What do you think?

[Decemberblues]

I have been thinking about the new nurses coming out of school and how much more difficult it has become to find nursing work let alone go into the area you are interested in working. I graduated in December 2010, and have worked odd jobs and landed in a school nurse position, which is not the area I even dreamed of going into...the pay is crap ( i make the same as I did before I went to nursing school) and you spend most of your days doing paper work..it's like the ideal job for when i retire and want to do something low key. But then again some people enjoy that; it's a preference thing. Anyways getting to my point. Is it fair that schools continue to offer nursing programs, making it sound like there's such a nursing shortage and plenty of job out there and students will find job immediately after graduation or is it the personal choice of the individual? I think it's completely misleading. What I think should happen is that schools should be required to hold off on offering programs, whatever new graduate positions are left out there should be used to recruit the currently un-employed new nurses and continue to recruit the experienced nurses. Because really what's the point of a future shortage (as they say) if comes the time when we are in a disaster and REALLY need nurses you have a bunch of inexperience nurses running around because they were unable to find a job after graduating? I know some may say well like everything else it's competition, however this to me is beyond competition...having 900 some odd new graduate nurses apply to an internship program where only 20 are hired is a bit ridiculous and I just feel bad for the new graduates coming out...

[MInurse.st]

I think the chances of a new grad getting a nursing job right now are much greater than for graduates with most other degrees - any liberal arts degree, teaching, law, etc.

I graduated with 70 other students in August and have yet to hear of anyone having trouble finding a job. Many have been employed since graduation. I know it's not like this in every part of the country, but still not bad odds relative to other fields.

[joanna73, BSN, RN]

There are always nursing jobs in smaller cities, especially rural areas. Many people aren't willing to accept these jobs. I think more people need to be realistic about this whole situation. Too many students and new grads are still intent on landing their dream job.

[KimberlyRN89, BSN, RN]

At our orientation, one of the instructors did mention that the job market is very tight here in the md/dc/va area. I think that really in order to land a job these days is network, and it doesn't hurt to have your "foot in the door" at a facility while in school. Those are the ones who I see land jobs. Just my 2 cents though.

[Nurse SMS, MSN, RN]

Students need to do their research before pursuing a field of study. So many WANT to believe the hype and the hype has been so prevalent that right now there are a lot of disgruntled students/new grads. It is a nice, comfy world when your neighbor, parents and brother and every Tom, Dick and Harry on the street praise you for choosing such an opportunistic field of study...and finding out it was all heresay and you didn't do your homework is a bitter pill to swallow. Seeing a lot of the same thing regarding moving to Texas to escape the dearth of jobs because supposedly Texas has so many....easier to believe it because one wants so badly for it to be true.

The word will spread and sooner or later those trying to go into nursing will begin to dwindle, especially if/when pay rates start to drop from the market being oversaturated with RNs or the education requirements elevate to BSN or above. When the numbers interested in the nursing course of study drops due to lack of opportunity or an increase in commitment that is more than the average is willing to put in, then the schools will respond by shrinking the programs and the nonaccredited types of programs will see too small of a profit to be worthwhile. Takes time for that whole supply/demand cogwheel to turn, but turn it likely will.

[Kooky Korky, BSN, RN]

I graduated in 1995 ... the first class we had the professor told us that it would be difficult to get a job and didn't paint a picture of honey and roses for us. It's remained the same since then and it's unrealistic for schools to keep lying to people. My program was an exceptional one and didn't NCLEX us to death either. Oh the "this will be on the boards" was done but not like I hear from current students these days. So I believe it's the school and it's integrity that paints the picture of nursing's future. If they're telling you that it's all fine, then that's the first lie; what's next?

It's more than the schools that will paint the future of Nursing. It's idiots like Joe Heck, the US House of Reps Representative from Nevada, who pandered to the Asian business community by getting the House to pass

HR 1933, which is now being debated in the Senate. I guess it's good for his re-election to bring in foreign nurses when so many American grads can't find work.

It's we, ourselves, who do not repeatedly tell our elected officials what we want them to do for nurses.

It's the ANA, who sold us out and backed Heck's Bill.

It's us again, being here on this website instead of out knocking on doors in our community, speaking in our churches and schools and everywhere we can find groups of voters who can contact their legislators and tell them that laws that bring in foreign nurses are evil because they take jobs away from Americans.

Why are we not calling press conferences and telling journalists on local and national media (CNN, Fox, HSN, etc.) about such outrages and lunacy and traitorous or maybe just ill-informed acts?

[Kooky Korky, BSN, RN]

i think the chances of a new grad getting a nursing job right now are much greater than for graduates with most other degrees - any liberal arts degree, teaching, law, etc.

i graduated with 70 other students in august and have yet to hear of anyone having trouble finding a job. many have been employed since graduation. i know it's not like this in every part of the country, but still not bad odds relative to other fields.

rn? how many have you actually heard of who have obtained jobs? it's one thing to not hear of any who can't find. but it's another to hear of someone who actually has been hired.

where exactly are these jobs? city, name of facilities hiring?

[Kooky Korky, BSN, RN]

Absolutely!!

Theater arts programs should be "shut down" immediately!!

It's a totally different thing. Actors, would-be actors know what they are up against. They are well aware that only a very, very few models, actors, singers, etc. ever make it at all and that almost none make it big.