Comments on: America’s Nursing Shortage by the Numbers

By: Lori

Lori — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 18:31:20 +0000

Just wanted to put in my two cents. I have been an LPN for 18yrs. Loved it but the treatment you get as an LPN motivated me to go back to school. I have a little over a year before I graduate with my BSN, and it has cost me quite a lot of money. I been with the same company for 12yrs. and there is no auurance that I will have a job when I graduate, because I will not have experience as an RN. Even though they provide tution reimburment, pay me one day a week to be off to study for school, I may have to leave. But then where would I go since I would be considered a new grad. Really do you know what LPN’s were allowed to do 20yrs ago. During my recent Med surg. rotation I worked with RN’s that I make more money than currently. I told them they should come and work for the company I work for but I know that have to threaten to kill someone’s first born to get a job where I work. and they have positions open all the time. I just hope that when I graduate I will be able to stay in the department I am currently working in and not do bedside care, its too dangerous, stressfull , and demanding for me. been there done that as an LPN, now as an LPN I am lucky if I can get a set of vitals on someone.

By: Alice Holtom

Alice Holtom — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 15:35:25 +0000

I have 31 years of varied experience as an RN. I have been looking for a job since March 2010. 1+1 does not equal 2 for us the 99%.

By: CarrieRN

CarrieRN — Mon, 26 Dec 2011 20:52:08 +0000

I have been in nursing since the 90s and trust me there is no shortage of nurses. Many experienced nurses are being low censused from hospitals as the corporate way is to make nurses provide more care with less help. Some positions have a minimum of 100 highly trained nurses applying. New Grad nurses have no hope of finding a job even in a clinic or nursing home. There needs to be some honest dialog about nursing not being a recession proof profession. If you want to go to nursing school do it, but plan on working at Walmart as a cashier.

By: Donna

Donna — Sun, 27 Nov 2011 19:20:04 +0000

I just got done doing a bit of my own research for a paper I’m writing and discovered that 25% of RN’s do not work as RN’s because working conditions are so poor. RN’s leaving their nursing careers has been a major contributor to the “shortage”. In an ideal situation the “shortage” exists. Ideal means proper and safe ratios between nurses and patients which do not currently exist in most hospitals. Instead, nurses are being overworked to the detriment of patient care until many nurses can no longer take it. Within hospitals, new graduates have a quit rate within the first year of 27%. They quit in the second year at a rate of 57%. The loss of experienced nurses, in addition to the large turnover rate among new nurses, results in a substantial cost to hospitals and creates a circular failure: Operating budgets are taxed by the cost of turnovers, preventing them from hiring additional nurses, so conditions do not improve, and nurses continue to quit. Really, the reason the shortage does not seem real is because patients are not receiving the quality of care they deserve and nurses are being worked to the bone. At some point, people considering nursing are going to change their minds. And in fact, in 2011, there was a drop in nursing school applications. There is still a high demand of applicants in comparison to nursing school openings, but that is slowly changing. People are no longer willing to take out loans and rearrange their lives just for a chance of getting into nursing school. A lot of pre-nursing students have had to give up the pursuit and be stuck with worthless student loans. People are wising up to this high risk game and realizing they are not going to be scooped up into a great paying job like they have been led to believe.

By: Anna

Anna — Sat, 19 Nov 2011 02:09:30 +0000

There is NO nursing shortage in Louisiana!!! Or to be truthful, more nurses are needed but hospitals aren’t hiring. Some hospitals are staffing 1 nurse to 10 patients on the night shift. They are getting away with it and patient care is suffering. I would NEVER leave a family member alone in a hospital. They could be in rigor mortis before a nurse even had time to check on them.

By: Shannon Bly

Shannon Bly — Sat, 05 Nov 2011 05:31:12 +0000

After paying on my nurse student loans for 10 yrs I havent even touched the principal thanks to AES locking my in to 8.25% interest rate and on top of that Erie, PA only wants to pay RN’s 17-24 dollars per hour. My mom makes more working in a shop. Very disappointing.

By: Steven Marinos

Steven Marinos — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 00:26:13 +0000

Interesting posts from everyone. However, one big reason why new nurses cannot get a job, is because all the other nurses want the same job. There are plenty of work, however it requires nurses (new or old) to work off shifts, and perhaps relocate. Ususally the shortage is studied country wide, so a state that does not have a shortage, compared the neighbor state that is really in a shortage equal a shortage. The numbers do not reflect the individual states unless one looks specifically at that state’s shortage. It is true, and I agree, patient numbers is the reason why I have stopped bedside nursing. Not because of fear, but because of the inabiklity to perform my job “treat and street em” is not ny thing.

By: healthcareguide4u.com

healthcareguide4u.com — Fri, 13 May 2011 08:26:41 +0000

a longer-living, less-healthy population is already starting to weigh on the American healthcare system.

By: kissdabreezstudentnurse

kissdabreezstudentnurse — Thu, 12 May 2011 07:33:59 +0000

I think that whomever posted this article really should go back & do more homework. I’m a nursing student & all I hear about is graduate nurses having a hard time finding jobs, sometimes taking up to 8 months to a year for placement! I hope that I won’t experience the same thing when I get my RN. If you think I’m lying, go to this website called allnurses.com/generalnursingdiscussion/ & listen to all the nurses & nurse graduates give their own opinions/stories about what’s really going on!

By: naughtynurse

naughtynurse — Fri, 28 Jan 2011 01:53:49 +0000

Could you please tell me where you’re obtaining your stats? I’d like more info. because I plan on moving and b/c I plan to talk my very macho husband into pursuing nursing? Numbers are great but only if they have the credibility to back them up. Thanks