When do you think nursing hires is going to pick up?

The hospital where I work has started to hire more nurses again, I think it's going to get better soon.

I think it's going to depend a lot upon the implications of President Obama's Healthcare Plan. This is a sticky one, folks, and I think employers are going to feel a severe CRUNCH. It WILL have an effect on nursing, and I'm not certain its effect will be positive. For one thing, I have noticed that some nurse to patient ratios have gone from "once in a while you'll have to go as high as 'X' number of patients, but that is REALLY REALLY rare and we try to hold off doing that until the end of the shift, right before more nurses arrive for day shift"-- to -- "that's the norm now and you're starting off with that many!"

Many nursing jobs that were open at local hospitals have quite simply been eliminated. Another growing trend in private doctors' offices is to replace Nurses with Medical Assistants! I don't like THAT at all!

I'll bet after kids go back to school and the economy starts to recover (they say that's what's occurring now, but truly, how do WE know until we go shopping again? I've had food products go up in the last week by 50 cents. Jobs will open up, I'm guessing in late-September to October.

I find interesting, the fact that RN to patient ratios are creeping up all over, when so many of the studies show patient outcomes are at their best when the RN to patient ratio is small. Mainstream publications have published articles in the past,geared toward laypersons (ie:Joe and Jane Publik) advising them to always check out the RN to patient ratios when considering and evaluating a health care facility. Some states have passed legislation re: these ratios, the early ones neglected to include in these ratios also ratios for non professional (aides, etc) staff so it came back to bite them when they got the RN numbers increased but lost valuable ancillary staff. Unfortunately, national nursing organizations don't back up nurses with specific ratio numbers. Suggest vague recommendations that employers can interpret as they like. Hmmm could there be some politics behind this?

I'm not sure if it's politics or sheer economic woes. My hospital is the only one in the area that stayed in the black last year -- maybe because it's county owned. Yes, our ratios crept up... it's not a constant thing but management says "it's possible to go as high as "x" number of patients".... possible.... and more than probable a lot of times. I know stepdown used to hold nightshift at a 5:1 ratio and nurses are starting their shift with 6. Day shift nurses typically enjoy a lower ratio, 1:4.... then it was 5, then 6 and for a couple of months it was 7.... AWFUL.... and awfully risky. And there is no team nursing... just an RN and an aide assigned to more than one team of nurses.