Wall street journal

[target98765]

I am sharing this info. Personally I think the fact that a two year degree program is still offered is a crime. People are paying a lot of tuition only to have doors slammed in their face.Job-Seeking Nurses Face Higher Hurdle as Hospitals Require More-Advanced Degrees - WSJ

[TheCommuter, BSN, RN]

The story has a certain spin to it that requires reading between the lines...

The young lady featured is being unreasonably selective by only applying to hospital jobs. If she'd apply to home health companies, nursing homes, hospices, jails, prisons, group homes, psychiatric facilities, post-acute rehab, or clinics, her job prospects would change for the better.

Everyone and their mommas wants the exalted hospital job. However, the trend of healthcare delivery is to shift as much care as possible to settings outside the acute care hospital. Jobs outside the hospital are the wave of nursing's future. Associate degree holders need to either adapt, relocate to where the hospital jobs are, or die.

I've never worked at an acute care hospital one day in my decade-long career in nursing. If people want to continue turning their noses up at non-hospital jobs, they can remain unemployed. Beggars cannot be choosers in this healthcare climate.

[smartnurse1982]

Like the poster above , I never worked in an acute care setting.

I remember when I first got my Rn license and applied for a position as a correctional nurse they wanted at least 1vr of med surg experience.

Nevermind the fact I was an lpn before I got the Rn license.

In any event,if non acute care positions start requiring Bsn degrees all hell is going to break loose.

[RiskManager]

Interesting article. Everyone wants to be a magnet these days. I am old enough that many of my nursing contemporaries went to a hospital nursing school, or a diploma or associate's program. The hospital and diploma programs are pretty much gone and I wonder how long it will be before the associate programs are gone as well. A lot of healthcare professions have discovered that a reliable means to decrease supply and increase wages is to raise the minimum educational requirements. Pharmacy and physical therapy come to mind with the elimination of undergrad programs and the entry to the profession being a doctoral degree. In my wife's field of teaching, it won't be long before a master's is considered the minimum entry, at least for the larger school districts.

[TheCommuter, BSN, RN]

A lot of healthcare professions have discovered that a reliable means to decrease supply and increase wages is to raise the minimum educational requirements.

Your point is salient. At the present time, an individual can enter nursing with 12 months of postsecondary education via the LPN pathway, or 2.5 years by earning an associate degree in nursing. The relatively swift training is not helping nursing's situation on the supply side of things because we now have an oversupply of nurses in many areas.

On the other hand, the beauty of nursing lies in the fact that its various entry pathways promote social class mobility for those of us who were first-generation college students from nontraditional backgrounds. If the LVN and ASN degree had not existed, there's no way I would have ever been able to enter the nursing profession. However, I suspect the powers that be would like it that way.

[adnrnstudent, ASN, RN]

The only crime is the arrogance of the people pulling the strings.

[Rose_Queen, BSN, MSN, RN]

The program the nurse in the article attended is on provisional approval by the state board for low NCLEX pass rates. That may also factor into issues with getting hired.

[LadyFree28, BSN, LPN, RN]

The program the nurse in the article attended is on provisional approval by the state board for low NCLEX pass rates. That may also factor into issues with getting hired.

Excellent point.

In my area, hospitals have lists on what schools they will accept candidates from, especially if they have a good relationship with the schools-in terms of clinicals and the quality of past candidates-it is usually a tier system of candidates, based on relationship, then based on familiarity and reputation, with the former and latter being the top tiers, with the rest of candidates being in a feast or famine lottery.