Will the nursing field become saturated with new graduate nurses in a few years?

rn/writer, RN · Feb 4, 2009

I graduated years ago when there was a glut of new nurses and no shortage to absorb them. My first job was less than ideal, but it was the stepping stone to the second job. Fifteen years later, I have never been without a job when I wanted one.

No career is recession-proof (except maybe unemployment line clerk ), but compared to other fields, nursing has an amazing amount of versatility. You can pick from dozens of specialty areas, many types of facilities, a wide age range of patients, etc. There are different shifts and all kinds of schedules to choose from. You can work behind the scenes doing QA or UR or insurance work. I can't think of another career that offers the kind of flexibility that nursing does. So, while nursing may not be recession-proof, it certainly is recession-resistant.

mariposabella · Feb 4, 2009

Thanks everyone for your helpful responses I am going to stick to nursing since it is something that I really want to do. :nuke:

The Purple Smurf · Feb 4, 2009

Don't worry. I just graduated and found a job before I graduated. So did a bunch of my classmates.

Where are you located?

Athenas83 · Feb 4, 2009

Where are you located?

Charleston, SC, and their are 3 nursing schools in the Charleston area.

winterallsummer · Feb 4, 2009

Plain and simple: if you want to go into the medical field, do so irregardless to the circumstances surrounding it and yourself.

If you do not have a passion to go into the medical field, you will make much more money with equivalent education in a variety of other fields, and with a general business degree, can probably land a job as easily as having a specific medical degree.

My 2 cents anyways. I start my CNA classes on March 2nd.

mariposabella · Feb 4, 2009

I live in Columbia, SC I wish Trident didnt have a wait list, because I would apply there. Which school did you graduate from? By the way congrats on finding a job!

Vito Andolini · Feb 6, 2009

I think it pointless to worry trying to predict the future. Focus on today and what you can do during the economic times. The best advice anyone can give is, do not get into debt over your head. At some point try and sock away at least 3 months salary. I have known people who manage to get their education with few education loans. They did it through hard work and living very frugally often times staying with their parents.
Get your education . It is not a waste of your energies. Once you graduate and pass your boards then you see where it leads you.
None of us has a crystal ball. I can say for myself and others I know that we are not retiring as soon as we would have liked. Yet , still we all know the time will come when we can no longer work.

I'm with you to a point. But is there any sense in studying for a line of work that will have few or no jobs after a billion dollars on education? The point of college is to get a good job, meet one's mate maybe, and learn to manage one's time, all while having fun and learning to drink responsibly and just say no to drogas. But mainly to get a job. Right?

dreamon · Feb 6, 2009

Everyone cannot start out in med-surg...acute care, critical care, ICU, trauma, all of these specialties needs staffing too and if you find a new grad willing to work hard to study, be open minded and learn...there is no reason why a new grad cannot learn these areas.
The mindset of recruiters really needs to change.

A few times in the forums I've seen some experienced nurses state that most new grads cannot handle ICU. So how would someone know if they are one of the few who can cut it? Is it something you will know during clinicals or will you not know until you accept the job offer and it is too late?

WalkieTalkie, RN · Feb 6, 2009

A few times in the forums I've seen some experienced nurses state that most new grads cannot handle ICU. So how would someone know if they are one of the few who can cut it? Is it something you will know during clinicals or will you not know until you accept the job offer and it is too late?

I was a new grad in the ICU. It helped that I had been a CNA for 9 years prior. My CNA experience started in a LTC facility. I also worked as a secretary in medical billing and an admissions clerk. I then worked in a large ICU and transferred to the ER. All these experiences helped me when I became a nurse in the ICU.

From what I've seen, the new grads who have struggled have little or no hospital experience prior to them becoming a nurse.

Valerie Salva, BSN, RN · Feb 6, 2009

Iam almost done with my prereqs so that I can apply to nursing school in the Fall,but now Im hesistant to. I always see articles and tv commercials saying how Nursing is where its at, how its a recession proof career(which is obviously not the case), and how there is a nursing shortage because older nurses will be retiring. Im seeing on nursing forums how nurses are being laid off, and hospitals are cutting back to save money, and how a lot of new graduate nurses are having a hard time finding jobs.To me it seems as if there probably isnt a shortage. Are there any similar careers that are kind of like nursing? Or should I just stick with nursing? I dont want to graduate from nursing school in the next two years and not be able to find a job because there are too many nurses and not enough jobs.

Yes, I think the new-grad and in-sourced nurse saturation has begun.

I think that the myth of the nursing shortage was created and perpetuated by the health care industry in order to create nurse saturation- Nurses are more likely to put up with lower wages, too many pts and poor working conditions if they are not in demand and have a hard time finding a job.

This will save the health care industry untold millions of dollars, as well as serve to "put nurses in their place."

"Don't like it? Too many pts, being worked into the ground? Don't let the door hit you on your way out- Twenty nurses are standing in line waiting for your job- and for less money."

I personally believe that this has been the plan all along.

blaqone24 · Feb 6, 2009

The average age for an RN today is estimated at 45 years old with 68% being over the age of 40. This is a truly remarkable stat and should be taken into account before you decide not to finish up and get your degree as an RN. While several posts have already stated the fact that the "baby boomer" era is upon us, I want to reiterate the fact that many RN's are part of that era too. Their jobs will be available upon retirement in the hospital setting, but only 60% of nurses, according to the HRSA, actually work in hospitals. This means there will be a large need for RN's in settings such as health departments, home-health agencies, health centers, student health services, occupational health services, nursing homes, nursing education, prisons, etc. Remember, once you are an RN you can gain experience in any of the previous settings and the so called saturation of nursing grads will always come second to an RN with experience. The sooner you graduate, the sooner you gain that much needed experience. Currently, with the economy the way it is, there is no widely distributed profession that is "recession proof" but I believe that nursing is probably as close as you can get. So, stay in school, and good luck!

socialworkertonurse · Jan 6, 2011

Okay, hear is what I have heard and believe. I work with a lot of nurses who tell me that there are many nurses working who are not great nurses (been in trouble, been fired numerous times, etc.) and that the nursing shortage caused some employers to just hire anybody with the "RN" attached to their name out of desperation regardless of how good the nurse was. I have heard horror stories. I believe with the bad economy, this might be a time that employers can now weed out the "bad nurses" and now hire and keep good nurses. So, I think that any decent nurse who wants a job will still have opportunities. I am switching fields and the other thing I have discovered about nurses is most nurses have no idea of all the actual job opportunities out there. Almost every single industry employs nurses in some fashion and many people are just solely focusing on hospitals, nursing homes and doctor's offices. When truly, nurses work in every field, education, manufacturing (large), healthcare, government, insurance, and other industries. I look at some nurses who don't know they are extremely employable in many places but just really don't know how to look for work. If all nurses knew how to look for employment, there would be no unemployed good nurses in my opinion.