What nursing shortage????

Nurses General Nursing

Published

We hear all of this news about nursing shortages affecting all states, and all areas of nursing. There are literally hundreds of open nursing positions in my geographical area. So, why is it that I can't get a new job?

I have applied for different postings in different facilities. I have great experience and even greater references. But I seem to hear the same thing over and over..."We're looking for someone with experience in this area, but we do have many opportunities available in ICU."

I have worked ICU and CCU for three years, with two years of med/surg prior to that. I am TIRED of ICU. I don't understand why these recruiters can't grasp the concept--if I was interested in ICU, I would have applied for ICU.

Does anyone have similar experience, suggestions, or comments??

Our managers respect our opinions, and going around the recruiter directly to a manager does not work in the applicant's favor -- in fact, we give one warning and if you can't follow the instructions we give to not contact managers directly, we assume you can't follow directions and we don't want you.

Jami

Are you assuming, or are you 100% certain that the applicant did not submit an on-line application as well? I have used on-line applications and have found that in some institutions they are received in a timely manner, and at others... well, to give you an example, I just heard last week from a certain non-profit for whom I had filled out an on-line application to perform volunteer work. The e-mail response indicated that they had just received my "inquiry" -- if I was still interested, they would mail an application to me. That's 4 months after I filled out an electronic version!! I agree with the previous poster who called some of these electronic portals "black holes".

The goal for any organization is to hire qualified, dependable, long-term employees. What does it matter whether they are hired by H.R., the manager, or by personal referral? While I do not believe in blatant disregard for any person in any position within an organization or the over all disregard for rules, I do believe there is nothing to be gained in a my way or the highway mentality.

Great topic & discussion!

Specializes in Long Term Care.

I think b/c I have started my carreer in a LTC environment I was sterotyped. Even though I went on to get my RN.

Many may nay say that. However, I met with a Nurse Adminstrator who flat out told me that!

Specializes in Maternity & Well Baby Nursery.

So is starting in a hospital the best foot forward after ADN school?

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

I did not regret doing so.

Oh my goodness - I can't stand those online applications. You have one generic application for every position in the hospital - I really don't have time to look up the street address of my elementary school.

And from the technical angle, the sites crash, don't allow you enough space to enter information, etc. Then you have information about me that is not representative of me and incomplete.

How about making different versions of an online application for each position? (An RN application, a housekeeper application, etc.) Or, how about just having a space to cut and paste your resume, which is what everyone wants to see anyway? (And don't make us fill out a terrible application and then paste a resume too.)

Of course, I always fill out the online applications because that's one of the hoops you have to jump through, but seriously - to ensure that people follow procedures, then make the procedures user friendly and efficient. That is the best way to ensure compliance.

And I always go through HR first, but when they never get back to you, then I have to go to plan B and contact the correct person myself. When I've done that in the past, it's always been a positive experience and I've gotten offered the job. If I sat around waiting for HR to get back to me, I would have been passed up and never offered the position.

Obviously the world's problems are not caused by recruiters, but if they want compliance from people, they have to provide the correct tools to use. We only go around their policies and procedures because we are forced to.

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

Clearly, some HR departments are better than others. I have had the misfortune of dealing with the very worst.....

And I had ONE that was great----they really made my transition from being hired to starting new so much easier. I regret more can't follow this model. The majority I have dealt with are very user-unfriendly. And very difficult to reach (the phone trees are one more gripe I have).

I have approached managers directly about jobs, with great success. I guess it depends on the place/hospital. Some are just better at recruiting and retaining nurses than others. The disparity is disturbing to me.

Specializes in Nursing Professional Development.

I am on the hiring side ... and I also hate the online applications. My hospital is switching to an online system and I hate it. They say it helps them be more efficient with the paperwork and I can see that. But for the people actually applying for jobs and/or trying to assess the applicants, it is not good enough.

I can see their use as a "first-level screening" mechanism. They provide enough information to separate out the people who have the basic qualifications from those who don't -- particular in entry level positions or positions in which the qualifications are very specific. However, I still want to see a full resume and cover letter to dig deeper into the applicant's background and personality before I make any decisions.

My recommendation: Fill out the online application, but follow it up with a standard cover letter and resume mailed to both the recruiter and the hiring manager. Mention that you filled out the online application, but that you wanted to be on the safe side and follow up with a paper submission because you are very interested in working for them and have heard horror stories about online systems from friends and/or classmates.

If enough people do that, maybe things will improve.

llg

I'm not necessarily recommending trying a walk-in approach, but this is my real life experience:

I moved cross-country last year without a job in hand. Not knowing the area at all, I walked into two hospitals' HR department. The first hospital told me to go fill out an online application and they'd get back to me.

The second hospital had me fill out a hand-written application (to which I attached my resume), then they sent me to meet the CNO of the hospital, who asked me some screening questions. She then introduced me to the CEO of the hospital. After that, she took me to the unit I wanted, toured me, and arranged for me to speak briefly with the manager.

Which hospital gets the smiley-face?

Specializes in critical care, med/surg.

