With job openings largely concentrated in specialized industries like health care, green technology and energy, some employers say the problem is finding qualified workers, which are in short supply. Meanwhile, they are inundated with eager candidates from other industries who lack the skills and experience that the job requires.

According to a recent survey by Human Capital Institute and TheLadders, more than half of employers said “quality of candidates” or “availability of candidates” are their greatest challenges — despite the recession.

Mary Willoughby, the director of human resources at the Center for Disability Rights in Rochester, New York, has been trying to hire registered nurses, home health aides and service coordinators for several of the agencies that she oversees.

Many of the positions, which require specific skills and offer salaries in the range of $30,000 to $45,000, have been vacant for six months or longer.

The job postings, which appear on CareerBuilder, Craigslist and some regional sites, garner a lot of attention, she says. “We get tons of résumés from people. We are just not getting highly qualified candidates.”

The problem, according to Willoughby, is that they are bombarded by résumés from job seekers without the two years or more of health care experience necessary. “We’re seeing a lot of people trying to break into the health care arena,” she said.

As a result, human resources spends too much time sifting through résumés for people who aren’t remotely qualified, and can’t find many that are. “We’ve gotten close to 300 résumés for a service coordinator position. Out of that we brought in four people,” she said.

Those that didn’t make the cut included someone with previous experience as an office clerk and a job applicant with a bachelor’s in mathematics, currently employed at a café.

Willoughby recently instituted a hiring incentive program to encourage existing employees to refer viable candidates. Those responsible for bringing in new hires are eligible to receive $2,500 to $5,000, depending on the position. She has also added in a signing bonus for the new employees.

Things are even worse on the higher end of the pay scale. At wireless leasing firm, Unison Site, a position for director of lead generation, which pays $90,000-$140,000, has been open for three months, with no candidates in sight.

“With the job market the way it is, we should be able to recruit really good people and it hasn’t worked quite as well as we wanted,” said Joe Songer, co-founder and chief financial officer. “My problem is when I put an ad out I just get bombarded with people that aren’t qualified.”

Typically, the jobs that are the hardest to fill are those that require unique or extensive work experience, according to management professor Peter Cappelli of the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business.

For job seekers, applying to those types of positions may be worth the off chance that one responds with a request for an interview. “They think, I’ve got nothing to lose,” Cappelli said.

Recruiters recommend that job seekers create a targeted list of companies with a clear match to their background and tailor their experience to the job they are applying for, rather than blanketing all available job openings with the same résumé.

“Eighty percent of jobs are being obtained on personal referrals so candidates that are spending the bulk of their time sending their resume out blindly are not being the most fruitful,” said Carolyn Thompson, president of CMCS, a boutique staffing firm near Washington, D.C.

Thompson advises job seekers to network within those target companies, whether in person or through social networking sites.

Without a contact at the company, résumés should highlight and emphasize any relevant experience specific to the job opening, added Jennifer Becker, market director for Ajilon Professional Staffing. “You really want your résumé to very quickly and easily reflect your relevant skills and the value you can bring to the position.”

“If the client has to look for it, you are probably going to get passed over.”

Normally abuzz with activity this time of year, college and university career placement offices are subdued places these days.

That’s because on-campus recruiters, represented largely by finance and engineering firms, are in shorter supply this season. With few openings available even for experienced applicants, most companies aren’t spending time and money to woo first-time job-seekers this year.

Even in robust economic times, 60 percent of all graduates return home from school unemployed, according to the National Association of Colleges and Employers. The average job search takes 6 months, but it is expected to take at least 3 months longer this year.

Career counselors, well-aware of the obstacles facing first-time job seekers, are scrambling to beef up their “events” calendars, which can include networking events with alumni, advice on how to improve interviewing skills, and similar career guidance. But the hard reality remains: fewer jobs are coming to campus this spring and graduates will have to go out and hunt for work.

The good news is that there are pockets of growth in this economy and all of them offer opportunities for new college graduates. The trick is identifying those industries and understanding how to parlay your interests and skills within those fields.

So, who is hiring the Class of 2009?

