Unemployed Associates and Bachelors RNs

Published

Fox News followed up on a report by Forbes Magazine as if to validate the story that nursing continues to be a lucrative, recession-proof job. Personally, I think this just serves to mislead high school graduates, career-changers, and those unemployed by the recession to spend large amounts of money on getting a nursing degree, and then regret it when they can't find jobs on graduation! Nursing students spend stupendous amounts of time and money on their degrees. This money may either be sourced from long years of savings or from student loans. Time is diverted from family and fun activities to serious studying and sharpening skills.

Impeccable GPAs achieved, coveted internships and externships completed, graduated, licensed, job applications sent - so far so good. The glitch lies after the fact... no jobs for new graduate RNs. The few jobs that present themselves usually have some catch - poor staffing ratios, low hourly pay, unsafe working conditions, nursing area unrelated to area of interest, contracted employment commitment... there's usually something wrong. When all is said and done, there are no jobs and no backup resources - only shattered dreams, wasted time, effort, and resources, and regrets. Big-time regrets!

If people need to find out what the nursing scene really looks like, they need to talk to nurses and nursing management - they need to talk to the struggling new graduates on the verge of desperation. This is a sounding board for all of you nurses out there who would like to share your own stories or stories of nurses who are friends or family. We need to give the nursing aspirants a chance... a chance to evaluate their career choice - especially, if the choice was made made based on the attractive compensation package and job-security nursing was known to offer at one point in time.

Please share your stories by posting comments in response to the post HERE!

CLICK HERE to post your own comments, experiences, and stories or those of your friends and family

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despite the difficulties new grads are having, nursing still remains a very good job (above avg pay, job security, employment opportunities, etc. AND all that for very little education). what's considered a good job is relative to what other jobs are out there (not much).

newbie grads don't have a clue, i've just got to say that. there are so many people that have invested 20+ yrs (education and career) of their lives to be laid off, out sourced and so on (most of those jobs aren't coming back).

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Specializes in Psychiatry.
newbie grads don't have a clue, i've just got to say that.

Apparantly, you don't either. I've just got to say that.

If that were the case, I'd have killed dozens and dozens of patients by now. Oh my....:rolleyes:

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i wasn't talking about patient care diane, patient care is not mentioned anywhere in my short reply. nor was it a topic in this thread until you brought it up.

it's nice to read that a newbie nurse has a job, many don't (that the original poster's point, not patient care).

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Specializes in Psychiatry.
i wasn't talking about patient care diane, patient care is not mentioned anywhere in my short reply. nor was it a topic in this thread until you brought it up.

it's nice to read that a newbie nurse has a job, many don't (that the original poster's point, not patient care).

My bad, dude, you are right.:D

And, thanks for the compliment, BTW. I do indeed feel very fortunate, especially in our crappy Michigan economy. We are the worst state in the nation as far as unemployment numbers. :eek: I hate to sound like a Debbie Downer, but I don't see it improving anytime soon either.

Take care,

Diane

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Specializes in Cardiac ICU.
despite the difficulties new grads are having, nursing still remains a very good job (above avg pay, job security, employment opportunities, etc. AND all that for very little education).

Define 'little education'...

It's almost insulting.

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Specializes in PeriOp, ICU, PICU, NICU.
Define 'little education'...

It's almost insulting.

I think he/she means as opposed to someone like OT/PT/SW etc........who have a minimum entry level degree......

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Specializes in Peds/outpatient FP,derm,allergy/private duty.

Wow, "It's the Dude" can't buy a break, tonight. :lol2: Just kidding-- anyway, to the point at hand. The problem is compounded by lazy journalists who invariably refer to "the nursing shortage" without even a quickie fact-check. Allnurses.com almost always comes up in Google searches for common keywords related to nursing even if a writer had no clue beforehand. You only need to read the first page to get an idea of what is going on. The Los Angeles Times recently did a 3 part expose on criminal RNs from neighboring states that hospitals are "forced to hire" because of there just are no nurses to be found. I have no respect for journalists who can't do even the basic amount of legwork needed to write an accurate story.

