Is it just nurses or........

1 I read the posts on this site often and I always seem to see threads related to nurses not being able to obtain jobs. My question is whether or not nurses are the only major HEALTH profession facing this issue. The reason why I asked is because I have friends who have graduated pharmacy school and all of them were able to obtain jobs. As a matter of fact, they all had multiple job offers. Also, my neighbor's daughter graduated school and is an occupational therapist and she said that she and all of the others who graduated as occupational therapists from her school were also able to obtain jobs w/o any issues. So, in healthcare is it just nurses who are having a hard time finding employment? If so, what makes it easier for a pharmacist, occupational therapist or any other health profession to get a job? I mean after all, we all experienced the same recession right?
I don't know what it is from with nurses. I'm blessed that I did not have trouble finding a job.

Not too sure about pharmacists, but OT's are a rare commodity. I know for sure that my hospital is in constant need of them; getting in more consults than we have staff for. Nurses is over saturated because all you need is an associate's degree as opposed to a master's or doctorate.

Quote from misswhitneyNot too sure about pharmacists, but OT's are a rare commodity. I know for sure that my hospital is in constant need of them; getting in more consults than we have staff for. Nurses is over saturated because all you need is an associate's degree as opposed to a master's or doctorate.

I don't think jobs all under the umbrella of "healthcare" can be compared based on that factor - but my impression is that what has happened is sort of a perfect storm of bad that happened to come together at a very unfortunate time for new grads and really all nurses as work in my area had dwindled drastically because it is one that is willing to hire new grads (in home private duty).The "nursing shortage" has been such a fixture that no one questions for decades, but have tried to address by opening new schools as fast as possible, charging fees on re-licensure to pay for lower income people to attend nursing school and tying nursing jobs to welfare-to-work programs and all of those efforts are finally coming to fruition just as the economy faced the worst crisis since the Depression that began around 3-4 years ago.The timing was just really, really bad and took a lot of people by surprise. We will bounce back - the question just remains how fast and to what extent my .002 anyway.

Too many schools, too many applicants, just flooding the market. There has to be 15 nursing programs within 50 miles of my home...........NP will be this way too imo.Think of this there are already more DNP programs as there are MD programs and a DNP is what 5 years old. Nursing is like a assembly line.....and something needs to be done or this trend will continue.

Quote from BABYJADE06Yes, but even with an associates's in nursing completing prerequisites could easily take you a year or two. So an associates can take up to four years in some circumstances

I still believe that nursing should go to a Bachelors Degree as entry into practice, LPN/LVN, should go to an Associates Degree, and Nurses Aides/Assistants program should be a year.Physical Therapy ASSISTANTS, have a two year Associates Degree as entry into practice. A RECREATIONAL THERAPIST, has a four year Bachelors Degree as entry into practice. Increasing the educational requirements would drastically reduce the number of applicants to nursing programs. They should also do away with the popular, second degree nursing programs. There are no "second degree" medical schools for physicians assistants, dental asistants, for dental school, or paralegals for law school. These programs are adding to the glut of nurses in the community fighting for jobs. The mission of the PTB, has for year, been to keep nurses, "barefoot and pregnant" (sorry guys!). In other words, they have worked to keep nurses powerless, and until recently, it has worked. Right to work states, and anti union states in the south and mid west, are seeing nurses unionizing and winning big contracts with worker protections. They are losing their control and their cash cows. We need to counter this, by reducing the number of nurses entering the profession, and by increasing unions in hospitals. No other profession needs unions the way nurses do. There is strength in numbers. PTs, OTs, SLPs, Pharmacists, keep their number down by increasing their educational levels. Spare me the anti union,"I can speak for myself, I don't need a union to negotiate for me, I don't like unions, they are un professional" blah ,blah blah! There is nothing professional about being overworked underpaid, treated like crap, and have no job protection at all. If that were the case then nursing would be in a lot better shape than it is now. Not unionzing is the worst thing that has happened to nurses. There is strength in numbers- you don't have that by yourself. Teachers all have at least a Bachelors degree as entry into practice, and most if not all earn graduate degrees after they enter the professsion. Most nurses have barely an Associates Degree. Teachers are almost univerally unionized! The retire with full medical benefits, a pension they can live comfortably on. Most nurses don't have any pension, and retire with NO medical benefits, nada. Who is non professional now? Folks, call the NNOC, and get the ball rolling. I just got the magazine from the CNA, and the NNOC just won big contracts in some very anti union states. JMHO and my NY $0.02.Lindarn, RN, BSN ,CCRNSomewhere in the PACNW

" I still believe that nursing should go to a Bachelors Degree as entry into practice, LPN/LVN, should go to an Associates Degree, and Nurses Aides/Assistants program should be a year.Physical Therapy ASSISTANTS, have a two year Associates Degree as entry into practice. A RECREATIONAL THERAPIST, has a four year Bachelors Degree as entry into practice. Increasing the educational requirements would drastically reduce the number of applicants to nursing programs. They should also do away with the popular, second degree nursing programs. There are no "second degree" medical schools for physicians assistants, dentists, or lawyers. These programs are adding to the glut of nurses in the community fighting for jobs. The mission of the PTB, has for year, been to keep nurses, "barefoot and pregnant" (sorry guys!). In other words, they have worked to keep nurses powerless, and until recently, it has worked. Right to work states, and anti union states in the south and mid west, are seeing nurses unionizing and winning big contracts with worker protections. They are losing their control and their cash cows. We need to counter this, by making reducing the number of nurses entering the profession, and by increasing unions in hospitals. No other profession needs unions the way nurses do. There is strength in numbers. PTs, OTs. SLP, Pharmacists, keep their number down by increasing their educational levels. Spare me the anti union,"I can speak for myself, I don't need a union to negotiate for me, I don't like unions, they are un professional" blah ,blah blah! There is nothing professional about being overworked underpaid, treated like crap, and have no job protection at all. If that were the case then nursing would be in a lot better shape than it is now. Not unionzing is the worst thing that has happened to nurses. There is strenght in numbers- you don't have that by yourself. Teachers all have at least a Bachelors degree as entry into practice, and most if not all earn gradute degrees after they enter the professsion. Most nurses have barely an Associates Degree. Teachers are almost univerally unionized! Who is non professional now? Folks, call the NNOC, and get the ball rolling. I just got the magazine from the CNA, and the NNOC just won big contracts in some very anti union states. Lindarn, RN, BSN ,CCRN "BRILLIANT

An employer changed ownership and 90 days later laid off workers. I noticed that none of the people laid off were members of the "majority" group there. That would tell me that there must be something about the qualifications or other attributes of the "majority" that employers prefer, since they did not use job performance as their criteria. That kind of an underlying attitude contributes to the employment problems of those who have years of experience but still are not gainfully employed. It makes no sense that schools continue to churn out graduates who, down the road, will not be able to find work, because they do not belong to whatever "majority" group is being favored at the time.

From my understanding massage therapist are having a hard time finding work. I get regular massages at the massage school. It's to bad hospitals and other healthcare fields don't use them as much. You find them more for "leisure"instead of necessity but they can do so much to improve things.

Quote from BABYJADE06Yes, but even with an associates's in nursing completing prerequisites could easily take you a year or two. So an associates can take up to four years in some circumstances

Quote from BABYJADE06If so, what makes it easier for a pharmacist, occupational therapist or any other health profession to get a job? I mean after all, we all experienced the same recession right?