Healthcare, pharmaceuticals and biotech, three inter-related fields, are booming. Because of the simple fact that people are living longer, these industries are among the world’s largest and most profitable. Most importantly for job-seekers, you don’t have to hold a science or bio-engineering degree to break in. For example:

* Political science majors are finding work in healthcare policy positions at think tanks, consulting firms, and within the government.
* Economics and business students are in demand at the larger hospitals and drug companies in management and financial roles.
* Sociology and psychology degrees open doors to counseling jobs at retirement and medical facilities.
* English majors with good writing skills can find work in corporate communications at pharmaceutical firms, insurance companies, and larger healthcare providers.
* Healthcare Information Technology is a steadily growing field taking job applicants from engineering, information sciences, and web analytics backgrounds.
* Pharmaceutical sales continues to be a reliable option with great long-term opportunities for liberal arts majors with strong interpersonal skills.

Government isn’t going away any time soon, and despite budget cuts, will continue to be a steady supplier of entry-level jobs. Who is hiring here? Well, the usual suspects spring to mind, such as those newly elected congressmen and women looking for entry-level Capitol Hill aides for their Washington, D.C. offices. A change of administration always brings turnover, thus creating job openings. Additionally, consider these options:

Continued…

* The Department of Defense (DoD). Each spring the DoD hires hundreds of new college graduates in civilian positions, and 2009 will be no different. The DoD offers solid training and development for entry-level employees, and occasionally international assignments. Currently, DoD is actively seeking majors in Business Management, History, Education, Finance, Counseling, and Sociology. Positions for graduates with these degrees include teaching, financial services, and crisis management.
* The National Security Agency (NSA). Not only is the NSA the country’s largest employer of mathematicians, but the agency is hungry for linguists and researchers as well. Jobs in border and transportation security, intelligence, public health, and policy analysis are available, and degree-holders beyond the traditional math, science, and engineering students are in demand.
* If post-graduate work is part of your long-term plan, another notable benefit to working for a government agency is exclusive access to graduate school grants and scholarships. The website www.usajobs.gov is an excellent source of government listings, though for internships you will need to visit the individual websites of each agency.

The world of education remains fertile ground for new job applicants. Check out www.academiccareers.com to get started. With the national trend toward full-day kindergarten, jobs in early childhood education are on the rise. Additionally, increased federal support to students with special needs has created more jobs for teachers with unique qualifications able to support this demographic.

Layoffs resulting from the economic downturn have prompted many workers to return to school to enhance their skills or change careers entirely, creating teaching opportunities at traditional and non-traditional learning institutions for recent college graduates. And all of these factors have created non-teaching opportunities in education such as jobs for administrators, recruiters, and guidance counselors. Academic careers are a good option for students who have studied:

* Sociology
* Counseling
* Human Resource Management
* Education Administration
* Business
* General liberal arts

Another area to consider is telecommunications. The field has seen significant convergence recently and analysts disagree on the long-term outlook, but the fact remains that opportunities do exist for college graduates. While you may want to carefully consider if a potential employer is a target for being taken over before applying, the companies thriving in this industry provide excellent, entry-level training ground. The rate of growth for the surviving firms, the increased worldwide usage of wireless technologies, and the successful resurgence of low-cost carriers make this an exciting and prosperous field. Engineers, software and product testing candidates have their choice of positions to apply for, but the reach is broader as well. Applicants of all backgrounds can seek positions in:

* Public relations
* Sales
* Customer support
* Government relations

When applying to any position in any field, you need to thoroughly research the company and the industry, and be well-versed in its demands, condition, and the lingo. For example, you can stay up to date on the telecom sector by checking the website www.fiercewireless.com on a weekly, if not daily, basis.

There’s no question that the Class of 2009 faces one of the most challenging job markets in decades. Nevertheless, jobs are out there, and with a little creativity, assertiveness and willingness to cast a wide net in previously unconsidered areas, you’ll find that your degree – no matter what it is – is your ticket to employment.

With the national trend toward full-day kindergarten, jobs in early childhood education are on the rise. Additionally, increased federal support to students with special needs has created more jobs for teachers with unique qualifications able to support this demographic.