I'm sorry if this offends anyone, but a Nursing major should not be starting to track trends in nursing after they've already graduated. It's no harder to do that than it is to pass the courses you need to get your degree in the first place. Just my .002

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True - the picture presented by the media is misleading.

True - new graduates are struggling.

True - there is a problem

But, are we willing to be part of the solution?

Is it realistic to expect that people who have been fortunate to overcome the challenges faced by new graduates and get jobs would want to help out other new graduates who are still searching?

In other words, if I were to start a new thread titled 'Job-finding: Resources for New Graduates,' would we be willing to or able to contribute significantly to that thread?

Do experienced nurses in good standing with their employers have it in their hearts to offers leads and/or recommendations to jobs to new graduates who are in a very difficult place in this economic climate?

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True - the picture presented by the media is misleading.

True - new graduates are struggling.

True - there is a problem

But, are we willing to be part of the solution?

Is it realistic to expect that people who have been fortunate to overcome the challenges faced by new graduates and get jobs would want to help out other new graduates who are still searching?

In other words, if I were to start a new thread titled 'Job-finding: Resources for New Graduates,' would we be willing to or able to contribute significantly to that thread?

Do experienced nurses in good standing with their employers have it in their hearts to offers leads and/or recommendations to jobs to new graduates who are in a very difficult place in this economic climate?

i could be wrong, so please feel free to point these out in my post:

The reason i think so many have a hard time finding jobs is because maybe, they have to expand their horizons. for example,home care is constantly hiring but very few nurses are applying for those type of fields. Also with Ltc,a lot of nurses and new grads look down on it. The point i try to make to new grads is that ,remember, healthcare is changing and the hospital setting will no longer be the main employer of nurses. I then ask them if they would be cofortable doing hospice,home health because i see more and more high acuity clients being discharged home. As many have pointed out on this board, the shortage is in ltc and home health. how many nurses are willing to do those fields? From me asking around,not too many.:confused:

#2 is the fact that some states have weak laws with no clear boundaries on who can do what. for example, I have seen Cna's and med techs do many things that nurses do, so much that the employer uses them so they dont have to hire new nurses. one nurse that was working doing hyperbaric treatments stated the hospital she works at wants to eliminate her position because her bosses told her "a cna could do this for a lot less. So, a lot of nurses could be working but those positions are actually being filled by someone with less education.

#3 The most controversial,which is why i left this one for last:the different educational levels to become a nurse.

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Specializes in mental health, military nursing.

I agree with smartnurse - a lot of this unemployment is self-imposed. To be "unemployed," you have to be unable to find a job in line with your training, i.e. working as a CNA or a waitress with an RN license. A lot of new grads don't want to touch LTC or weekend shifts. When it comes down to it, our employment rates for new grads are excellent compared to, say, computer engineering - or compared to liberal arts degrees... Try finding a job as an English major.

Nursing has a very high cost/benefit ratio. In two years, sometimes less, you can be making 45,000 a year and be employable anywhere in the country. For people that don't want 100,000 in student loans or can't afford 6 years to get a Master's, in order to make 30,000 a year as a social worker, nursing is an excellent career choice.

Our "low pay" is still double what many Bachelors-prepared grads make - All of our direct care staff have at least a Bach.in pychology or related field, and they make 9.50 to start out! Within one year as a nurse, I was making more than my dad, an electrical engineer who has worked for the same company for twenty years. You will never catch me complaining about how I don't make enough as a nurse...

Nursing should not be "the easy way to make money," but good marketing is needed to attract qualified, intelligent nursing students. Why are we trying to discourage people from considering nursing?

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Specializes in LTC/Skilled Care/Rehab.

I would be willing to work in LTC or hospice but they still want experience. I would do home health but most places want someone with experience plus I don't have a car to use. I have heard they are still sending RNs from other countries while nurses here are unemployed. Some of the hospitals have had the same jobs posted for the last 10 months. I don't think they really want to hire anyone.

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