Nurse Grads struggling to find work (TVNZ)

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kingdragonfly

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#228889 28-Jan-2018 10:14

There's very few things in life guaranteed, except that everyone's first job sucks.

I found there's three important step needed to getting a job.

#1 Study something practical: accounting not archaeology, bookkeeper not blacksmithing, maintenance engineer not medieval literature...

#2 Be willing to move.

#3 Don't be picky, such as excluding night-shifts, or bad locations.

#4 "There's brass in muck" : be willing to do work no one wants.

Once you get some experience under your belt, and already have a job in hand, then you can be picky.

For nursing graduates, I'd guess there's very few jobs in North Shore and Wellington's CBD.

Perhaps I'm missing a critical piece of information for nurse graduates.

https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/new-zealand/grads-struggling-find-work-nurses-union

"The Nurses Union says more funding is needed to ensure students find a placement at the end of their studies, which will provide vital mentoring and job opportunities.

However, the Ministry of Health disagree and say the amount of nurses in New Zealand is keeping up with population growth and an ageing workforce.

Third year nursing student and full time mum Ruth Cameron says she worries a job won’t be available once she completes her degree.

The Ministry says as it works hard to develop new graduate programmes, it is managing to reduce the risk of an ageing workforce.

Despite this, Health Minister David Clark says he has asked the Ministry to look into the issue and find ways to ensure graduates get jobs.

'It's always present in the background that you may not get a job and you just can't be guaranteed that. It is worrying and it is concerning,' she says.

The current system matches graduates with DHB's around the country.

These placements provide important training and mentoring opportunities, but not everyone is offered a spot.

'The nurses are desperate to get in and they need that training and mentoring, but it’s not being funded enough,' says the Nurses Union.

According to the Union, hundreds of graduates are missing out, which may lead to staff shortages later on.

But the Ministry of Health disputes this, and says their research shows only around 40 students who graduated in 2015 are still searching for work.

The Ministry says as it works hard to develop new graduate programmes, it is managing to reduce the risk of an ageing workforce.

Despite this, Health Minister David Clark says he has asked the Ministry to look into the issue and find ways to ensure graduates get jobs."

cadman

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#1947811 28-Jan-2018 11:48

Given the number of foreign-born (particularly Filipino) Nurses working here we must have had a perceived shortage at one time. And now this.

Ironically, a friend of mine is struggling to get someone for a skilled trade position and because the occupation is not on the immigration shortage list, he's battling with them to bring someone in.

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allan

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#1947844 28-Jan-2018 14:32

There seem to be a number of occupations and nursing and teaching are among them, where we seem to lurch from boom to bust. We either have an oversupply, or an extreme shortage - with an apparent inability to predict one or the other. I half suspect it's the ones with the most political interference.

surfisup1000

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#1947888 28-Jan-2018 16:19

My partner took a few years off nursing to care for our kids. It was very tough to get back in . Every nursing vacancy at our hospital had 100+ applicants. And you can't work for a gp clinic unless you have prior experience (chicken or egg scenario). Same for other related nursing roles such as blood clinics.

She eventually got one , but only after going to some higher level managers about the ridiculousness of not being able to secure a position for someone of her extensive experience and amazing references. It crossed my mind that some nurses think negatively of nurses who have taken a break to raise children.

Some positions seem to be reserved for new grads too.

Anyway, my partner is now working and all is good.

surfisup1000

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#1947890 28-Jan-2018 16:23

cadman:

Given the number of foreign-born (particularly Filipino) Nurses working here we must have had a perceived shortage at one time. And now this.

There could be a shortage in some locations or in certain disciplines (mental health / elderly care for example).

But, for general nursing roles in high growth locations there is probably no shortage.

Also, people fleeing auckland house prices could be flooding govt jobs in areas such as Hamilton, tauranga , whangarei etc.

JimmyH

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#1947895 28-Jan-2018 16:33

allan:

There seem to be a number of occupations and nursing and teaching are among them, where we seem to lurch from boom to bust. We either have an oversupply, or an extreme shortage - with an apparent inability to predict one or the other. I half suspect it's the ones with the most political interference.

The pollies are an easy blame target, but I doubt they are the ones at fault here.

