Do you know why there is a big nurse shortage in this country?
One of the reasons is because nurses are getting tired of their long shift hours and quitting their nursing career; some even retire early and move on to something else. The average age of the nation’s 2.9 million nurses is 47.
For some RNs who are beginning to feel burnt out, travel nurse jobs can infuse life into their nursing career journey. Many RNs, whether at the early or late stages of their career, move on to travel nursing. An important factor that makes traveling so attractive is that contingent healthcare staff continues to be in high demand. The ongoing nursing shortage is driving that demand.
Now, one of the main reasons for the nurse shortage is because we don’t have enough qualified nursing instructors. However, nurses have the option of becoming instructors, which they should seriously consider.
So, the domino effect is simple…
Not enough instructors = Not enough nursing graduates = Shortage of nurses.
The Nursing Education Issue is not Going Away Anytime Soon
CNN Money recently reported that nursing schools are still turning away thousands of applicants due to their inability to expand class sizes. There are many prospective nurses out there who recognize the value of the career, and are ready and willing to become RNs, but the system just can’t scale to handle the demand.
Interested in becoming a nursing educator? This could be a lucrative and highly rewarding career, in particular for those of you who are ready to start giving back to the profession. You may not even have to ease up on your clinical expertise … there are educator positions that allow you to practice in the classroom and in clinical settings.
I Love Travel Nursing 
Unless something is done to improve the image and workload of the professional nurse, the youth of today will not want to pursue this type of career. There needs to be more ancillary department support so nurses can do what they are educated to do — their nursing skills! Employers need to respect the nurse’s degree and treat them like any other professional is treated. Can you blame an 18-year-old for choosing to go to college for something other than a nurse who is over-worked, under paid, not repected, no support and does all jobs (i.e. transportation, housekeeping, nursing assistant, respiratory, physical therapy…)!? I went back to school to become a nurse in my mid-thirties and after finally getting my bachelor’s degree, I felt less respected than I ever did in any of my previous jobs without a college degree!!!