Will the nursing shortage ever end?

Harrychandler · Jul 28, 2011

No shortage in Spokane WA. Tons of job advertisements but I always get rejected for lack of experience. Here you even need at least one year in acute care to get employed at a long term care facility and at least 3 years to do acute care. Lol it makes no sense. I have also noticed a lot of facilities are requiring nurses to be certified in a specialty. That could take 2 to 3 years. Right now I am stuck in low paying private duty nursing for peds. So I'm back in school obtaining a BSN and an MSN. Also am getting cerified in PALS and ACLS. Hopefully that will help.

klone, MSN, RN · Jul 28, 2011

in 2003 when i became a nurse you could walk in anywhere in shorts and sandals and ask for an application and they would hire you on the spot.
now not so much, no shortage at all where i live in miami, fl lots of unemployed nurses

Yes, I remember those days, too. Great for the ego.

miss81, BSN, RN · Jul 28, 2011

uh hem.....second verse same as the first.....
THERE IS NO SHORTAGE OF NURSES!!!!

Thank you very much.....

YES THERE IS!!!!

... just not in your area! I'm living it right now! My employer are starting to mandate us back to work on our days off and they've closed our peds unit 'cause they do not have enough RN's to staff it! I wish people would stop making general statements when really the statements pertain to their region and not EVERYWHERE!

K nurse-one-day · Jul 28, 2011

Nursing shortage? What nursing shortage? You can't sling a dead cat without hitting a GN

kryvn10 · Jul 28, 2011

Back in 2003 in Southern California, registries were hiring nurses fresh off the NCLEX. Now, interviewers don't even want to look at new grads :crying2: For those who live in areas with actual shortages, please share with us the city and state (especially if its in Texas )

diva rn, BSN, RN · Jul 28, 2011

YES THERE IS!!!!
... just not in your area! I'm living it right now! My employer are starting to mandate us back to work on our days off and they've closed our peds unit 'cause they do not have enough RN's to staff it! I wish people would stop making general statements when really the statements pertain to their region and not EVERYWHERE!

Well, if you have read EVERY SINGLE OTHER POST except yours so far your will see that perhaps we are not making generalized statements....and put your post where your fingers are and list where your employer is located so some of the poor unemployed nurses out there can start sending their resumes to your hospital.....

MrChicagoRN, RN · Jul 28, 2011

Hello I am taking courses at my college and I am very interested in nursing as a career. I did some research and bls.gov estimates a 22% increase for the demand of nurses through 2018. My question is after 2018 will there no longer be a demand for nurses? Thanks

Yes, there will be a shortage beyond 2018. Nurses will continue to age and retire, as the population ages and follows the natural progression of having more health problems and requiring more care. Schools will continue to be unable to turn out enough nurses to meet long term needs due to a lack of qualified instructors (due to low salaries). 2018 was named only because that was the predictive period that they covered.

The shortage is indeed real, but ebbs and flows like most economic & supply and demand situations. I've been a nurse since the 80's and can recall only 3 periods when there wasn't a shortage. We recently came out of the worst recession in our lifetimes and the overall job market is tight, but will eventually break loose like a dam.

szeles23 · Jul 28, 2011

Yes, there will be a shortage beyond 2018. Nurses will continue to age and retire, as the population ages and follows the natural progression of having more health problems and requiring more care. Schools will continue to be unable to turn out enough nurses to meet long term needs due to a lack of qualified instructors (due to low salaries). 2018 was named only because that was the predictive period that they covered.
The shortage is indeed real, but ebbs and flows like most economic & supply and demand situations. I've been a nurse since the 80's and can recall only 3 periods when there wasn't a shortage. We recently came out of the worst recession in our lifetimes and the overall job market is tight, but will eventually break loose like a dam.

EXACTLY!! Especially with the aging population (baby boomers) reaching social security viability this year and in the next few years. Simple laws of supply and demand people.

allnurses Guide · Jul 28, 2011

Where I live there has never been a situation like there is right now even during the worst days of prior recessions and it is impossible to predict with any accuracy unless you are very familiar with your local employment scene (or the one you would ultimately like to work in).

The people who are usually approached for their expert opinion on the matter have been wrong 100% of the time on their prior projections and none of them had a clue there could be the crisis in employment for new nurses that they are facing today.

The things most often heard are "the babyboomers reaching retirement age will cause a giant shortage of nurses" and "healthcare reform will cause a rush of uninsured people to the system as they get neglected problems taken care of". Another one I hear is "when babyboomer nurses who came out of the woodwork or delayed retirement leave when the economy rebounds there will be vacancies all over the place and new grads will be sought after"..

There are many other factors to take into consideration that will impact those "absolute" statements so your best bet is to go to a variety of sources and consider carefully what specialty you would like to work in and research thoroughly as "narrow" a niche as you possibly can. Best wishes! :)

brandy1017, ASN, RN · Jul 28, 2011

In 2018 all nurses will be replaced with robots.
They've already started treating nurses like robots, so it was only a matter of time.....

It's funny but there might be a grain of truth in that. We were supposed to get some sort of pharmacy bots, but they never arrived. Probably cost too much!

Have you heard of them?

Just curious.

dance4life · Jul 28, 2011

You know what I am doing working as a topless maid. I don't care if I get kicked off the site for pouring salt on the wound. Tried everything for 3 years to get work. Long list of excuses... not good enough, travel nursing made you a job hopper, degree not high enough, broken promises on hours, scam jobs, on-site interview cancelled, mentors and previous instructors tried, I have an Unemployment Rep, tried applying at McDonald's, Admin Asst., you name it I have heard and tried it. I need to make one of those Teddy Bear You Tube videos.

Funny never thought I would take my clothes off for money. Life isn't fair though and call me a whore. Not going to collect welfare. Oh yeah that works people might not even get their checks in August. My bills are behind 3 months, waiting for an eviction notice, and sitting here hoping for a job isn't working. My son is Autistic and needs a roof over his head for services. These days getting an education does not mean you get a job.

Who knows what is going to happen to nursing jobs. It seems like you need to be Miss America, a Stepford Wife, or a Noble Peace Prize winner to get one. I see posts of people in my area getting jobs or maybe even friends who have been out of nursing for years landing them. Or, even in other areas. I like the ones who were drug addicts or criminals getting hired. That is nice. I haven't done any of those things where is my job? Seems good things only happen to bad people too. I guess it all depends on who you know because I don't get it. Didn't deserve this.

Probably can't get my NP now either not with my new job selection. Seriously, what is the point those jobs will be gone too by the time I am finished. Totally, agree that the colleges just want money.

I shouldn't say anything on this site anymore as I am now a sour apple RN, or possibly rotten.

Everyone is different some of us are just not as lucky as the rest.

diva rn, BSN, RN · Jul 28, 2011

Don't count on the Boomer's retiring en mass....most of us are not going to be able to retire at 65...certainly with the way the economy is....I know most of the nurses I have talked to are going to work at some sort of nursing into our 70's....and with the glut of nurses these objectional nursing "schools" keep turning out like lemmings, don't count on there ever being a true nursing shortage ever again.