Nurse grad reality check

When it comes to the nursing shortage and employment prospects for the new nurse, at least according to healthcare management consultant Genevieve M. Clavreul, RN, PHD, the new word on the street is – don’t believe the hype.
In her article (available also at workingnurse.com), she states:

In the long run, nursing, and probably most healthcare jobs will continue to be recession-proof to some degree, but we should expect this economic downturn to challenge nurses – especially the graduate nurse.

Clavreul’s article shatters any dream scenarios that a new nurse may have about landing his/her first choice plum assignment straight out of nursing school.   Experience still matters.  Travel nursing jobs, for example, in many cases require at least two years of prior experience.  Specialty nursing positions may mean working your way up from a post as a generalist.

Other constraints for the new nurse include hospital scholarships that are enticing more students into the field.  Can we say…saturation?  And, of course, there’s the economy.  Yeah.  That. Hospitals and clinics are cutting back.   Yes, there is a nursing shortage….but in every town?  Not necessarily.

Best thing to do – read more articles like Calvreul’s and stay informed, be flexible, and ditch any sense of entitlement.   What comes off as annoying from a spoiled teen, may just be plain unwise for a new nurse.