Layoffs resulting from the economic downturn have prompted many workers to return to school to enhance their skills or change careers entirely, creating teaching opportunities at traditional and non-traditional learning institutions for recent college graduates. And all of these factors have created non-teaching opportunities in education such as jobs for administrators, recruiters, and guidance counselors. Academic careers are a good option for students who have studied:

* Sociology
* Counseling
* Human Resource Management
* Education Administration
* Business
* General liberal arts

Another area to consider is telecommunications. The field has seen significant convergence recently and analysts disagree on the long-term outlook, but the fact remains that opportunities do exist for college graduates. While you may want to carefully consider if a potential employer is a target for being taken over before applying, the companies thriving in this industry provide excellent, entry-level training ground. The rate of growth for the surviving firms, the increased worldwide usage of wireless technologies, and the successful resurgence of low-cost carriers make this an exciting and prosperous field. Engineers, software and product testing candidates have their choice of positions to apply for, but the reach is broader as well. Applicants of all backgrounds can seek positions in:

* Public relations
* Sales
* Customer support
* Government relations

When applying to any position in any field, you need to thoroughly research the company and the industry, and be well-versed in its demands, condition, and the lingo.

There’s no question that the Class of 2009 faces one of the most challenging job markets in decades. Nevertheless, jobs are out there, and with a little creativity, assertiveness and willingness to cast a wide net in previously unconsidered areas, you’ll find that your degree – no matter what it is – is your ticket to employment.

College can be expensive. Most parents at least try to help their children financially through at least some part of their university experience. However, getting a degree at one of the prestigious universities can run you more than $30,000 in tuition alone at the top schools. You might be one of the myriad students who attend our large state schools and therefore go to school at a substantial discount. However, most people don’t have an extra $100,000 saved up and therefore seriously need to consider taking out student loans and applying for scholarships if they can.

A student loan can help you pay for tuition, books, and general living expenses. Student loans are handy when you don’t have a job and have an immediate bill that is coming due. Finding a grant or student loan shouldn’t be as difficult as your classes are, so here are 3 valuable tips to consider when putting together your financial plan for your next year at college.

1)Find a student loan provider who is established. You don’t want a fly by night organization that is merely interested in taking you for a ride and not providing the money you need to complete your education. Getting your student loan can be a long drawn out process where the lender delays and delays and you end up waiting and waiting with more debt piling up. I have friends that have had their student loans delayed until the end of the semester due to paper work errors! Wow! A $5000 tuition bill doesn’t look pretty when it’s sitting on your credit card statement.

2)When you receive your student loan, look to pay off high interest debt first. Guess what? Your money will do a lot more for you when it’s only accruing debt at 5% per year than at over 20% on your Visa bill! Credit card companies can be very aggressive marketers and you might end up paying for that tuition bill many times over if you let it sit on your credit card. Always look to lower your highest monthly expenses if possible and this definitely includes credit card debt.

3)Shop around. I’d be willing to bet that some banks will give you a better deal on a student loan than you think they would. Find out who’s got the best rate to get the best deal on your loan. Student loan payments can last a lifetime and that extra 1% can add up to literally thousands of dollars over the years. I have friends that are in their 50s and still paying off their student loans. It’ll pay off in the long run to make sure you find the best deal possible.

Student loans are popular as today as ever: find one and use it to your advantage.

A Criminal Justice Degree

A criminal justice degree provides you with coursework that develops your skills in the world of crime and social justice. You will learn the fundamentals of delinquency, criminal law, the procedures involved and the pieces that make up the criminal justice system. Along with this information, you will also be taught the fundamental administrative and management skills that are essential in the criminal justice field. This degree will prepare you for multiple roles within this field and can branch off to other professions as well, such as paralegal or the Attorney General’s office.

A Focus in Law Enforcement

When you combine criminal justice with law enforcement for a degree, you are selecting a more detailed and focused area of study. This will make you more equipped and knowledgeable in your specified field. Depending on what kind of degree you wish to pursue, such as a certificate or a master’s, will determine exactly what you’ll be studying.

Degree Levels of Criminal Justice-Law Enforcement

With a certificate, you will primarily focus on the protection of lives and property. It will prepare you for a law enforcement officer or other similar organization positions. It will give you the education and training for the required law enforcement exam. Each state has its own requirements and exam.

An associate’s degree program will give you a more detailed education and prepare you for law enforcement, investigation and private security careers.

A bachelor’s degree will allow you to combine both the basic criminal justice-law enforcement and analytical/research skills. You will be able to seek professions in higher level positions in the police departments and/or other law enforcement agencies.

