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Old 11-13-2013, 09:51 AM
 
533 posts, read 1,109,716 times
Reputation: 584

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My sister wants to go to nursing school, I once considered it in the past but didn't think I was cut out for it.

Anyway, it got me thinking... people always talk about how nursing is an in demand career. Is it really that easy for nurses to find jobs? Can RNs just apply online and most likely get a job these days or is it like other careers where you need connections?

Does where you get your nursing degree matter?

She wants to work in Labor and Delivery/Postpartum/NICU. Do nurses get to chose their specialty, or is it super competitive?

Is it pretty easy to just move anywhere and find a nursing job?
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Old 11-13-2013, 09:54 AM
 
97 posts, read 145,485 times
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I think there is a few threads on this already. Depends on locality.
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Old 11-13-2013, 01:18 PM
 
Location: NW Penna.
1,758 posts, read 3,821,498 times
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Hospitals: Trend that is driven by the Affordable Healthcare Act is that all nurses who work in hospitals must be RNs. No LPNs. Magnet hospital status ramps that up to all RNs must be at minimum baccalaureate degree RNs, not diploma or associate degree. Pay for a newhire ranges about $22-$25. Most hospitals in urban areas are not hiring any new grads except BSRNs.

You need connections. Where you get the degree is not hugely important, so long as your school has a good rep with the local employers. But I will tell you, the first RN job often comes from one of the clinical sites that your school uses, so always be aware that you are selling yourself all through RN school, and you will most likely have to take a first job via a connection to your school, and that you need to stay on the good side of your instructors, because they can gossip and also you might need them as references. How you dress and act in the classroom is just as important as at clinicals. You are under observation, always.

The nursing shortage is over in most places. The schools are cranking out a glut of inexperienced new grads. You are considered valuable AFTER you have 1-2 years of experience, and that is one of the things that griped me about RN school. You work your butt off day and night and it takes over your life, and then when you get out, the employers still consider you not-a-finished-product. Well, then, the employers ought to be screaming at the RN schools and state BONs to get that schooling beefed up so that it does include whatever you need to hit the deck running. And the students who are not finding jobs should be back there, screaming at the schools and warning off potential new students until this situation is fixed. There are tons of new-grad RNs who have passed their NCLEX but can't find jobs, because the jobs all want more internships or work experience.

Also, lots of hospitals are closing facilities, closing units, consolidating services, laying off nurses and other staff. New-grads are competing with in some cases very experienced RNs for whatever jobs are available.

Med-surg floor nursing is where most will start. If she wants LD/Postartum/NICU straight off the bat, good luck! She will most likely be very disappointed. Those jobs are pretty much filled and hogged by older experienced nurses who switched to them because they are relatively "happy" fields with not much heavy lifting. There is a lot of sitting allowed at the nurses station while monitoring progress of labor via computer nowadays. It's just not an area with a vast amount of openings for new grads. My sister has been in that field since mid '80s and she started as a floor nurse and had to work at least 3 years before getting in the NICU, and even then, she got that because she was a BSRN in an area that has primarily diploma RN and associate degree RNs, so she kind of "outranked" the local candidates. AND she has always worked the night shift, which a lot of people don't want. She likes it because there is too much stuff going on and too many people to deal with on day shift, and afternoon shift chops up your whole day and is better suited to singles than to parents.

Travel nurse jobs are looking for general 2 or more years actual work experience.

I did 1 year of diploma RN and all of the college coursework for either AD RN or diploma RN. I hated the schooling for it, and I hated the culture. Nursing is closer to motherhood than to science, at least the schooling and new-grad jobs are. Sry; not interested in any motherhood. LOL I am too aggressive and goal-oriented to be a nurse.

Last edited by SorryIMovedBack; 11-13-2013 at 01:29 PM..
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Old 11-13-2013, 02:10 PM
 
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My brother is in a related field and he said the trend is this. Hire as many PA's as possible, cheaper, have 1 doctor overseeing everything in the practice. The trend is minimum qualications for minimum pay is what he has seen. If they can push it to a lower position they will.
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Old 11-13-2013, 03:37 PM
 
12,073 posts, read 23,152,474 times
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There is not any nursing shortage where I am at. As noted above, there is talk of shutting down, merging, contracting out services, etc.

From what I have seen there is a hierarchy of nursing schools within a region and some are more well regarded than others. The for-profit schools are not well regarded at all. As noted above, you need a BSN to enter the hospital field around here.
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Old 11-13-2013, 04:00 PM
 
533 posts, read 1,109,716 times
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Yeah, she's hoping to get into a BSN program.

It's interesting to hear that there isn't a nursing shortage anymore, it seems a lot of people keep pushing that idea (that's the impression I was under).
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Old 11-13-2013, 04:01 PM
 
Location: Metro Detroit, Michigan
29,681 posts, read 24,732,160 times
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I was in an associates degree nursing program. I dropped out... Nursing was not for me! Of those who graduated though, many had to settle for lesser paying jobs like nursing assistant. Hospitals were more interested in new nurses with bachelors degrees.
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Old 11-13-2013, 09:47 PM
 
31,676 posts, read 26,605,989 times
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One, the ACA had nothing to do with LPNs being phased out of acute care hospitals. That trend began in many areas such as New York City decades ago. Indeed haven't seen a LPN in a NYC hospital as a new hire in ages.

