and how desperate the hospitals are for nurses. The voters bought it lock stock and barrell and approved it. The $ to pay for this is coming from the local county property taxes. So, the hospital leans on the college to increase enrollment for nurses it isn't going to hire, more students come from out of state, students who do live here have to move away in the end to get jobs, and I pay more than $200 more per year for my property taxes because the college needs a bigger building to educate nurses from out of state and who will leave the state. Sorry, I'm getting off topic, this just struck a nerve.

Valerie Salva, BSN, RN · Jan 30, 2008

the congressional research service (crs), at the request of the 107th congress, recently released a report echoing what ona has been stating all along: that a maldistribution of labor, rather than an actual shortage, is pinpointed as the likely culprit behind the nation's nurse staffing crisis. for many months now, after having extensively studied the nursing bedside shortage crisis, ona has concluded and claimed that numerically there is no shortage of nurses in ohio, rather, there is a mass defection of nurses from bedside nursing into other areas of healthcare, or leaving nursing altogether. the true culprit - unacceptable work environment conditions.

the report, which was released to congress may 18, noted that available labor market indicators do not indicate "conclusively" that there is "an across-the-board shortage of rns at the present time." the document further blames "poor personnel decisions" for any spot shortages of nurses that have occurred, rather than a simple lack of available nurse recruits. however, again echoing the sentiments of ona, the report also warns that facilities could face a shortage of nurses by 2010 if "ameliorative actions" are not undertaken.

http://members.tripod.com/hcwadvocate/id39.htm

[color=#0000cc]npr: nursing shortage may be easingofficials at a minnesota hospital are going to stop recruiting nurses from overseas. the move comes due to a slow immigration process, and the nursing ...

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[color=#0000cc]the nursing shortage eases - the boston globethe nursing shortage in massachusetts has eased -- with the vacancy rate dropping from 8.5 percent in january 2003 to 6.8 percent in january of this year, ...

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nursing shortage may be over within 10 years - reportlos angeles – filipinos have turned the usa's shortage in caregivers to their advantage in the last decade. tens of thousands of filipino nurses have ...

www.asianjournal.com/?c=124&a=25505 - 41k

[color=#0000cc]aorn : news flash nursing shortage is over! - published by elseviernews coming out of washington, dc, on april 1, 2004, is that the nursing shortage is over! operating rooms and surgical sites around the nation are ...

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[color=#0000cc]there is no nursing shortage | tpmcafethere is no nursing shortage in america. two million plus nurses is not a shortage. there is however, is a shortage of nurses willing to work under the ...

houseoflabor.tpmcafe.com/blog/kkny/2006/oct/23/there_is_no_nursing_shortage - 35k

[color=#0000cc]institute for healthcare improvement: no nursing shortage here

in an industry that considers a 10 percent national vacancy rate to be a severe shortage, the current us national average for vacant registered nurse (rn) ...

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hope3456, ASN, RN · Jan 30, 2008

This brings up a whole other (local) issue...This school does not have a waiting list, but doesn't take everyone who applies either. The student selection process "starts over" each semester; it's a point system. Because this CC does not have a wait-list, it attracts a lot of people from the state directly south of mine who commute every day to attend class. Not exactly a problem given the employment situation, except that due to the doubling of the nursing program, the CC came to the taxpayers and begged for money to build a new health education building. They talked about the so-called nursing shortage and how desperate the hospitals are for nurses. The voters bought it lock stock and barrell and approved it. The $ to pay for this is coming from the local county property taxes. So, the hospital leans on the college to increase enrollment for nurses it isn't going to hire, more students come from out of state, students who do live here have to move away in the end to get jobs, and I pay more than $200 more per year for my property taxes because the college needs a bigger building to educate nurses from out of state and who will leave the state. Sorry, I'm getting off topic, this just struck a nerve.

Yeah I think I know where you live =-) People here in FC are flocking to LCCC nsg school. I hear alot of "do you know there is no wait list at wyo nsg schools?" I know 2 CNA's that I work with are driving up there.....I bet half the class will soon be from CO!

In fact, when I took the NCLEX in westminster 2 years ago the person standing in line in front of me just graduated from LCCC.....he drove all the way from Denver!

Diahni · Jan 30, 2008

This brings up a whole other (local) issue...This school does not have a waiting list, but doesn't take everyone who applies either. The student selection process "starts over" each semester; it's a point system. Because this CC does not have a wait-list, it attracts a lot of people from the state directly south of mine who commute every day to attend class. Not exactly a problem given the employment situation, except that due to the doubling of the nursing program, the CC came to the taxpayers and begged for money to build a new health education building. They talked about the so-called nursing shortage and how desperate the hospitals are for nurses. The voters bought it lock stock and barrell and approved it. The $ to pay for this is coming from the local county property taxes. So, the hospital leans on the college to increase enrollment for nurses it isn't going to hire, more students come from out of state, students who do live here have to move away in the end to get jobs, and I pay more than $200 more per year for my property taxes because the college needs a bigger building to educate nurses from out of state and who will leave the state. Sorry, I'm getting off topic, this just struck a nerve.

Hi,

having to pay for more out of state students is double dipping, because the state charges these people more for tuition, don't they? In my state, the difference is considerable. Why should you have to pay more for this?

Diahni

Diahni · Jan 30, 2008

Yeah I think I know where you live =-) People here in FC are flocking to LCCC nsg school. I hear alot of "do you know there is no wait list at wyo nsg schools?" I know 2 CNA's that I work with are driving up there.....I bet half the class will soon be from CO!
In fact, when I took the NCLEX in westminster 2 years ago the person standing in line in front of me just graduated from LCCC.....he drove all the way from Denver!

here's a thought, guys - so many people are worried about their jobs getting outsourced to other countries. Well, you can't outsource a nurse, can you? :up:

Valerie Salva, BSN, RN · Jan 30, 2008

here's a thought, guys - so many people are worried about their jobs getting outsourced to other countries. Well, you can't outsource a nurse, can you?

No, but you can "insource" nurse labor. Think: Phillipines.

hope3456, ASN, RN · Jan 30, 2008

Hi,
having to pay for more out of state students is double dipping, because the state charges these people more for tuition, don't they? In my state, the difference is considerable. Why should you have to pay more for this?
Diahni

There is some kind of agreement between the 2 states where students get a discount on tuition....it really isn't that much more. wyo has considerably cheaper tuition that CO. The students I know 'crossing state lines' think they are getting a heckuva deal.

One of the links that valerie posted says there is a 'maldistribution of nurses' I think that is very much the case.

I doubt that the wyo college people expected so many out of state applicants when they expanded the program. I think they are wanting to get more RN's for the rural parts of wyo.....they are going about it the wrong way.