A master’s degree or higher will also give you a better education in your field and make you more qualified than most. You will also be in leadership and managerial positions within the law enforcement realm.

The financial crisis and economic recession have made quick work of an expected gradual evolution in our economy. In the next few years, it could look very different—a shrunken Wall Street will force bankers to find jobs in other industries, a massive green-energy effort could create jobs that are barely on the map today, and an expanding healthcare sector could offer new opportunities for a broad swath of workers. So whether you’re out of work or you’re gainfully employed, you should keep on eye on the changing nature of our job market.

U.S. News has plowed through hundreds of careers, looking for the jobs with the best outlook in this recessionary economy (and beyond), the highest rates of job satisfaction, the least difficult training necessary, the most prestige, and the highest pay. These careers have staying power: They’re smart moves now, and they’ll be smart moves for years to come.

The aging of the baby boomer generation promises to place major demands on the healthcare system. There will be more need for physical therapists as active seniors work their way back from hip and knee replacements. A couple of national surveys also found that physical therapists rank high in job satisfaction. Registered nurses, biomedical equipment technicians, and physician assistants will also be in hot demand. Equipment technicians install, train, calibrate, and maintain a cadre of fast-evolving medical equipment, such as PET/CT scanners and robotic radiosurgery units. Computer systems know-how is increasingly useful, and you can be an everyday hospital hero after only a two-year associate’s degree. Physician assistants need two or three years of postgraduate education. Then they can do about 80 percent of what physicians do, and their salaries can reach six figures.

It’s also important to consider the effect of an Obama presidency on the labor market. The president-elect has indicated that healthcare reform will be a priority for his administration. Overhauling our existing system to make way for universal healthcare will require the hard work of many health policy specialists, who will be called upon to examine, analyze, or advise on everything from economic approaches to ethical outcomes of policy changes. Schools like Harvard, Penn, and Johns Hopkins offer interdisciplinary health policy programs, but there will be good job opportunities for people with primary expertise in economics, politics, medicine, accounting, management, and ethics, as well.

Some best careers may surprise you. Did you know that hair stylists rank among the most satisfied with their jobs? (No need to fear that your work will be outsourced, either.) Pharmacists are increasingly in demand as medical advisers, thanks to soaring physicians’ costs and appointment delays. Firefighter is among the most prestigious careers, as ranked by the public in a Harris poll. It ranks behind scientist and physician—two careers that require much bigger investments in higher education. The veterinarian career—long a favorite for kids who love pets—is a surprisingly smart adult choice, with plenty of opportunities in the field, a variety of work environments, and, although it can be stressful, great reward for your labor.

Some careers fly well under the radar, so competition is less intense, even if job satisfaction runs high. Have you ever thought of a job as an audiologist? Probably not, but this career lets you work closely with the rapidly improving technology of hearing aids, and you spend lots of time out of the office—working one-on-one with patients in clinics or hospitals.

Workers who crave job security
may find their last bastion of hope in the federal government. Government can always raise taxes or print more money—and it still offers full-time, well-paying positions with generous benefits, including ample holidays, sick days, and vacation days. More good news: There will be plenty of jobs to choose from, as a big chunk of federal employees become eligible for retirement over the next decade. Opportunities for a government manager abound—in everything from human resources to finance, research to public relations, and technology to art, with jobs throughout the United States and the world.

Our full list of Best Careers 2009 :

* Audiologist
* Biomedical equipment technician
* Clergy
* Curriculum/training specialist
* Engineer
* Firefighter
* Fundraiser
* Genetic counselor
* Ghostwriter
* Government manager
* Hairstylist/Cosmetologist
* Health policy specialist
* Higher education administrator
* Landscape architect
* Librarian
* Locksmith/Security system technician
* Management consultant
* Mediator
* Occupational therapist
* Optometrist
* Pharmacist
* Physical therapist
* Physician assistant
* Politician/Elected official
* Registered nurse
* School psychologist
* Systems analyst
* Urban planner
* Usability/User experience specialist
* Veterinarian

The field of psychoanalysis has gotten the Hollywood treatment over the past decade, being featured on a hit TV show, The Sopranos, and two movies starring Billy Crystal and Robert De Niro, Analyze This and Analyze That.

In the same period, the number of college students earning psychology degrees has jumped 22%; the Princeton Review pegs it as the second most popular major today. No doubt students have visions of striking it rich, listening to patients’ problems while collecting $100-an-hour fees.

