What do you think?

2 I have been thinking about the new nurses coming out of school and how much more difficult it has become to find nursing work let alone go into the area you are interested in working. I graduated in December 2010, and have worked odd jobs and landed in a school nurse position, which is not the area I even dreamed of going into...the pay is crap ( i make the same as I did before I went to nursing school) and you spend most of your days doing paper work..it's like the ideal job for when i retire and want to do something low key. But then again some people enjoy that; it's a preference thing. Anyways getting to my point. Is it fair that schools continue to offer nursing programs, making it sound like there's such a nursing shortage and plenty of job out there and students will find job immediately after graduation or is it the personal choice of the individual? I think it's completely misleading. What I think should happen is that schools should be required to hold off on offering programs, whatever new graduate positions are left out there should be used to recruit the currently un-employed new nurses and continue to recruit the experienced nurses. Because really what's the point of a future shortage (as they say) if comes the time when we are in a disaster and REALLY need nurses you have a bunch of inexperience nurses running around because they were unable to find a job after graduating? I know some may say well like everything else it's competition, however this to me is beyond competition...having 900 some odd new graduate nurses apply to an internship program where only 20 are hired is a bit ridiculous and I just feel bad for the new graduates coming out...
Totally with ya on that OP.

"What I think should happen is that schools should be required to hold off on offering programs,"So.....you're advocating shutting nursing prgrams down until all of their recent grads get a job?So....... what would the nursing instructors on staff at those schools do in the interim? The administration? The general-credits instructors? I guess they'd be added to the unemployment figures.And then there are all those other professions out there whose members are having a hard time finding employment. There's a glut of engineers and attorneys on the market as well as nurses. Should we shut down law schools and MIT?Let's just shut down all places of higher education until this generation gets fully employedOr, here's a suggestion.........anyone beginning their college education (and their parents) take a good hard look at the state of the economy and the state of the jobs market today. Research, and I mean really research the issues. And I don't mean just listening to the evening news and reading the latest USA Today poll on the Ten Top-Earning, Most Stable, Guaranteed-Never-To-Be-Laid-Off Jobs in America. Then and only then, choose your major.

I think individuals should do their own research and decide for themselves.

From my experience Nsg glut 1984. This too shall pass. We are in the first wave of baby boomers. There will be a lot more people needing health care soon. I think the focus on wellness, new meds and proceedures have produced a healthier generation. Someone can help me out here, what was the average age men used to die of MI's? People are working longer despite plans to retire at a younger age and pursue the things they never had time for..and maybe reconnect with family. Sad for all around. I don't like that the media keeps pushing Nursing as an "easy" and profitable degree with a million jobs. I don't think it's fair either. Consider the emplyment rates of Actors and this is a dream job!

I guess the same could be said for any post-high school program, college, voc/tech, master's, Ph.D, JD, etc. etc. There are no jobs in this economy. The difference with nursing is that it has been so heavily promoted as a sure thing, but at this point, new nurse grads are in the same situation as everyone else. The job market sucks. For everyone. Don't think getting rid of school programs till everyone finds a job is the solution. What happens to an entire generation of young people who are denied access to an education?

Adults should be adults and do their homework and not rely on salesmen for their information.

What about all those liberal art degrees that most people can do nothing with besides framing the degree in nice frame and hang it in their office? Colleges and universities make money offering many majors and nursing has recently only been one of those majors. People need to do their research before making an investment on their education. They have a choice in which degree to choose.

Quote from Asystole RNAdults should be adults and do their homework and not rely on salesmen for their information.

I graduated in 1995 ... the first class we had the professor told us that it would be difficult to get a job and didn't paint a picture of honey and roses for us. It's remained the same since then and it's unrealistic for schools to keep lying to people. My program was an exceptional one and didn't NCLEX us to death either. Oh the "this will be on the boards" was done but not like I hear from current students these days. So I believe it's the school and it's integrity that paints the picture of nursing's future. If they're telling you that it's all fine, then that's the first lie; what's next?

Maybe if we had a national staffing patient ratio like CA has the hospitals would be forced to hire adequate staff and then we could take our breaks, get a vacation, and all these new grads could get jobs.

Quote from nola1202 Consider the emplyment rates of Actors and this is a dream job!

I think the chances of a new grad getting a nursing job right now are much greater than for graduates with most other degrees - any liberal arts degree, teaching, law, etc. I graduated with 70 other students in August and have yet to hear of anyone having trouble finding a job. Many have been employed since graduation. I know it's not like this in every part of the country, but still not bad odds relative to other fields.