While much depends upon each particular state's BON it has been felt for awhile that modern nursing given increased acuity of patients was best served by all RN staffing. It does often boil down to the different scopes of practice between a RN and a LPN. RNs can work independent at the bedside, LPNs depending upon the state's and hospitals scope of practice require RNs to do certain treatments/functions. For many places it just became cheaper and easier to staff having all RNs with UAPs (nursing assistants and techs) the sorting out what patients a LPN could take by herself and or without having to summon a RN to do part of the care.

As for one or two years of med/surg for new grad nurse before going into the units or anywhere else, that may be true but is not universal. There are hospitals including some of the top ones in NYC that have new grad programs for the units, OB/GYN and so forth. It has always been this way as have spoken to nurses that graduated in the 1980's and before that went from school straight to the OR, units or whatever. One idea behind this is that by hiring a new grad you get a nurse that can be trained to work on unit without being "untrained" of bad habits she may have picked up on other floors.

Otherwise, yes, in most of the United States there isn't a nursing shortage or if there is hospitals mean of experienced nurses not new grads. It could be years before there is an actual nursing shortage if ever far as hospitals are concerned.

As noted places are closing, merging and there is a general trend to reduce inpatient beds. The other trend is for shorter hospital inpatient stays and to keep persons from being readmitted. What growth there is in the nursing field will likely be found in LTC, rehab, home and hospice care, not hospitals.
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Old 11-13-2013, 09:48 PM
 
Location: in a house
3,574 posts, read 14,315,755 times
Reputation: 2400
Quote:
Originally Posted by SorryIMovedBack View Post
Hospitals: Trend that is driven by the Affordable Healthcare Act is that all nurses who work in hospitals must be RNs. No LPNs. Magnet hospital status ramps that up to all RNs must be at minimum baccalaureate degree RNs, not diploma or associate degree. Pay for a newhire ranges about $22-$25. Most hospitals in urban areas are not hiring any new grads except BSRNs.

You need connections. Where you get the degree is not hugely important, so long as your school has a good rep with the local employers. But I will tell you, the first RN job often comes from one of the clinical sites that your school uses, so always be aware that you are selling yourself all through RN school, and you will most likely have to take a first job via a connection to your school, and that you need to stay on the good side of your instructors, because they can gossip and also you might need them as references. How you dress and act in the classroom is just as important as at clinicals. You are under observation, always.

The nursing shortage is over in most places. The schools are cranking out a glut of inexperienced new grads. You are considered valuable AFTER you have 1-2 years of experience, and that is one of the things that griped me about RN school. You work your butt off day and night and it takes over your life, and then when you get out, the employers still consider you not-a-finished-product. Well, then, the employers ought to be screaming at the RN schools and state BONs to get that schooling beefed up so that it does include whatever you need to hit the deck running. And the students who are not finding jobs should be back there, screaming at the schools and warning off potential new students until this situation is fixed. There are tons of new-grad RNs who have passed their NCLEX but can't find jobs, because the jobs all want more internships or work experience.

Also, lots of hospitals are closing facilities, closing units, consolidating services, laying off nurses and other staff. New-grads are competing with in some cases very experienced RNs for whatever jobs are available.

Med-surg floor nursing is where most will start. If she wants LD/Postartum/NICU straight off the bat, good luck! She will most likely be very disappointed. Those jobs are pretty much filled and hogged by older experienced nurses who switched to them because they are relatively "happy" fields with not much heavy lifting. There is a lot of sitting allowed at the nurses station while monitoring progress of labor via computer nowadays. It's just not an area with a vast amount of openings for new grads. My sister has been in that field since mid '80s and she started as a floor nurse and had to work at least 3 years before getting in the NICU, and even then, she got that because she was a BSRN in an area that has primarily diploma RN and associate degree RNs, so she kind of "outranked" the local candidates. AND she has always worked the night shift, which a lot of people don't want. She likes it because there is too much stuff going on and too many people to deal with on day shift, and afternoon shift chops up your whole day and is better suited to singles than to parents.

Travel nurse jobs are looking for general 2 or more years actual work experience.

I did 1 year of diploma RN and all of the college coursework for either AD RN or diploma RN. I hated the schooling for it, and I hated the culture. Nursing is closer to motherhood than to science, at least the schooling and new-grad jobs are. Sry; not interested in any motherhood. LOL I am too aggressive and goal-oriented to be a nurse.
Well bless your heart! For someone not in the profession, you certainly have a lot to say about it. So happy for you that you found your niche elsewhere.
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Old 11-13-2013, 09:54 PM
 
Location: in a house
3,574 posts, read 14,315,755 times
Reputation: 2400
Quote:
Originally Posted by Looking for change-123 View Post
My brother is in a related field and he said the trend is this. Hire as many PA's as possible, cheaper, have 1 doctor overseeing everything in the practice. The trend is minimum qualications for minimum pay is what he has seen. If they can push it to a lower position they will.
Not sure how this relates to the OP's question about the wisdom of nursing as a profession.
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