The reality is that few psychology majors move on to graduate school–and the career path for the rest of the group: not so rich. Psychology majors during their first few years out of school typically make around $35,000; those with 10 to 20 years’ experience are pulling in $54,000. Those are the second-lowest incomes in both cases in our study of the most lucrative college majors. Only criminal justice majors fare worse.

The most lucrative college major today: computer engineering. Those with less than five years’ experience are making $60,500, while those with 10 to 20 years’ experience are banking $104,000 per year. “Everything today has a computer in it,” says Al Lee, director of quantitative analysis at PayScale.com, an online compensation comparison tool.

Today’s computer engineering majors are designing the integrated circuits that move information around, and employers like AT&T (nyse: T – news – people ), Cisco Systems (nasdaq: CSCO – news – people ) and Hewlett-Packard (nyse: HPQ – news – people ) can’t hire enough of them.

To gauge the most lucrative majors, we turned to PayScale.com, which collects real-time salary information from 10 million users. They looked at 20 popular majors where most of the graduates go into the private sector; thus, some popular majors, like education and social work, were excluded.

We looked at median salaries to wipe out outliers at the top and bottom ends of the scale. Salaries included bonuses and commissions, but excluded any stock compensation. All jobs were included in the data, not just those specific to the major. Anyone who acquired an advanced degree was excluded from the study.

If you’re looking for a big paycheck straight out of school, think about an engineering degree. The four highest paid majors for people with less than five years’ experience were all engineering-based, with computer engineering leading the way. “It is a matter of supply and demand,” says Lee, adding, “Engineers tend to stay at their jobs longer, so getting the good people right out of college is important.” Despite the high pay, the number of engineering degrees issued has barely budged the past 10 years; 67,000 degrees were handed out in 2006, the latest year available.

One reason the number of engineering degrees has not grown much is that the programs tend to be very rigorous. This benefits the engineering students who can complete the coursework, though–employers know they’re typically getting competent people straight out of school, and therefore are willing to dole out generous salaries.

There are several majors with better growth potential than the assorted engineering degrees. Engineering salaries tend to start high, but there is not huge growth on an annual basis. Witness the difference between engineering salaries for those with little experience compared to those with 10 to 20 years’ experience: The experienced jobs tend to pay 55% to 60% higher. Meanwhile, the economics, finance and math majors are pursing jobs with salaries that often double once they’ve gotten some decent experience under their belts.

“The kinds of majors where you learn to integrate mathematics and science with the everyday world have a tremendous benefit in terms of earnings potential,” says PayScale.com’s Lee. These include economics, engineering, finance and mathematics.

For those still set on that psychology degree, plan on getting a doctorate, because a master’s alone is not going to add much juice to your earnings potential. The typical salary for someone with a master’s in psychology and 10 to 20 years’ experience was $56,500, just $2,500 more than psych majors without advanced degrees.

Being 30 years old, with no college degree, making $15 an hour.

That’s why Jesse Mullan has taken a risk and gone back to college, sitting in classrooms with college juniors who were 8 years old when he graduated from high school in St. Paul, Minn., in 1994.

Mullan, who expects to graduate from college in 2008, figures that taking on debt to further his education will pay off. He expects to triple his hourly pay shortly after collecting a degree in computer science from the University of Minnesota, allowing him to pay off his school loans in no more than 10 years.

“It’s better than car loans,” he said.

Mullan is still making a good bet, many economists agree. While the cost of college has soared, the incomes of college graduates are still staying well ahead of those who don’t have four-year degrees.

How far ahead? Lifetime incomes of college grads in today’s dollars average nearly $300,000 more than high school graduates over a 40-year career. And that’s the net benefit, after deducting an average cost of more than $100,000 in tuition, room and board and potential income lost while attending college.

The income gap between those with and without a college degree continues to grow, though at not as fast a pace since the mid-1990s as in the 1980s. Why? A rising tide of economic prosperity has lifted most of the boats, providing higher incomes for even the undereducated.

“Since the mid-1990s, the average (inflation-adjusted) wages of college graduates have skyrocketed, increasing by 18 percent” as of 2004, a recent study found. In contrast, wages of high school dropouts rose at about half that rate — 10 percent — over the same period.

