Need a job? I sure do. There are three career choices that have some appeal to me. There is the Certified Nursing Assistant (C.N.A.). Which is not a nurse but rather a nurse’s assistant. There is the Licensed Practical Nurse (L.P.N.) which is a licensed nurse that works under the direction of physicians and registered nurses. And there is the Registered Nurse (R.N.). I hope to someday be an R.N. in the meantime I plan to become a C.N.A. in order to gain experience in the medical field. I originally chose to pursue the nursing field because of the availability of jobs. According to the U.S. Department of Labor overall job opportunities for registered nurses are expected to be excellent with much faster than the average job growth. Some employers report difficulty in attracting and retaining an adequate number of R.N.s (Registered Nurses).
In order to become a licensed nurse I will be required to complete an approved nursing program and pass a national licensing examination. There are three paths to becoming a R.N. there is a bachelor’s of science degree in nursing (B.S.N.) this takes about 4 years of college to complete. There is an associate degree in nursing (A.D.N.) which takes about 2 to 3 years of college to complete. Or, there is a diploma which takes about 3 years at a hospital to complete and is rare. Nursing school consists of classroom education and clinical practice (patient care). Students take courses in anatomy, physiology, microbiology, chemistry, nutrition, psychology, other behavioral sciences, and nursing (Registered Nurses). I am currently Pre-Nursing (taking Pre-requirements) seeking my A.D.N. at Yavapai Collage.
Sixty percent of R.N.s working are currently employed in hospitals. Other jobs often held by R.N.s are for offices of physicians, home health care services, nursing care facilities, and employment services. As a R.N. some of the duties I will be expected to perform include: treating patients, record patients’ medical histories and symptoms, help perform diagnostic test and analyze results, operate medical machinery, administer treatment and medications and help with patient follow-up and rehabilitation (Registered Nurses).
A trend I have noticed, that I find especially alarming, is that there are now a considerable number of individuals pursuing nursing careers. I have concerns as to whether the nursing job market could possibly become saturated. Is the nursing field going to continue to have a shortage of nurses? Will there be enough jobs for all of the graduating nursing students? These are questions of serious concern for both job seekers and employers. I feel that the slowing trend in hiring will eventually ease. I also feel that the influx of current nursing students will be easily absorbed into the job market. I personally feel like not having a surplus in nursing job seekers is a good thing and that over populating the job market should be avoided.
I have noticed that even the field of nursing has been affected by the recent economic downturn. The recession has negatively affected the economic health of many health care providers and hence how much they could afford to spend on their nursing workforce. Some organizations have laid-off workers, including RNs, and some have scaled back operations or even closed their doors (Buerhaus). Our local hospital YRMC has recently implemented a hiring “chill”. It isn’t a hiring freeze per say because crucial positions may still be filled with the approval of a committee. This was done in order to try and reduce labor costs and offset recent budget demands (Jones). A lot of hospitals are taking a similar approach in reducing staff by attrition or cutting back hours to avoid layoffs. Layoffs and reductions in workforce are generally really detrimental to staff morale. Hospitals hope to retain high quality employees and be prepared for possible upcoming growth (Edwards).
There has been a reduction in demand for nurses especially in hospitals. This is because the spouses of a lot of nurses have recently been faced with unemployment or underemployment. This has caused these nurses to work, or work more than they normally would. This being the case a lot of positions are occupied that would normally be available. The number of nurses that recently returned to the workforce to work in hospitals in 2007 and 2008 was an unprecedented 243,000. Of these, more than half was supplied by RNs over the age of 50 (Buerhaus). This means they are close to retirement age and will be leaving the work force again soon. It is also interesting to note that 50,000 RNs left their jobs in nonhospital settings and switched into hospitals. The recession driven increase in RN employment has eased the shortage of RNs in many hospitals but other facilities may still be affected.
Of course employers would no doubt like to see the nursing job market more saturated. Up until the recent economic downturn, there were a steady number of open positions, especially night positions which were always available. If there were more R.N.s to choose from health care facilities would be under less pressure to make the accommodations that have been fairly standard for R.N.s. Working as an R.N. has allowed many individuals to make a decent wage. Often times they have been allowed to name their own schedules. Some facilities even offered sign on bonuses for new hires. This was true in a number of areas up until the recent economic downturn. In areas that are more desirable to live, such as Prescott, health care facilities are under less pressure to attract nurses and have been able to pick and choose employees (Jones). Even so if there were more individuals seeking the same positions this would force the wages down.
I feel like the schooling required to become a nurse is a little excessive but it serves as a protection. It prevents just anyone from becoming a nurse. It limits the nursing field to the best and the brightest, or at least the most determined. I thought at one time I wanted to be an L.P.N. so as to avoid some schooling and to avoid the supervisory role that R.N.s are expected to fill. There are also some facilities that choose to employ L.P.N.s rather than R.N.s to cut costs. I found out however the schooling load at Yavapai Collage to become a L.P.N. differs little than that to become a R.N. This school has a large number of pre-requirements to get into their nursing program and the program is primarily designed to train R.N.s. This is different than other schools that offer a one year L.P.N. program.
Economists are claiming that the recession has ended. They are uncertain as to what the nature of the economic recovery will be. Some speculate that there could be a jobless recovery. Many economists believe unemployment will increase again and exceed 10% before receding slowly over several years (Buerhaus). This may leave the nursing field more heavily populated and somewhat less in demand for a while to come. This does not disprove that it is a good job choice however. With a large population of the R.N.s currently being employed being close to retirement there will be a need to replace existing R.N.s even with current economic conditions. Also the slowing in hiring has resulted from financial limitations and not lack of need for services as in other fields. People continue to get sick, injured, or need medical treatment and advice. . This is very different from the job market in construction that I recently left. In construction I found there were a surplus of workers and a lack of demand for services. I feel like there will always be a demand for medical services. It’s one of those things that has to be taken care of regardless of the state of the economy.
I plan on specializing in geriatrics and working for a nursing home facility. These are twenty-four hour care facility so I may be required to work days, nights, and weekends. I will probably try and get on doing the night shifts. These shifts are more likely to have openings and the work load is less because most of the patience are sleeping. I usually function better during the night hours and night shifts sometimes have a slightly higher pay. Of course not everyone will find this to be an acceptable solution to needing employment. I receive some suggestions recently from a nurse working at the local hospital Yavapai Regional Medical Center. She said “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 ideally 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.”-Jones.
Works Cited
Anonymous. Personal Interview. 1 Apr 2010.
Buerhaus, Peter I. “The Shape of the Recovery: Economic Implications For the Nursing Workforce”, Nursing Economic$; 27.5(Sep/Oct2009): 336-338). EBSCO. Web. 8 Apr 2010
Edwards, R.. "Economic Recovery, Health Reform May Spur New Hirings. " Hospitals & Health Networks 83.12 (2009): 11-12. Research Library Core, ProQuest. Web. 20 Apr. 2010.
"Job Openings." "Economic Recovery, Health Reform May Spur New Hirings. " Hospitals & Health Networks 83.12 (2009): 11-12. Research Library Core, ProQuest. Web. 20 Apr. 2010.
Jones, Vicky. Personal Interview. 12 Apr 2010.
"Registered Nurses." Occupational Outlook Handbook. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2010-2011 Edition. Web. 5 Apr 2010. http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos083.htm
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