New Nursing School Graduates in State Struggling To Find Jobs
Many new nursing graduates in California are encountering difficulty finding employment, the Sacramento Bee reports.
Background
In the past 10 years, the state has spent at least $95 million in federal, state and private funds to provide grants and expand college programs in an effort to double the number of nursing graduates.
Hospitals offered moving expenses, housing allowances and signing bonuses to recent nursing school graduates as recently as 2008.
Difficulty Finding Jobs
Hospitals have since sought ways to reduce spending in part by opting to hire veteran or temporary nurses who do not need as much training.
Newly trained nurses generally cannot secure employment without having one or two years of experience, and they have taken part-time and volunteer positions to gain experience.
Future Job Outlook
Timothy Bates -- a program analyst at the Center for the Health Professions at UC-San Francisco -- said the demand for hiring new nurses will return during the next decade as the economy improves and baby boomers retire.
Bates added that demand for more nurses will grow as more residents gain coverage under the federal health reform law.
He noted that the existing oversupply of nurses could exacerbate a possible nursing shortage in the future if the profession loses its appeal because people cannot find jobs in the industry (Dave, Sacramento Bee, 12/4).
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