Healthcare Job Market

The concern about a nationwide nursing shortage has reached a critical level. Hospitals and private practices seem to be unable to employee enough nurses to be able to reach expected standards of care. Oddly enough the problem is not that there are not enough individuals interested in this healthcare job. The number of people applying to nursing programs at both technical schools and universities is on the rise. The real issue is that there are not enough people either interested or qualified to take on jobs in healthcare as nursing instructors.

Data from many nursing programs throughout the country shows that there are more than enough people interested in jobs in healthcare. If every student could be accepted then the nursing shortage would soon become a thing of the past. Still, despite the desperate need for those with the proper certifications, colleges are having to turn away a large number of those interested due the lack of faculty members.

As the population continues to grow, the demand for workers to fill nursing orientated jobs in healthcare will rise exponentially. Many states are making an effort to curtail the shortage by funneling government funds into programs to making training a large number of new nurses each year more probable. Nevertheless the problem of enticing nursing instructors remains.

Nursing instructors need at least a master degree to be qualified to train others for jobs in healthcare. The extra time and money it takes to complete extra years of school alone can be difficult to come by. Add to this the fact that, in many cases, nursing instructors are paid less than registered nurses with the same experience and a real recruitment problem is created.

At this time the average nursing instructor makes $69,769 a year, according to CNNMoney.com. The same source says that registered nurses make around $61,710 a year. Although the figures may seem to be slightly higher for nursing instructors, they are not taking into account the potential for extra hours and bonuses that nurses have the opportunity to take advantage of.

As hospitals and other medical care providers become drastically understaffed, nurses and others with jobs in healthcare are picking up extra shifts. In many places the need for workers has become extremely competitive, causing employers to bump salaries much higher. Registered nurses have been known to make as much as $72,156 a year as their base salary.

In order to remedy the nursing shortage, there will have to be an increase in incentive for those who are qualified to train others for jobs in healthcare to leave hospitals and enter classroom. Universities will likely soon become more competitive for faculty members to teach the growing number of students interested in becoming nurses. Until then, nursing instructors can find comfort in the fact that their chosen career is one of the most stable in the country.