Interview of a Nurse

The following interview was conducted with Vickie a RN nurse who works hear in Prescott, Arizona. I have known Vicky for some time now and she has been very insightful about her job.  I plan to use this interview to reflect on how the economy is affecting the nursing job market.  I also would like to include her comments on how to overcome difficulties finding a job as a nurse.

Sent: Mon, April 12, 2010 11:42:33 AM


Subject: Interview questions



Is your place of employment currently hiring nurses?

YRMC currently has a hiring "chill." It is not a hiring "freeze" because positions that are vacated, which are considered crucial to fill, are evaluated by a committee and someone may be hired for such a position if the committee approves it.


Why or why not?

The organization has recently been "in the red" for the first time due to a number of factors- 1) The opening of the east campus has incurred a large amount of debt which requires repayment. 2) Additionally, the Women's Health Pavilion, which is opening soon, has required a large investment. 3) There has been a freeze in AHCCCS payments and payments from Medicare may decrease. Since payroll is one of the largest expenditures, and the amount of staff has steadily increased over recent years, it has been determined that one crucial step in containing spending is to decrease the number of staff. Fortunately, it has been decided to allow this to occur naturally through attrition, rather than through lay-offs. Therefore, hiring has been greatly curtailed to accomplish this goal.



According to your observations is there a shortage of nurses in the field?

Up until the recent economic downturn, there were a steady number of open postions, especially night positions which were always available. Now, it seems that locally, many nurses have spouses who are unemployed or underemployed, or they are experiencing other financial pressures, and they are working more hours to make up that deficit. Certainly, open positions around the state have decreased, due to this and other financial situations. This might make it seem that there is no longer a nursing shortage. However, many of the nurses currently working are near retirement age. Also, a number of those who are working a lot of hours would decrease those hours if able to. I believe that if the current economic pressure was lessened, many more nursing positions would become available, and these would- again- be difficult to fill.



How does your facility deal with the shortage of nurses?

This is not applicable to our facility at this time. This is especially true since Prescott has always been a desirable are to live. In the past, even when there was a shortage of nurses in Phoenix, they were still "picking and choosing" in Prescott. The shortage had to become quite severe before this area was affected. With the current situation, there is again no problem with filling any needed position locally.



Who is more likely to find employment a C.N.A. an L.P.N. or R.N.?

R.N's certainly have more employment opportunities. However, there are facilities, such as long-term care and the V.A., that prefer to hire LPNs for the cost savings. I think both of these professions would enable a person to find a job if willing to work in a variety of settings, or hours. I do not know about job availibility for CNAs.



What fields of nursing are still likely to hire new staff?

Hospitals and long-term care facilities will always have to replace staff. This is likely true for jails and psyche facilities as well. It may require more effort of flexibility to obtain a position, but nursing definitely offers great potential for staying employed.



Are there still sign on bonuses for new hires?

Not locally, but I don't know about other areas of the country, or avenues such as working for Indian Health Services and accepting relocation. Some of these types of settings may still offer such bonuses.



Can you think of anything else that someone who is entering the field of nursing should be aware of?

It is crucial to get all the experience possible- through work as a CNA, as a nurse extern, etc... to make oneself a more desirable candidate. A person has to recognize that the days of picking your position, and hours, and sign-on bonus may not be realistic at this point in time. It may take a willingness to relocate, to accept a different position than originally intended, or to work hours not ideallly desired. However, there have always been these trends in nursing. It is very likely that someone who persists will find employment, and ultimately, an avenue of nursing that one feels would be the most fulfilling.