First few Article Sentences
Newly graduated nurses are having great difficulty finding jobs as registered nurses (RNs) as they compete with experienced nurses who are working more because of the economy. With fewer nurses retiring or working part-time, positions typically available to new nurses have dried up and hospitals and health systems have cut back dramatically on new graduate hires. The high cost of hiring new graduates to prepare them to perform safely and competently after they have completed their academic studies, a cost which is absorbed by the employer, has further limited employment opportunities. As a result, an alarming number of new nurses are unemployed, opting for non-nursing jobs, or moving out of state to seek employment opportunities. As the economy improves and unemployment rates drop there will be an exodus of the aging nursing workforce that expanded during the recession and took the jobs that new graduates expected to fill. This will result in a major shortage of nurses for hospitals, which will be further compounded by health care reform with expectations from the federal administration that nurses will help fill the gap for primary care and chronic care management.