Economists Lisa Barrow and Cecilia Elena Rouse said in the same paper that “there are no signs that the value of a college education has peaked or is on a downward trend.”

While many people have heard stories of degree-holders with nothing more to show for their high-priced education than a job behind a coffee counter, sticker shock about the rapidly rising cost of tuition and fees is largely misplaced, said Rouse, a Princeton University economist.

Rouse cites two factors to back up that claim: Significant numbers of students get some form of aid, income tax credits at the very least — meaning they pay less than the posted price for their degrees. What’s more, by far the largest cost of going to college is foregone income, and wages of high school grads have not climbed nearly as fast as the double-digit gains in tuition at many colleges in recent years.

To be sure, paying for college is a bigger gamble for some than for others.

Sixty-three percent of all students with family incomes of $79,000 or less face a gap between the annual cost of college and the money they can raise through grants, scholarships, work-study programs and family contributions, according to a national study released last month by the Southern Regional Education Board.

That gap is filled by debt.

For example, in the spring of 2005, nearly two-thirds of the students graduating from the University of Minnesota’s Twin Cities campus left with debt — an average of more than $22,000. That was up 65 percent from the average for indebted students in the class of 2002.

But the average return to a college education is large enough to overshadow those liabilities, many studies have found.

The Census Bureau in 2004 calculated that the average college graduate earns $27,800 more per year, adjusted for inflation, than the average high school graduate. That adds up to more than $1 million over a lifetime.

Barrow and Rouse calculated that over 40 years, the average payback for a college diploma comes to $402,959 in today’s dollars. Subtract $107,277 in their estimated average total cost for a four-year degree and the average expected benefit would come to about $296,000.

And what about the English majors or art students who end up behind a counter at Starbucks after graduation? Their degree still is likely to make them more attractive as a management candidate than someone who didn’t go to college.

“There probably are more opportunities open to these people who maybe aren’t doing as well as the average,” Barrow said.

Nursing shortage

The amount of nursing responsibilities has increased and it may be possible to argue that the patients are more ill as a result. In addition, the average age of nurses increases while the number of applications to baccalaureate programs has decreased.Furthermore, new opportunities became available for the nursing practice, which further drains the number of nurses available for the acute care settings. Other factors that affect the nursing shortage are aging workforce, problems with retention, and difficulty recruiting young people into the field.

Job satisfaction

Studies have shown that the nursing shortage is an issue in developed countries today. Students need now apply to schools to become nurses because admission rates have increased. Several studies have been done to understand how nurses feel about their career. About 5 years ago, sociologist Bryan Turner initially identified nurses’ most important complaints as subordination to the medical profession as well as over regulation, and difficult working conditions. Also, a report from the Commonwealth of Australia identified some of the dissatisfaction as stemming from frequent schedule changes, overloads, shift work, lack of appreciation by superiors and colleagues, as well as lack of childcare. Inadequate pay was identified as a lesser problem based on the report. Later, a study revealed that the dissatisfaction among nurses focused on conflicting expectations from nurses and managers due to regulation of cost, lack of opportunity to provide comprehensive nursing care, and disillusioned workforce or “loss of confidence in, and frustration with, the healthcare system.” Limitations to comprehensive care were identified because nurses are overloaded with the number of assigned patients, massive paperwork for billing purposes, and short staffing to cut cost.In the past 20 years administrative/government policies and practice has changed very little, cost-cutting is still the priority, patient loads uncontrolled, and nurses are rarely consulted when recommending changes. The major reason why nurses plan to leave the field, as stated by the First Consulting Group, is because of the working conditions. With the high turnover rate, the nursing field does not have a chance to build up the already frustrated staff. Aside from the deteriorating working conditions, the real problem is “nursing’s failure to be attractive to the younger generation.” There’s a decline in interest among college students to consider nursing as a probable career. More than half of currently working nurses “would not recommend nursing to their own children” and a little less than a quarter would advise others to avoid this as a profession altogether.

