What do you think is the real job market outlook?

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Forgive me if this has already been discussed, but what do you think the real job market outlook for nursing is going to be in the future?

From what I can tell on this site and looking in the paper, nursing job opportunities have become limited in the last year, and if I understand correctly it's because of a different factors. Nurses delaying retirement, hiring freezes, over-saturation of new nurses, etc. The economy will eventually recover, so the first 2 factors will be less of an issue, but it's likely the over-saturation will continue (please feel free to correct me if my line of logic is flawed. :lol2:)

So what do you think will happen 2, 5, 10 years?

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Specializes in Nursing Professional Development.

As you have said, a lot of economic factors have skewed the job market -- for just about everyone, not just nurses.

However, in the long run ... the job market will be good, probably better than most fields. People will need health care and there will be opportunities for smart and skilled nurses who can adapt to the times and deliver the health care that society will need in the future.

That said, it would be a mistake to assume that there will be such a shortage that salaries will rise dramatically, that there will be such demand that a nurse can pick and choose her work hours, work anywhere and anytime she wants, etc. Society tends to adapt itself to whatever current conditions are. Historically, nurses have not been paid at a level that made them rich. However, they have made enough money for a middle-class lifestyle. That's unlikely to change for the majority of nurses. That's where society (all over the world) places us on the totem pole of respect and compensation.

Particular payment programs will come and go. Specific economic conditions will wax and wane. But in the long run ... society will evolve to maintain a basic equilibrium in the workforce to meet the health care needs of the population.

Will every nurse get the exact job she wants, when and where she wants it? No. That has never been the case and probably never will. But will a good nurse be able to get a job to support a middle-class lifestyle -- though there will be temporary ups and downs in the job market as there always are.

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I think that LTC will be where the jobs are in the future, with so many more people getting into thier 'golden years' At least that is what I am thinking...

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Specializes in Psychiatry.

"only the shadow knows...."

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Specializes in Med/Surg, ICU, educator.

My crystal ball is pretty cloudy tonight :lol2:

Actually, I think whatever happens with our healthcare crisis will also play into it as well.

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Specializes in Psychiatry.
My crystal ball is pretty cloudy tonight :lol2:

:yeahthat:

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I don't know how to quote your byline but that squirrels comment is one of the funniest things I have seen in a while.

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Specializes in Psychiatry.
I don't know how to quote your byline but that squirrels comment is one of the funniest things I have seen in a while.

Thanks, I've had it so long I don't remember. Somewhere on the internet, I'm sure. :nuke:

Take Care,

Diane

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