SAUSALITO, CA (ASRN.ORG) -- The American Society of Registered Nurses (ASRN) has extended the "Save the Grads" jobs program in response to the entry-level graduate jobs crisis.

With new data indicating that 43% of new California RNs can't find work 18 months after graduating, and the rest of the country still a virtual shut down for entry-level grads seeking hospital jobs, the "Save the Grads" jobs program has been extended another 12 months.

"Save the Grads" is another good reason to join ASRN.  

Are you a new or recent RN graduate? Here's what you get with "Save the Grads":

• Newsletters on hiring hospitals, hiring trends, tips on getting hired & more.

• A dedicated entry-level career board, with thousands of current "hidden" entry-level hospital jobs.

• Job alerts for your location and specialization, delivered right to your mailbox.

• Notifications of new grad programs from participating hospitals.

New and recent graduates can access this critical information by joining ASRN at heavily discounted membership rates.  Entry-level and recent graduates will be offered memberships for only $50 (60% off the regular membership fee of $125). 

New graduates will be entitled to Full Membership status, which includes full voting rights and privileges.

Additionally, all new and recent graduates will receive full member benefits, including the ASRN Journal of Nursing® and the Journal of Advanced Practice Nursing®;  be eligible to participate in all programs and committees; receive awards and grants; and attend all conferences and meetings.

For grads that can't afford to join.

If you qualify as a special hardship case, we'll give you a free annual membership. Please email us at memberships@asrn.org if you feel you are in a hardship situation and want special consideration by our Membership Committee.

>>To Learn More click here

 

Background.

Less than 4 years, hospitals were offering nurses $10,000 signing bonuses, loan payoffs, even cars as incentives to battle a nursing shortage felt in almost all 50 states.  Today, most nursing graduates say they're fortunate to find a job.  

Four years ago there were three job offers for every graduate, but at graduation last summer there were more students without a job than ever before. 

A surge of applicants from nursing schools as well as older nurses coming back into the workforce and hiring freezes at most of the nations' hospitals had increased competition for jobs.

A survey last fall of nearly 1,500 California newly licensed registered nurses found 43 percent did not have a nursing job 18 months after graduating, according to the California Institute for Nursing and Healthcare.

According to the nurses who were not working, 92% were told they did not have enough experience, 54% were told no jobs were available, and 19% were told a bachelor's degree was preferred or required.  About 80% said they would be willing to participate in an unpaid internship to get experience.

Adding to the surge of new nursing candidates were experienced nurses from other states that were hard hit by the recession.

A California forecast on the need for registered nurses through 2030 reported in November, 2011 that the surplus could continue if RN graduations remain at current levels and older nurses continue to work at higher rates than in the past, but a shortage could emerge if graduations decline as potential students are discourged by the job market.

Nationwide, hospitals routinely tell new graduates that they are not hiring.  

Many hospitals have set hiring freezes and closed down clinical services. 

In addition, many nurses that were expected to retire have chosen not to do so.  Many have decided that because of the recession they were no longer in a financial position to retire, or perhaps their spouse lost a job and they needed to remain employed.

Today, it's not unusual to find a new graduate RN from a private school carrying student loans ranging from $50,000 to $100,000 unable to find work.  

Even where there are jobs available, hospitals would rather hire an experienced RN over a new graduate.

This has caused a wave of shock and disbelief as new RNs from at least four graduating classes are being forced to consider leaving the workforce.

Job forums are now saturated with posts from frustrated new graduates looking for employment-while in school they thought jobs would be almost guaranteed upon graduation.  New graduates perpetually post the same question, "How do I get hired for jobs requiring experience if I can't get experience?"

According to a study by CINC, 43% of surveyed registered nurses licensed in California from January 1, 2009 to March 31, 2010 are not working as registered nurses.  

Outside the acute care hospital setting-such as in community clinics, long term care, behavioral care and ambulatory services-resources needed to put new grads into the work force are even more limited. The out-of-hospital settings don't have the resources needed to offer training programs that allow graduates to make the transition from school into practice. 

Vocational schools are already feeling the impact.  Enrollment at some private California nursing schools has decreased by more than 50% in the past two years.

Before the recession, new graduate nurses could find jobs anywhere they wanted in California-even in tough job markets like the Bay Area-but over the past two years, thousands of graduating nurses have found it impossible to land a job there.  This is mirrored nationally in many popular urban areas.

>>To Learn More click here

 

 

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