What nursing shortage? Not around here...they don't need nurses.

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hmmm, is there a nursing shortage?

not around here.

the hospitals around here don't have any openings...

.....of course that might be because they staff bare bones.

i don't know how they get away with it. :uhoh21:

My best friend is an RN in Kansas. There is a surplus of nurses there, and the pay stinks, too.

Here are the stats:

Kansas 2005 Projected RN Staffing

RN Supply 24,758

RN Demand 20,692

Surplus 4,066

2020 Projected RN Staffing

Kansas

RN Supply 27,075

RN Demand 25,617

Surplus 1,458

Average Annual Salary of a Staff Nurse, March 2000

National $42,133.40

Kansas $36,008.60

Ranking 44th

Sources: The National Sample Survey of Registered Nurses, March 2000, Bureau of Health Professions, Health Resources and Services Administration, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; The Current Population Survey, U.S. Bureau of the Census; Projected Supply, Demand and Shortages of Registered Nurses: 2000-2020, Bureau of Health Professions, Health Resources and Services Administration, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; Kansas State Nurses Association.

There is a surplus of nurses in the part of Texas where I live, as well.

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:) Many of the hospitals in north Texas are offering hiring bonuses and there are 3 hospitals in the area that are either being built from the ground up or are adding significant wings. (one is opening an 8 floor tower next year) I don't know how they plan to staff them all but if anyone wants to work in the north part (newest )of the Dallas Ft Worth area there are definitely jobs here.

I am further north of you, in Texas. There are no nursing jobs here. The only want ads in the paper are for jobs hundreds or thousands of miles away.

Whenever my facility is hiring, we get many more RN applicants that we have jobs for.

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for all you younger nurses, if you are below batcherlors get on the stick and advance yourself...at some point you may be bone tired and want to get off floor nursing no matter how satisfiying you may find it now...as for the phasing out of cna/lpn it comes around in cycles but sometimes there are not enough nurses to staff a hospital...

you are right about the baby boomers nurses are going to be retiring just when their fellow bb's are in the most need of experienced nursing staffs...maybe the smart things for us to do is learn to speak spanish/french or what ever language our caregivers can understand....hate to be screaming chest pain and they give me an enema

I agree w/ you, and thanks for the chuckle.

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Specializes in Specializes in L/D, newborn, GYN, LTC, Dialysis.

Wonder why such a surplus in Kansas? Do people not get sick in Kansas? Not have babies? Not need home health care? Even in the teeny town in OK where I used to work---at the tiny rural hospital there are job postings for RN's/LPNs.

Just do not understand Kansas at all......

I will say this to those experiencing trouble finding work: There are plenty of jobs on the West Coast (up and down, not just LA)----so if a person needs work, he/she may want to take these hospitals up on their moving allowances (two of my coworkers did just this, moving from of all places KANSAS)---- and get those bigtime sign-on bonuses (some more than 10k) and get movin'. I guess if a person wants to work enough, then they need to migrate where work is plentiful. And most places in the USA, it is just that.

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YES! we do have a nursing shortage but some hospital doesn't want to hire some more nurses. That is why nurses are overworked:o , therefore, there is not enough care given to patients.

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Specializes in Specializes in L/D, newborn, GYN, LTC, Dialysis.

I agree with those who hold that there is no shortage of nurses. Not in the Western World, anyhow. There is a shortage of jobs where they are treated decently,where staffing ratios are safe and they are not busy trying to recruit from places where nurses are willing to come. We are stealing precious resources from other countries for lousy reasons. We have plenty. Plenty of qualified people. But treating them well and paying fairly, well that is quite another subject.

Rofl at Chatsdale's learning foreign language comment....sadly, there is a ring of truth to it. Some places one is hard-pressed to get caregivers who speak English in a way they can be understood---and it can be frightening when one is hospitalized and sick.

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Although I do not have the exact source, a local news story on nursing in Massachusetts indicated there about 3000 open positions for RNs this year.

i know that the nursing schools around here are flooded with applicants (800 for 50 spots at a local community college last year!)

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Although I do not have the exact source, a local news story on nursing in Massachusetts indicated there about 3000 open positions for RNs this year.

i know that the nursing schools around here are flooded with applicants (800 for 50 spots at a local community college last year!)

Well, I'm in Massachusetts and I'd love to know where those 3000 openings are.

I'm just starting the job search as a new RN, but so far the only openings I've found are either on the overnight shift, in long term care (nothing against LTC, I have worked in LTC since '95 but I really want to get some med/surg experience at this point), or for experienced RN's in specialty areas. Not a whole lot to be found for a new grad right now.

If I could offer one bit of advice to current nursing students, it would be to get your resumes and applications out there EARLY!!! Don't put it off. If a hospital in your area offers some kind of an internship, or hires contingent on passing the NCLEX...GO for it. Get in before graduation, if possible...if not, really soon after. There was a flood of graduates in the beginning of the summer and I missed the boat by holding off--and now local hospitals are pretty much filled to capacity with as many "new grads" as they can handle.

I have to say I am surprised that finding a job is not as easy as I expected. All we've been hearing about for years is the "nursing shortage", and how every place was 'desperate' for nurses. I didn't expect to have any problems. It's still really early in my search, but it's so easy to get discouraged because the market just is NOT what I was expecting at all. I guess when they say there is a nursing shortage, what people really mean is a shortage of experienced nurses.