Have any of you ever considered that there may be a shortage, but maybe the hospital just doesn't want to hire YOU? I can tell you from my recruiting experience that nothing turns recruiters or managers off more than a know-it-all, entitled, "I'm going to tell you what job you'll hire me for" RN. These types of nurses tend to be rude, show up in inappropriate attire, be unprepared for interviews, demand more money than new grads are being paid and expect special treatment and accomodations. My hospital couldn't be short enough of nurses to hire someone like that. When people present with a negative, entitled attitude, we could care less what their experience level is or how many positions we need to fill, we aren't going to let them get a foot in the door. And yes, we do pass the word of mouth when we have a negative encounter with someone. In fact, even if you're rude or unpleasant to our HR receptionists on the phone, we will find out and communicate that to managers. Our managers respect our opinions, and going around the recruiter directly to a manager does not work in the applicant's favor -- in fact, we give one warning and if you can't follow the instructions we give to not contact managers directly, we assume you can't follow directions and we don't want you. And if the hospital requires an electronic application, don't submit a resume or call to "schedule an interview," because you can't be bothered to fill out the application. I have turned away nurses with 20+ years of specialty experience in a hard-to-fill area because they had a bad attitude.

Jami

Whoa! I have never said or implied that I thought I deserved a job more than anyone else! Every job that I've applied for, I have went through the online application, faxed a resume, and filled out the paper version of the application at the time of the interview. I think that I am a very pleasant and likable person. I have never, EVER, portrayed a bad attitude in any of my contacts with recruiters, managers, HR, etc.

I think my OP was maybe taken a little out of context.

My main question is why at every interview that I go to am I told of the open ICU/CCU positions when that isn't what I applied for?

Have any of you ever considered that there may be a shortage, but maybe the hospital just doesn't want to hire YOU? I can tell you from my recruiting experience that nothing turns recruiters or managers off more than a know-it-all, entitled, "I'm going to tell you what job you'll hire me for" RN. These types of nurses tend to be rude, show up in inappropriate attire, be unprepared for interviews, demand more money than new grads are being paid and expect special treatment and accomodations. My hospital couldn't be short enough of nurses to hire someone like that. When people present with a negative, entitled attitude, we could care less what their experience level is or how many positions we need to fill, we aren't going to let them get a foot in the door. And yes, we do pass the word of mouth when we have a negative encounter with someone. In fact, even if you're rude or unpleasant to our HR receptionists on the phone, we will find out and communicate that to managers. Our managers respect our opinions, and going around the recruiter directly to a manager does not work in the applicant's favor -- in fact, we give one warning and if you can't follow the instructions we give to not contact managers directly, we assume you can't follow directions and we don't want you. And if the hospital requires an electronic application, don't submit a resume or call to "schedule an interview," because you can't be bothered to fill out the application. I have turned away nurses with 20+ years of specialty experience in a hard-to-fill area because they had a bad attitude.

There's a lot more to it than this. For one thing, I have NEVER been told by anyone at work that I have a poor attitude. Usually, it's the other way around, "You're always smiling," or "Do you ever get upset?" The problem I have concerns the on-line application system. If you simply do what they tell you, apply on-line and just wait for HR to get back to you, you could be waiting for a very, very long time (I'm up to a month on some of my applications). In my experience, the recruiters who have actually called me back have only done so in order to inform me that the position I applied for doesn't hire people unless they already have a year experience, but would I like them to pass my application on to a med-surg floor? In the last month, this has happened to me multiple times.

I am an experienced nurse with a good attitude, and I don't expect a lot of money. All I want is a job I enjoy with decent work hours. Is that too demanding? But how can I possibly sell myself to a unit if I'm filling out a generic application that only goes over the bare minimum? And furthermore, how can I ever get to an interview where I feel I can really shine if the recruiter makes my application DOA simply because I don't fit the "preferred" requirements?

Jami, you may be a recruiter who is the exception, but in my experience (trying to get hired right now and the hiring process two years ago), a recruiter's #1 priority is doing what's best for the hospital. That's fine, but I need to do what's best for me. And if that means I go straight to the nurse manager, that's what I'll do. The worst they can do is tell me no, but at least that will come from the manager themselves, as opposed to somebody in an office who decides, without ever having met me, that I won't be able to do the job because I don't fit what the paperwork describes as the ideal applicant.

what part of the country are you all in, i am in the middle eastern atlantic area and there are tons of jobs. You can pretty much quite a job today and start a new one tomorrow.

Specializes in Long Term Care.
what part of the country are you all in, i am in the middle eastern atlantic area and there are tons of jobs. You can pretty much quite a job today and start a new one tomorrow.

True and not true. It depends on where you want to work and the hours and benes that you want for your time... All goes back to that whole reservation wage thingy that was discussed on another thread.

Personally, I work in Long Term Care. The Mix is about 50/50 skilled and non-skilled. I dislike my job but I do not feel like I have a choice. I have interviewed with the hospitals forty five minutes from home and they all want me to work eights for about 19 an hour. With the drive and gas money I would shell out and the add'tl hours in child care, that nineteen rapidly becomes about twelve.

So what is your time worth?

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