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Many nurses prefer to work in a hospital rather than other types of healthcare facilities, but new graduates are still having a hard time acquiring jobs in hospital settings. A previous survey by the National Student Nurses found more than one-third of recent nursing graduates are unable to find a job after graduation, according to CNNMoney. Yet, nearly one year after the survey was released, new nursing graduates continue to have difficulties getting responses to their resumes by hiring managers. According to FierceHealthcare, frequent layoffs plagued the healthcare community this past year and even experienced nurses are having trouble being hired in a clinical setting. Nurse staffing agencies may see an uptick in the number of nurses applying for temporary employment, as new graduates try to receive experience and experienced nurses look for alternative ways to make a paycheck.
Job market an ongoing problem in healthcare
FierceHealthcare reported hospitals are having to make the difficult decision to either cut staff and save costs or keep their current staffing levels and see their costs increase. Many hospital executives try to look for ways to optimize their labor costs while at the same time maintaining safe staffing levels. According to FierceHealthcare, not every health system has been able to avoid terminating employees. Those nurses who have either had their positions cut or are looking for new jobs before they are laid off often turn to other healthcare environments for employment. For new graduates who already have had a hard time finding hospital employment, a worsening job market only spells more gloom for their employment hopes.
Peter McMenamin, an economist and senior policy fellow at the American Nursing Association, told the Indy Star new graduates are having difficulties receiving responses to their applications.
“I’ve heard stories about new grads sending out 60, 100 resumes and not getting any response at all,” McMenamin said.
According to the Indy Star, many hospitals are laying off nurses because of low reimbursement rates and patient volumes. Older nurses are also delaying their retirement for financial reasons, preventing many positions from opening up. CNNMoney reported many new graduates have taken to online social networks aimed at nurses to vent their frustrations.
“The process has become more and more discouraging, especially since hospitals want registered nurses with experience, yet nobody is willing to give us this experience,” Ronak Soliemannjad, a 2012 nursing graduate, told CNNMoney last January.
It’s not all gloom and doom for nurses. Nursing positions at outpatient clinics, walk-in medical centers and other healthcare settings are becoming increasingly available, and new nursing graduates and experienced nurses might be able to secure these coveted positions by becoming employed with a nurse staffing agency. In fact, nurses don’t have to give up their dreams of working in a hospital setting. Healthcare executives and forecasters expect a nursing shortage to be on the horizon, and new graduates and experienced nurses might be able to find short-term work in hospitals through a nurse staffing agency. Hospitals need to maintain nurse-patient ratios and may require additional help from nurse staffing agencies in the near future.
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