Is it bad for Registered Nurses right now?

[Auggie]

At a PF Chang's Bistro (San Francisco Bay Area/Fremont) yesterday, our 30-something table server was an out-of-work RN.

He's been looking for a job but said "there's no money" right now on the West Coast to hire nurses at his level. I translated that to mean, essentially, that for-profit hospitals are hiring less RNs because it's profitable not to, but I could be wrong. Anyone know why it's so tough for RNs right now?

I assume a lot of time and money goes into RN training, and here is this guy working two part-time jobs ... one at a home for the elderly and the other waiting tables. I felt terrible for him.

[markiv]

1. same thing as tech workers nt

[bluedigger]

2. Market might be saturated locally.

Around here 3/4 of the jobs are health care, but admittedly I see mostly CNA positions advertised.

[Honeycombe8]

3. Well, I wouldn't go by what a waiter told you in passing.

There's no telling if he is an RN, and even if he is, that the market is the reason he couldn't get a job.

My niece is an RN and immediately got a job at a local hospital in the small city she lives in. I can't imagine there will be problems with that profession in the foreseeable future, esp considering the aging population and the need for non-physicians in the health care field. It also pays really well.

Here's a link I found to the 2013 RN job outlook. It has been growing during the recession, looks like, and is continuing to grow, and is the #2 bright job outlook in the U.S.:

http://money.usnews.com/careers/best-jobs/registered-nurse

(The article says that there is currently 2% unemployment in the nursing field.)

[cbayer]

4. There was a shortage for a long time, but that has apparently eased up.

I think the demand for nurses will skyrocket when the ACA kicks, particularly for those with specializations or advanced degrees.

[patricia92243]

5. Son is Rn. When he was in SF they closed a whole FLOOR of his hospital (can't remember

the name). He couldn't find a job and moved back to Atlanta where he easily got a job.

[uppityperson]

6. If you are certified in a specialty with recent work history, no. Otherwise, yes.

Clinics are hiring med assistants vs RNs as they cost less and are trained to do basic things. Of course they lose a lot of what RNs can do but hey, it costs less. If you don't have recent work experience (less than 6 months out) in the field you are applying for, are over 50 or aren't certified in a specialty, it can be quite hard to get a nursing job.

Speaking from experience.

[Auggie]

8. Thanks

[NV Whino]

7. Because the money is going to the CEOs.

[pipoman]

9. APRN requires more schooling but is a growing field

worth looking into...medicare has a payment schedule for APRNs..hospitals love that..As with any profession there are people with low work ethics in nursing too. A vast middle of the road. And those who are stars. A nurse with great work ethic and education will never have difficulty finding some job. Specialty nurses are still in demand through most of the country.

[SugarShack]

10. The shortage is over until 2020!

Nursing Shortage Is Over in US Until Retirement Glut Hits - Bloomberg

www.bloomberg.com/.../nursing-shortage-in-u-s-is-over-temporarily...


Mar 22, 2012 – A nursing shortage in the U.S. that led to a decade-long push for new hires and more graduates in the field is over, at least until 2020 when a ...

[Lisa0825]

11. I have heard that it is harder in California, but I don't recall the explanation.

We still have a shortage of experienced nurses in Texas, but an excess supply of new grads, so there are not enough preceptors to train them, so a lot of new grads have a hard time getting hired.

[sylvi]

12. Twenty-eight years in nursing

and I've never met an out of work R.N. who wasn't that way by choice. There may be some isolated pockets out there that are the exception, but they are just that...exceptions.

[url]http://money.usnews.com/careers/best-jobs/registered-nurse[/url]

[Warpy]

13. It depends on the part of the country an RN is in

and how willing s/he is to up stakes and move.

Here they're closing beds and reducing staff. The three pages of help wanted ads looking mostly for RNs has been reduced to two columns, and that's on a good day.

Cost cutting has always been done on the RN's back and the speedup in the profession has been intense, both by increasing patient load and acuity and by cutting other areas and expecting the RN to do those jobs, too.

So yes, nurses are hurting, one way or another. And yes, you will find unemployed nurses in some areas who have had to take any job they can find while they're waiting for the system to become less mean.

[Auggie]

14. He indicated it would easier to find work on the East Coast ...

so it could be regional. Thanks.

[TheKentuckian]

15. It is starting to glut so wages are diminishing and criteria are added.

Now the market is deep enough that the deeply needed RN's of a just a few years ago are now suddenly under-qualified and closer to a dime a dozen by the day.

Tread carefully anytime folks start whining about need in fields, it seems to often be code for we have to pay to much and we want to raise the qualification floor while lowering overall labor costs.

[rustydog]

16. Same thing applies to for profit healthcare facilities

They figure one RN and several techs to assist is just hunky dorey. Then you only pay one person 40-plus dollars an hour and the others 15.00 an hour...cost effective.