What's the deal with the "nursing shortage"?

[RomaniGypsy]

I know that sounds general but I really want to know, from the perspective of nurses (not the internet), why there is a shortage. I will start with the way I see it, and I'd like y'all to respond accordingly. Some of my preconceived notions must be wrong, and I need to know how they are.

Here's what we have:

1) Nursing school doesn't take a long time. (2 years for RN, 1 - 1 1/2 for LPN, 4 for BSN)

2) Nursing school isn't that expensive, all things considered. (Often you can get at least as far as the RN certification through a community college or vocational school. Plus, there are scholarships aplenty.)

3) Nurses make above-average pay, especially as RNs or above, though I have known of some high-earning LPNs who did it through lots of overtime.

4) Nursing provides you with a certain amount of flexibility - you can work one of three shifts, you can be per diem, you can do home health, you can travel... lots of options.

5) Low unemployment pretty much assures you that you will never lack for job opportunities, in case you find that your present situation becomes intolerable.

6) The entry requirements for nursing school are not outrageous.

7) For a couple more years of education, say 6 - 8 total, you can come out with an MSN or DNP, which would open up many more possibilities including being a nurse practitioner if you decide that front-line nursing isn't for you.

8) I've spent the last several years performing music for nursing homes and the like, and it's rare when I see or overhear any nurse who appears to be overworked, as long as they're not being held over for mandatory overtime or emergency coverage or whatever they call it. (Heck, yesterday I shadowed this one LPN for about 1 1/2 hours and she had nothing to do during that time except wound grids!)

I just don't get it. Help me understand this, please.

[Triddin]

Depends on the area and the employer

My experience has been that the shortage is more of experienced nurses, especially those in specialties

[verene, MSN]

It really depends on the geographic area, the specialty, the employer and the experience level of RNs. In many urban areas of the country there are large numbers of new grad nurses ready to take jobs for exactly the reasons you stated above - ease and length of education, and perceived availability of jobs making it an attractive career. However it can actually be somewhat difficult for a new grad to find that first job in an urban area in a highly desired acute care specialty (e.g. labor & delivery) because of the high number of new graduates. These same urban areas however may have a shortage of experienced nurses or shortages of nurses interested in working a particular specialty (e.g. corrections, psych, OR, etc).

Rural areas may face shortages of both inexperienced and experienced nurses, particularly if there isn't a school near by churning out graduates as this may be less desirable place to live, if one doesn't already have close connections to the area.

Finally, individual employers may have a shortage, there are many factors that can play into this but the most common causes are not willing to pay adequate wages and poor management. Once a facility has a reputation as a bad place to work as a RN it can take a while to turn things around and actually attract people - assuming the facility is even willing to make the changes that would make it a more attractive place to work.

Nursing is a field were there can both a be a glut of RNs available in one area (urban, new grad, popular hospital/specialty) and a shortage of RNs (rural, experienced, out-patient/less popular specialty) running at the same time - both are technically true, it just depends on perspective.

[tnbutterfly - Mary, BSN]

Take a look at this article featured in the allnurses magazine. It gives some great information about the nursing shortage.

Myth or Truth: The Story Behind the Nursing Shortage