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?
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