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:) Many of the hospitals in north Texas are offering hiring bonuses and there are 3 hospitals in the area that are either being built from the ground up or are adding significant wings. (one is opening an 8 floor tower next year) I don't know how they plan to staff them all but if anyone wants to work in the north part (newest )of the Dallas Ft Worth area there are definitely jobs here.
After the things I've seen posted about Texas employment practices and poor treatment of nurses? No thanks. Spread the word for us that until they shape up, they can stay short.

BTW, I'm talking about such deplorable nonsense as the lack of workers comp. insurance and firing of employees who are injured and unable to work, even if it is a job-related injury. In EVERY other state, to the best of my knowledge - that is illegal. It may seem like a minor thing to be upset about but not when you consider that nurses are the profession/occupation MOST likely to experience a back injury - more so than firefighters or construction workers...and Texas law allows for these poor nurses to be thrown out with the trash, after being worked half to death and injured in the line of duty, and the hospitals just trade them in for this year's model (new grad). Union busting is also popular in TX as well, from what other posters have said. That is why I say no thanks -- nothing against all you great Texans out there - just the poor employment practices. :)

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After the things I've seen posted about Texas employment practices and poor treatment of nurses? No thanks. Spread the word for us that until they shape up, they can stay short.

BTW, I'm talking about such deplorable nonsense as the lack of workers comp. insurance and firing of employees who are injured and unable to work, even if it is a job-related injury. In EVERY other state, to the best of my knowledge - that is illegal. It may seem like a minor thing to be upset about but not when you consider that nurses are the profession/occupation MOST likely to experience a back injury - more so than firefighters or construction workers...and Texas law allows for these poor nurses to be thrown out with the trash, after being worked half to death and injured in the line of duty, and the hospitals just trade them in for this year's model (new grad). Union busting is also popular in TX as well, from what other posters have said. That is why I say no thanks -- nothing against all you great Texans out there - just the poor employment practices. :)

I agree with everything you said, and this Texas RN has observed and experienced many of the employment practices you mentioned.

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This report I watched was following nursing students at Salem State who had job offers upon graduation. (Pretty much all of them) I see an ad every week in the Globe for nurses at all the major Boston hospitals. I think working nights is rite of passage for new nurses. Are you looking in the Boston area? While I am still waiting to begin my program, I have been talking to someone in the program I will be doing and the hospitals they do clinicals in have heavily recruited them at every turn. (Brigham and Women's, MGH, South Shore, Children's). Please let me know where you have been running into the "dry" area. Would hate to graduate and relaly find there are no jobs.

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This report I watched was following nursing students at Salem State who had job offers upon graduation. (Pretty much all of them) I see an ad every week in the Globe for nurses at all the major Boston hospitals. I think working nights is rite of passage for new nurses. Are you looking in the Boston area? While I am still waiting to begin my program, I have been talking to someone in the program I will be doing and the hospitals they do clinicals in have heavily recruited them at every turn. (Brigham and Women's, MGH, South Shore, Children's). Please let me know where you have been running into the "dry" area. Would hate to graduate and relaly find there are no jobs.

Hi-

While I was in school, most hospitals were recruiting pretty actively---and even up until a few weeks ago, actually. I'm quite sure it would have been a lot easier to find a job if I had started looking earlier, closer to graduation, but I put off taking the NCLEX until August.

The Boston hospitals might have more to offer for new grads--but it would be a nightmare of a commute from my home. (I'm thinking especially of winter) Also, a majority of the current job listings on the hospitals' websites are geared towards specialty nurses with experience, OR the dreaded overnight shift!!!

I met with a nurse recruiter at South Shore this week who said they are 'saturated' with new grads right now. They have been getting in applications since May, and the nursing managers on any floor where they would start a new grad are saying "enough"...they have enough new grads on the floor for right now. The hospital has also recently implemented a new orientation/training program for new grads (which looks really good, by the way). The next group of people are starting training in September, and they may or may not have another one in October---it just depends on the needs of the hospital. I was told my application would be kept on file and I'd be called if anything opened up. Like I said in my first post, I regret putting this job search off---because there WERE jobs, but lots of new grads came out of the gate in May/June and those jobs are pretty much filled in a lot of places.

I have a feeling I am going to end up doing the night shift someplace for a while---which I REALLY don't want to do---mainly because I'm not sure how safe I'd feel practicing as a new nurse, sleep deprived. Some people can deal with nights better than others---I am NOT one of those people who does well staying up all night at all.

You mentioned being afraid that there will be no jobs when you get out---I wouldn't worry about that. I'm sure there are jobs out there---I do think timing is very important, though. And I'm finding I'm going to have to be more open and flexible with my ideas of how and where I want to start off. I think a lot of my disappointment is coming from the fact that there's really nothing available right now in the hospitals I am interested in, in my area.....and it's kind of throwing me a bit. I still have a lot of avenues to pursue and I won't start to panic just yet....I've only tried a few places so far...but they were my top choices and I am disappointed and angry with myself for not doing things differently. If I had it to do over again I would have tried to snag a job before graduation, when the hospitals were heavily recruiting!!!!!!!!!!!!! And also, I've noticed that hospitals seem to hire in spurts, so even though I'm not having any luck right now, maybe in a month things will be different.

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