Will the nursing shortage ever end?

jlpsu · Jul 28, 2011

Hey, jlpsu, that's my favorite....
I guess you have found our "your one stop thread for all of your AN questions"...but I hope you have also read it through and understand why we get so frustrated with some of those questions....
that one is a case in point...and I hope you read that thread with the "tongue in cheek attitude" in which it was intended:)
as far as this topic goes...the ever popular nursing shortage....
it's also been beaten over and over and it's a very hot topic and rightfully so, there are a lot of unemployed nurses out there and so many schools are churning new ones out with false promises. This one just keeps on going....

Yep...I found that thread...and while I was initially offended - I came around to realize that you weren't actually talking about ME, lol! :lol2: I get why people get all riled up. I've been here a month only and I've already seen some posts where I thought...'really, this again?'. I think I'll be really cranky a few years in. As far as this nursing shortage thread....it does give me things to think about and that's always good :-)

diva rn, BSN, RN · Jul 28, 2011

Yep...I found that thread...and while I was initially offended - I came around to realize that you weren't actually talking about ME, lol! I get why people get all riled up. I've been here a month only and I've already seen some posts where I thought...'really, this again?'. I think I'll be really cranky a few years in. As far as this nursing shortage thread....it does give me things to think about and that's always good :-)

j

jlpsu,

Hey, You're OK!

I think you' re already "one of us"...now you can take that as a compliment:)...or think about it for awhile and go....wait a minute...what does that make me...one of those "mean, cranky, eat our young nurses?":confused:.....but what I mean is....you are new to the board and you already "get it":cool:

so welcome!

d

miss81, BSN, RN · Jul 28, 2011

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.....

I have!!!!! I have been private messaged a dozen times and given out info about my employer and what managers to get in touch with!

**RosesrReder, BSN, MSN, RN** · Jul 28, 2011

I've only been posting for a month...but I learned very quickly that if you post something against the norm or current prevailing wisdom, be prepared to get skewered.
All of that being said, I have overwhelmingly found AN to be a very helpful community. Just don't make anyone mad. ;-) And to be fair to those nurses who do skewer people....some people on this board do ask ridiculous questions (Average IQ of a nurse, anyone?).

I've been here for 7 years. This is by far the most useful site for anyone in the nursing field. Ihave found very honest, dedicated, loving and hardcore-to-the-bone nurses on here. I wouldn't change a thing other than maybe a bit less wanna be nurses who know it all (but not yet there posts) etc.

After all, it is ALLNURSES right? :nurse:

miss81, BSN, RN · Jul 28, 2011

I see you're in Canada right? In the USA it appears to be less of a shortage.

Yes, I am in Canada. I guess that's my point. Different regions = different job situations. We recently worked in Florida, we moved there last year after working here for almost 10 years (we wanted a change for a little while). But moved back after my father became ill unexpectedly!

diva rn, BSN, RN · Jul 28, 2011

I have!!!!! I have been private message a dozen times and given out info about my employer and what managers to get in touch with!

That's very nice. I didn't mean to sound so harsh before. It's just that the poor new grads who are being told that there is still a critical nursing shortage like there was 10 years ago are being sold a bill of goods from some unscrupulous schools. For the most part there really is no shortage in most of the US now. Too many new grads and hospitals cutting corners. I think the new grads need to see reality and make adjustments, perhaps relocate if necessary.

nursemike, ASN, 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

The recent scorching weather in my area is not proof that global warming is real, and the cold weather back in January doesn't prove it's false. Two things about the nursing shortage: a.) it isn't real and b.) it's very real. The shortage that recently ended was in some ways a false shortage, because there were many inactive and part-time licenses, but also many unfilled positions. I graduated in 2005 and had my job lined up before graduation (I was advancing my career at a facility where I was already established) but got many recruiting letters in the mail and some phone calls offering signing bonuses up to $10K. My cohort of new hires marked the first time in years my facility was fully staffed, and that lasted a couple of months. Mind you, we are in many respects a pretty attractive employer, Magnet etc. Now, we are again fully staffed and not hiring GNs (a few nurses got hired provisionally pending NCLEX, but when I hired they would hire you as a GN and keep you as an intern if you failed the first try). So it certainly isn't the sellers' market it was a few years ago.

Still, the need for nurses is bound to increase around the same time many boomer nurses begin to retire, and by 2018 it could well be pretty severe. I'll be 62 in 2018, and expect to still be working at the bedside, but I don't know how much longer it will be practical. I might need a less physical job by then, or almost certainly will within a few years after. By 2026, I'll have retired, as will many other boomers, both nurses and otherwise. Many of the first boomers will be 80, by then, so you can expect to see a lot of us as patients--hence the demand. However, unlike me, most boomers will eventually die, leaving a lot of available beds. So, even the "real," long-term shortage won't last forever, although there will likely be an echo as the children of boomers get older.

None of which is going to help with finding a job for the next 2-3 years. That's "weather," not "climate," and will depend a lot more on the state of the current economy. My guess is that it will still be a soft economy, but knowing when, if, or in what area the next boom will occur would likely shorten my nursing career considerably.

kryvn10 · Jul 28, 2011

I'm planning on moving to rural Texas to find a job and make a better life for my daughter. I sacrificed EVERYTHING to get through nursing school. I lost my job, apartment, ran my car into the ground commuting to school and babysitter, had to move back in with my parents etc. If I would have known it would be this hard to find a job I probably wouldn't have gone to nursing school. At least now I can say that I have a license ::SAD::

diva rn, BSN, RN · Jul 28, 2011

Right, but as the boomers finally die off, they will be replaced by the overstaggering number of nurses that are being churned out now in record numbers...which will still ==no real shortage...at least not like we used to know it a few year ago.

Hope63 · Jul 28, 2011

I lived in Ohio until two years ago and now live in Florida and I can tell you there is a need for nurses in both states. It may not be in a hospital but there are many other areas available such as LTC, schools, VA, home health, hospice and on and on. I am also working on my pre-reqs and am a CNA working on a Oncology Med/Surg floor in a local hospital and the experience I am getting is worth it's weight in gold. Not to mention it will give me an advantage when I apply for an RN position. So if nursing is your passion go for it and consider getting your CNA and putting the wheels in motion to start your career. Good Luck

diva rn, BSN, RN · Jul 28, 2011

I lived in Ohio until two years ago and now live in Florida and I can tell you there is a need for nurses in both states. It may not be in a hospital but there are many other areas available such as LTC, schools, VA, home health, hospice and on and on. I am also working on my pre-reqs and am a CNA working on a Oncology Med/Surg floor in a local hospital and the experience I am getting is worth it's weight in gold. Not to mention it will give me an advantage when I apply for an RN position. So if nursing is your passion go for it and consider getting your CNA and putting the wheels in motion to start your career. Good Luck

UM, exactly where in Florida do you see a need for nurses???????????????

I have lived in Fl for many years. The area I live in is CRAWLING in nurses...also the Miami Dade area is as well..

I see you are not a nurse yet....so I would like to know what you are basing your statements on...

Ohio as well has a very tight market....but South Florida I KNOW is very very tight!!

netglow, ASN, RN · Jul 28, 2011

diva, she is a CNA not an RN.