If a lack of nursing jobs for new grads is the problem, what's the solution? Time, location and innovative programs may help, but even those are not guarantees.

Where to Start

ADVANCE recently asked nurse recruiters and nurse leaders about the issues faced by new grads - and those re-entering the workforce - when they can't find jobs in the field.

When the nursing shortage became big news several years ago, new nursing programs emerged and those already running added more students. Nursing was touted as a recession-proof profession and students enrolled believing they would always have a job.

But the economic crisis of the past 2 years kept experienced nurses on the job, from senior nurses who might otherwise have retired to regular staffers who picked up any available extra shifts. The combination has served to squeeze out new grads, who must be precepted before they can work independently.

The situation is likely to get worse in many areas of the country before it gets better, said Dennis Yee, CHCR, recruitment consultant at Children's Hospital Central California in Madera and president-elect of the National Association for Health Care Recruitment (NAHCR).

"The entire healthcare arena is being impacted by the recession," Yee said. "But the main problem is what to do with our new nursing grads. There is no question the classes of 2008 and 2009 were hardest hit, but the 2010 grads may well find themselves feeling the same pinch."

The issue was the hot topic at this summer's NAHCR conference, Yee shared.

"The majority of hospitals [across the country] have no space for new grads," he said. "A few can take a few, but no one can accommodate a whole class. In the past, new grads found programs at nearly every hospital, but this year, only a few are still running. We probably won't see this open up for another year or so."

Yee postulated when slots do open for new grads, they won't be from the most senior nurses.

"The baby-boomer nurses won't be the first to leave," he said. "The first will likely be the Gen Xers and Gen Yers who are disgruntled. They may not see a career path for themselves with the older nurses still in place. And even if they don't leave right away, they'll be looking for greener pastures."

But Yee sees a silver lining in the cloudy job forecast. The lack of jobs may encourage new grads to advance their education.

"If there was some way to get new grads very low or zero-percent interest loans and freeze their current loans, we might be able to entice them to go back and get their next degree - ADNs to BSN, BSNs to MSN," he said.

"That might mean getting the government involved, but it would be well worth the investment. Obviously, not every new grad would be able to participate - some will have to work - but it would be a way to get them back to school. It would result in an incredible workforce."

Job sharing was postulated as a way to get new grads into the workforce and accommodate current workers who wanted to work part time, but that idea was nixed by Yee and others.

"The learning curve is tough for new grads," Yee explained. "New grads need constant supervision as well as hands-on hours to learn skills and specialties. That means they need to be doing full-time shifts for a period of time to get them up to speed not only on policies and procedures, but also on practice."