User:Nursejob86
Factor One: Expectations vs. Reality
This is a common affliction from the newly graduated/licensed nurse. They\\\'re being exposed to the now-common message of the massive nursing shortage - that is estimated to grow to over one million nurses through the year 2020 - and contains to some degree adopted a life of its own, leaving the expectation by using such a critical shortage there will be job openings aplenty.
Though a million is a nationwide number, this doesn’t imply that each state - or community, town and city inside a given state - is every bit impacted. For example, it is also estimated that by 2020, 44 states and the District of Columbia will face a vital nursing shortage. What exactly if you are licensed in one of the six states where the shortage isn’t as critical?
Also, just because there is a nursing shortage doesn’t imply that hospitals, clinics, etc. will hire just anyone. Most nursing schools have been expanding their programs and thus graduating more students; once licensed, these students are added to the applicant pool that the hospital has to choose from. So despite a shortage there is still quite a bit of competition for available slots.
Many newly graduated/licensed nurses possess a bulletproof sense about themselves and appear to think they hold all the cards; this really is not always the case. For example, if the nurse searching for employment wants to work among the prime shifts, emphatically states that they won’t work weekends, or won’t work on a specific unit then these non-negotiable demands are met, they will limit their job choices.
I know of at least one young nurse who complained to her fellow nurses on a forum about just this type of circumstance. Imagine her surprise when nearly together the other nurses replied, tell her to obtain a grip. That with those expectations it might be a while before she’d find a match, unless of course she was expecting a healthcare facility to shift a current employed nurse to another shift just to accommodate her preference.
Sometimes a nurse must wait some time for their plum assignment, as with the case of wanting to be a travel nurse. We’ve all seen the ads of these often long-term employment positions, where an agency provides the chance to work in various cities, states and even countries, thus quenching the roving spirit of some nurses. However, to be able to qualify for most travel agent positions a nurse generally needs at least two years of hospital-based nursing experience.