Registered Nurses In Demand As We Head Into a COVID Winter
While the public health sector is an employer of registered nurses (RNs), the jobs that are available in that setting are typically more competitive and they just don't have a high number of positions to fill when compared to other nursing employers such as skilled nursing facilities, long term care facilities, or hospitals. However, as we begin the descent into winter not only does the healthcare sectors have concerns about the influenza season, the concern about the steadily rising numbers of COVID cases has some health departments opting to hire more public health nurses.
Jackson County, Florida for example is looking to hire more nurses in public health. Their goal is to have registered nurses working on contact tracing and case investigations. According to Jackson County officials, some of their nurses who are working their COVID response are averaging around 35 hours of overtime for each pay period.
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CNAs, and LPNs Work the Winter with High Paying PRN and Travel Jobs
It's not just registered nurses who are in demand. Certified nursing assistants (CNAs) and licensed practical nurses (LPNs) are needed as well. 2020 was scheduled by the World Health Organization and nursing advocacy groups worldwide to be the Year of the Nurse, and while it certainly hasn't been the year of the nurse they had planned, it's certainly been a year for nurses and nursing assistants to be more visible in the media than they've ever been perhaps, or at least since Florence Nightingale began testing society's acceptable behavior expectations for women so long ago.
We've written a lot about how important CNA's are to the healthcare industry, and how PRN work offers CNAs the opportunity for more career growth and higher income potential, and just as we're seeing with RNs, the LPN and CNA opportunities are diverse, highly paid, and exciting.
Our Nursa CNAs in Utah are seeing job postings for over $25 an hour, while the national average hourly wage in 2019 was just over $14. While our licensed practical nurses in Idaho are finding jobs at over $35 an hour in Idaho, and even over $40 an hour in parts of Utah.
One Louisiana University's Answer to the Nursing Shortage
Supply and demand are two correlated factors that we all subconsciously understand to at least a limited degree. It is related to one of the reasons we are seeing such impressive income potential for our PRN nurses and assistances currently, because of the nursing shortage.
One University in Louisiana has teamed up with a health system and intends to start offering their very own four-year nursing degree program. The benefit to Loyola University by teaming up with Ochsner Health is that their nursing students won't have to be on waiting lists for their clinical placements.
Contradictorily to the fact of nursing shortages, there aren't enough placement opportunities for the students that we do have. Universities partnering up in this way to ensure their students have placement opportunities immediately so as not to delay their education and entrance into the workforce that needs them so badly would be a welcome trend to see.
Nurses Need Care Even As They Provide Care
In April, a major advocacy group in England conducted a survey of almost 1,200 nurses and got results that almost 75% of surveyed nurses said that their job was negatively impacting their lives even more so than usual, because of COVID. For most of our readers, that type of result likely isn't a surprise. And yet, drawing attention to something you already know can cause you to be more mindful about it. In England's case, they launched a mental well-being campaign and have put money and efforts into ensuring nurses' mental well-being is prioritized.
Make sure you are taking care of yourself as you work so hard to care for others. Little things you can do that can have a big impact include keeping hydrated, and actually taking your shift breaks instead of working right through them. You might not think you're at risk of burnout, but doing what you can to take care of yourself now, instead of waiting until the last moment is worthwhile.
Apply for Nursing Jobs Today with Nursa
Working as a RN, LPN, or CNA in PRN nursing jobs can enhance your career, but it can also really change your life. The benefits are varied and worthy of your consideration. We've made it so simply for you to find what you want, and apply for it. We've put the entire process into a smartphone application.
Download Nursa today, register and create your professional portfolio, and get browsing. It's so simple and the entire process from beginning to landing is done in one place. All of it: in the palm of your hand, or the pocket of your jeans, or the chaos of your purse.
If our quick rundown of a few job postings we have that are available right now, in real-time, isn't enough to convince you, then you should put more thought into the reasons PRN work can benefit your life. Read our in-depth post titled, "Advance Your Nursing Career by Picking up PRN RN Jobs Nearby" and realize how much more value to your life, on top of the financial benefit, you can gain.
