Nursing: Many opportunities, but recession proof may be stretching it.
Nursing: the recession-proof job market lies across an article from CNNMoney.com. A brief bit about the opportunities in nursing and how other career professionals that are experiencing layoffs and troubled times in their present career field are now jumping ship and entering nursing.
Everywhere industries across the board are experiencing some bumps in the road due to the recent recession. A week doesn’t go by when we read about layoffs, foreclosures, and a host of other bad news related to the job market.
For years healthcare leaders and analysts have been discussing the nursing shortage and the continuing need for qualified nurses. More recently with the impending baby boomer retirements the nursing shortage has become somewhat underscored once again.
Some say that as long as people walk the earth they will get sick and there will always be a need for healthcare professionals, clearly a difficult argument to refute. However to go as far as to say “recession proof”, may be a bit audacious.
Flexibility is likely the number one attribute that nursing can claim over other career paths. After a brief two years of academic instruction and some clinical time, plus successful completion of the National Council Licensure Examination – for Registered Nurses (NCLEX-RN), you’ve earned a nursing license and a host of possibilities await you.
The two year program provides the basic essentials of nursing. A no frills down and dirty approach that encompasses the foundational components to build a career. For many the two year option suits them, for others a more comprehensive four year program is what they desire. Both the two and four year programs prepare you for your boards [NCLEX-RN].
Budding new nurses soon realize that a wealth of opportunities lay in front of them. Within the catacombs of healthcare and more specifically nursing, there are numerous areas where nurses work. Hospital based nursing is only one small segment. Nursing jobs may be found in large business, government affairs, pharmaceutical and medical equipment companies, educational positions, military branches, research, legal fields, and a host of others. All one needs is a license, some experience, and an opportunity.
It all sounds great and here comes the “but”. Healthcare is not immune to the nation’s economic woes by any means. Over the last few years healthcare leaders have been faced with ever increasingly difficult times. Insurance reimbursement rates have been cut by carriers. Some reimbursements have been canceled all together – the “never lists”. Hospitals are now carrying more and more bad debt as a result of free care and services not paid for by the uninsured. Operating costs in general are higher and some hospitals are losing market share to surgical centers and retail clinics.
Recently we have seen several hospitals succumb to financial stressors and close their doors. Some institutions have also had to lay off hospital staff – Cambridge Healthcare Alliance, in Boston, MA and Empire Health in Spokane, WA are two recent examples. Other hospitals are seeing reductions in demand for specialty services.
The Cape Cod Times reports about fewer than expected patients for Cape Cod Hospital’s open heart surgery program. The open heart program was originally a $9 million investment on the part of the hospital which started in August of 2002, and was expected to treat about 300 patients annually. Since the beginning the hospital has never surpassed 200 patients in a year, much to the surprise of the healthcare system’s leadership and the Massachusetts Department of Health.
That being said I would argue that healthcare as a whole does have more employment potential than some other industries, but to purport that it [nursing] or healthcare in general is recession proof may be an exaggeration.
About the Author
Mike Pringle is the author of Healthcare Today where he offers commentary and insight regarding today’s healthcare issues. Additionally he provides regular commentary for Red Scrubs and editorial content for Future Healthcare. He has over 20 years of nursing experience working both domestically and internationally. Mike has a Bachelor’s Degree in Nursing and a Masters Degree in Public Administration with a Healthcare emphasis. He specializes in both Emergency and Critical Care Nursing. He currently works at Falmouth Hospital as a Shift Manager for the emergency department.
