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You may be of the opinion that it doesn’t matter where you’re working, so long as you’re doing what you love, and that’s a lovely notion that we’re happy to support.
That said, it doesn’t hurt to be at least be aware (you know, should you have the option to be picky) of the “best” and “worst” states for employment as a nurse. Taking into account, of course, some pretty important factors:
- annual average salary
- number of nurses per capita
- job openings
- health care facility availability
- average number of hours worked
And how fortunate that we now have a fresh new report to tell us just that. Because ignorance is never really bliss, and any nurse that’s made a preventable “pack on up and move on out” sized error can tell you that.
Anyways, back to those findings.
Good news if you’re currently doing your nurse thing in either Washington, Colorado or Minnesota (respectively), ’cause your state is ranked among the top three in the country.
As for Kentucky, Hawaii and Louisiana–it’s going to take some real elbow grease to pull these states up to the level of “desirable.”
(If you didn’t catch our drift, we ‘re saying those states came in last).
But don’t throw your hands up just yet if you’re not pleased with your state’s ranking. The general consensus among experts is that the future of nursing is lookin’ good, thanks to that classic law of supply and demand we all learned about in economics. In fact, Nancy Short, who is an Associate Professor at Duke University School of Nursing, even used the word “excellent” to describe her own forecast. And we all know that professors don’t use the word “excellent” lightly when delivering a report—if at all. (#StillBitter.)
But we want to hear your forecast! What’ll it be? Share your expectations for the future of nursing with us in the comments section below—no “glass-ball” level insights required.
