When I first started nursing school two years ago, the local hospital had pages and pages full of positions for registered nurses. Now that list of jobs has shrunk to less than a page with only part-time or PRN positions available. The hospital has also done away with loan repayment for new hires and has also temporarily frozen personal paid leave. This had scared most of us who are graduating in December and were anticipating working locally.
Many of us are willing to move away once we graduate, but is the situation that much different around the country? It seems as though hospitals are now being hit by the economic crisis and are being forced to impose hiring freezes, decrease salaries and to reduce the overall benefits offered to newly graduated nurses.
Does this mean that the need has subsided? I don’t believe so. I think that there is still a nursing shortage throughout the country, but my concern is that the ratio of patients to nurses may change in some areas, as well as the overall expectations put on current registered nurses.
Throughout nursing school we were told that the older nurses will soon be retiring and that will leave a big hole in the nursing workforce across the country. But, with the current economic situation, are more nurses postponing their retirement? Are more nurses coming out of the woodwork to start working again? Are stay-at-home moms returning to the field to make some extra income for the family?
As a new nurse who will be entering the job market shortly, my concern is that I will not be able to enter the field that I am most interested in. I am also concerned that I will have to accept a part-time position first before a full-time spot opens up and that the pay and benefits will be half of what was being offered in the past.
These are just a few of the worries that current nursing students are facing. What was once a field of opportunity has now given way to a fear of what the status of the profession will be during this recession.
Perhaps this is not a time to be picky about positions available, but rather to be safe and take what is available. This is a time for nurses to stick together and help one another through this period in our country.
Do any of you have any thoughts on this? Any positive takes on the situation?
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Concerns About the Nursing Job Market for New Grad Nurses
4 comments:
Canada is looking for thousands of RNs.
I too am worried. I am graduating in September, and even getting a position for the required capstone was tough. We are a class of 16 and there are still 2 students who are having a difficult time getting their capstone. What hospital wouldn't want an opportunity to get some serious training in while it is free to them in hopes of hiring the new grads. Apparently the hiring freezes are real.
Trying to remain positive....
I am a new registered nurse that graduated in December 2008. I live in NC. I applied to five hospitals. There are no new grad positions available. I applied to nursing agencies, physicians offices and long term care facilities with no success. I search the web and local newspapers
on a daily basis. This is very depressing. I was a Dean's List student and received an excellent grade on my preceptorship in neuroscience. I have a medical assistant certfication and worked in a doctor's office for 21 years.
I am a single mom with two children. I worked hard and sacrificed a job, time with family to complete my dream of being a nurse. This is not how I was told
it would be. I was told that there are all kinds of jobs for nurses. Now, the hospitals don't
want to spend the funds to train us. We must get experience from somewhere. We were told by instructors to seek jobs at other facilities rather than hospitals to try to get experience. The other facilities want experienced nurses too. What do we do? The only states that I have read about on the web that may take new nurses are Texas, CA, Hawaii and Alaska. I am one of the nurses that can not relocate. All of my
family are right here in NC. Any suggestions?
I'm sorry to hear that this is happening to you guys! I am currently doing everything in my power to build up an amazing resume for when I graduate. I am currently doing an externship at a local hospital to gain as much experience as I can. This has proven to be tough, however, because it pays just a small stipend at the end of the summer and is graveyards. I am also working a full time job on top of it, but I am hoping that the experience alone will help me to snag a job when I graduate. I know it is tough, but have you looked at any internship positions in your area? Or any possible PRN nursing jobs? I have noticed that many nurses who just work "PRN" can actually pick up quite a few shifts and make a pretty decent living. I hope all works out for you!
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