Nursing jobs no longer recession-proof

"A few years ago, hospitals were offering nurses $10,000 signing bonuses, loan payoffs, even cars as incentives to battle a nursing shortage in Texas. Today, some nursing school graduates say they're fortunate to find a job," The Star-Telegram reports. "Three years ago there were three job offers for every graduate, said Dr. Pamela Frable, director of nursing at Texas Christian University's Harris College of Nursing and Health Sciences. But at graduation last summer, there were more students without a job than ever before. A surge of applicants from nursing schools and from other states, as well as more older nurses coming back into the work force, has increased competition for jobs, especially at the area's large hospitals." Adding to the surge of new nursing candidates are "[e]xperienced nurses from other states that have been hard hit by the recession" (Jarvis, 1/30).

The Philadelphia Inquirer profiles an airline employee who went to nursing school when the job market was strong but struggled to find a job when he graduated. "Over and over again, hospitals told him they were not hiring. He wanted to work for a hospice, but he was told he could not until he had worked in a hospital. … Nursing educators worry that potential students will hear that the job market is tight now and stay away. 'What I'm concerned about, and what I think every American should be concerned about, is this is just a blip,' said Mary Ellen Glasgow, associate dean for nursing at Drexel. She believes that the current hiring woes 'are very short-term' and that a 'major shortage' is still on the way. 'That's what we need to impress upon the public'" (Burling, 1/31).

Earlier related KHN story: Nurses, Once In High Demand, Now Face Job Shortages (Linden and Suran, 8/28/09)

Meanwhile, the St. Petersburg Times reports on the poor job prospects for Americans attending Caribbean medical schools. "Oversight of offshore schools by U.S. regulators is minimal to nonexistent. Promises made over the Internet can evaporate once students arrive in a foreign country, leaving them with little recourse. Credits earned at such schools often can't be transferred. And guarantees of training slots in U.S. hospitals — key to getting a physician's license in the States — can prove illusory as fast-growing schools accept more students than they can ever place." The Times cites one school where the "Web site lists the name of 56 graduates who reportedly passed all their U.S. medical licensing exams, out of hundreds of enrollees over the years" (Hundley, 2/1).


Kaiser Health NewsThis article was reprinted from khn.org with permission from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. Kaiser Health News, an editorially independent news service, is a program of the Kaiser Family Foundation, a nonpartisan health care policy research organization unaffiliated with Kaiser Permanente.

Comments

The opinions expressed here are the views of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of News Medical.
Post a new comment
Post

While we only use edited and approved content for Azthena answers, it may on occasions provide incorrect responses. Please confirm any data provided with the related suppliers or authors. We do not provide medical advice, if you search for medical information you must always consult a medical professional before acting on any information provided.

Your questions, but not your email details will be shared with OpenAI and retained for 30 days in accordance with their privacy principles.

Please do not ask questions that use sensitive or confidential information.

Read the full Terms & Conditions.

You might also like...
NIH awards $15.5 million to expand clinical trials inclusion for nursing home residents