It's more likely an issue with some qualifications having an international job market, rather than due to political interference. Particularly linked the UK and Aussie economies, where our nursing and other professional qualifications are closely aligned with theirs and recognised by them. When they boom they pay more and suck skilled labour in (=shortage in NZ), and when they slump we pick up some of their experienced surplus (=oversupply at the less experienced end of the market here).

Short of introducing Soviet-style controls on people exiting the country to work overseas, their probbaly isn't much the Government can do.

And I fail to see why, unlike every other profession, someone who studies nursing should be somehow guaranteed a public sector job when they graduate, and the union some expects the government to make it so. It isn't the case for graduates in law, accounting, economics, engineering, biology, chemistry, automotive repair or any of a myriad range of professions. You pick a qualification that you hope leads somewhere, get your qualification and then you try and find a suitable job. Why should the nurses be any different?

deadlyllama

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#1947924 28-Jan-2018 19:21

When the silver tsunami hits we'll have a shortage. Meanwhile the nurses we trained who couldn't find work will have emigrated...

FineWine

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#1947938 28-Jan-2018 20:26

The even stupider thing is that if you are a specialist nurse in one area and you would like a change to another area, they won't touch you as you have not had training in that area.

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gzt

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#1947964 28-Jan-2018 22:53

According to the Union, hundreds of graduates are missing out, which may lead to staff shortages later on.

But the Ministry of Health disputes this, and says their research shows only around 40 students who graduated in 2015 are still searching for work.

Both could be equally true. 2015 is three graduations ago. Some of those may now be working in related fields rather than practising as nurses.

Imo it's not about guaranteed jobs for anyone just makes sense to train people we know are needed.

allan

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#1948045 29-Jan-2018 09:56

gzt:
Both could be equally true. 2015 is three graduations ago. Some of those may now be working in related fields rather than practising as nurses.

Imo it's not about guaranteed jobs for anyone just makes sense to train people we know are needed.

And whatever way you look at it, because you are dealing with people's health, occupations in the medical area are rather different to areas like law, accounting, economics, engineering, etc.

All in all, I suspect the old style of hospital based training for nurses actually worked better, because hospitals only accepted the number of trainees they knew they had positions for and you didn't end up with a pool of trained nursing staff who were unable to find jobs.

MikeAqua

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#1948098 29-Jan-2018 12:31

Is there a field where if you complete training you are guaranteed a job?

The union seem to be arguing both a lack of jobs and a lack of nurses Some here say that vacancies are hotly contested.

I have a friend who is a senior nurse in a hospital ward and she is frustrated by recent graduates who she thinks receive insufficient training on practical nursing. She sees the training side of nursing as becoming over-academic.

For example young nurses/trainees seem squeamish about touching patients so they take vitals with electronic instruments but fail to check whether the patinet's skin is hot cold, clammy etc.

Mike

mudguard

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#1948118 29-Jan-2018 13:06

kingdragonfly: There's very few things in life guaranteed, except that everyone's first job sucks.

I found there's three important step needed to getting a job.

#1 Study something practical: accounting not archaeology, bookkeeper not blacksmithing, maintenance engineer not medieval literature...

I have an Honours Degree in Anthropology (Archaeology). And have worked in finance for ten years. Sadly, in three of my four serious jobs, it hasn't been what I knew, but who I knew. Including my current one.

afe66

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#1948136 29-Jan-2018 13:39

MikeAqua:
Is there a field where if you complete training you are guaranteed a job?

The union seem to be arguing both a lack of jobs and a lack of nurses Some here say that vacancies are hotly contested.

I have a friend who is a senior nurse in a hospital ward and she is frustrated by recent graduates who she thinks receive insufficient training on practical nursing. She sees the training side of nursing as becoming over-academic.

For example young nurses/trainees seem squeamish about touching patients so they take vitals with electronic instruments but fail to check whether the patinet's skin is hot cold, clammy etc.

My mother trained as a nurse in Auckland on the job in 1960's and worked in it til she retired, 20 years ago she did the papers so she could have a degree.
She was scathing about some of the tutors who she thought had chips on their shoulders about not being doctors.

Several years ago she was admitted as a patient and thought the only _real_ nurses were the enrolled ones who would be hands on, washing patients and chatting to her. The modern nurses spent the whole time looking at laptops.