Nursing shortage impact

Nursing shortage has the following effects: 

• Increase nurses’ patient’s loads
• Increases the risk for error
• Increase risk of spreading infection to patients and staffs
• Increase risk for occupational injury
• Increased deaths
• Increase in nursing turnover
• Increase perception of unsafe working conditions, contributing to increase shortage, and hindering local or national recruitment efforts
• Increase the nurses chance of getting psychiatric help because of massive amounts of stress

The negative impact mentioned above intensifies with the nursing shortage in developing countries due to recruitment to work abroad to wealthier countries. For example, nurses from the Philippines and Africa are recruited to work for the United States and Europe.

Patching up the shortage

Nursing shortages can be consistent or intermittent depending on the current number of patient needing medical attention. In order to respond to this fluctuating census, health care industries have utilized float pool nurses and agency nurses. Float pool nurses are nursing staffs employed by the hospital to work in any unit within the organization. Agency nurses are employed by an independent staffing organization and have the opportunity to work in any hospitals on a daily, weekly or contractual basis. Similar to other professionals, both types of nurses can only work within their licensed scope of practice, training, and certification.

Float pool nurses and agency nurses, as mentioned by First Consulting group, are currently used in response to the current shortage. Use of the said services increases the cost of healthcare, decreases specialty, and decreases the interest in long-term solutions to the shortage. On the other hand, international recruitment gives rise to concerns on clinical competencies, cultural sensitivity, and ethics in global recruitment. Foreign-trained recruitment has been touted as a “stop-gap”, but is by no means a solution. In the United States nurses from Philippines, India, South Korea and China have been seen as prime recruiting grounds. However, the past several years have seen some unintended consequences of this aggressive recruitment, e.g., the 2006 nurse test selling scandal that was reported in the Philippines^.

A growing response to the nursing shortage is the advent of travel nursing a specialized sub-set of the staffing agency industry that has evolved to serve the needs of hospitals affected by the increasing nursing shortage. According to the Professional Association of Nurse Travelers, there are an estimated 25,500 Registered Nurse Travelersworking in the U.S. The number of LVN/LPN Nurse Travelers is not known.

Retention and recruitment

Retention and recruitment are important responses to a long-term solution to the nursing shortage. Some of the reasons that contribute to retention of nursing in the healthcare field are addressed in different levels and are as follows. In spite of the discontent, nurses continue to practice. Also, there is a co-relation of high job satisfaction and significant education activities among nurses. Other possible solutions is through incentives and funding coupled with employer and hospital regulatory approach to retain the current number of staff and could help avoid aggravating turnover. To assist the healthcare field, congress annually approves a budget for the year through the Nurse Reinvestment Act passed in 2002. Previously in 2004 and 2005, 141.9 million and 205 million were approved in each fiscal year, respectively. The funding is distributed to advance nursing education, scholarships, grants, diversity programs, loan repayment programs, nursing faculty programs, and comprehensive geriatric education. Efforts of some states to address the nursing shortage in United States focused on the nursing working conditions. Currently, mandatory overtime for nurses is prohibited in nine states, hospital accountability to implement valid staffing plans in seven states, and only one state implement the minimum staffing ratio.

In terms of recruitment, suggestions were made in order make nursing attractive as a profession. One of these suggestions was presenting Nursing as a unique discipline, making it an attractive field for the young people. As mentioned in retention, incentives and funding to recruitment effort can contribute to the solution.  Many hospitals believe retention is more important than recruitment. They feel that if you treat an employee well, they will be your best recruiters. Word of mouth goes far.

Market philosophy and Impacts on healthcare

Australian nursing researchers, John Buchanan and Gillian Considine described hospitals as “being run like a business” with “issues of patient care… of secondary importance.”  Emotional support, education, encouragement and counseling are integral to the everyday nursing practice. However, these practices are not easily quantified and considered by managers as unjustified cost for the patients, who are also viewed as consumers. ^[5] Therefore, only clinical responsibilities, such as medication administration, dressing changes, foley catheter insertions, and anything that involves tangible supplies, are quantified and incorporated into the organizational budget and plan of care for the consumers.

US nursing shortage

The US population is projected to grow at least 18% over two decades in the 21st century, while the population of those sixty-five and older is expected to increase three times that rate.The current shortfall of nurses is projected at over 1 million by the year 2020.

Professional and related occupations are expected to rapidly increase between years 2000 – 2012. The demand for healthcare practitioners and technical occupations will increase and projected to have 1.7 million job openings with in this time period. In this group, the demand for registered nurses is the highest. Registered nurses are predicted to have a total of 1,101,000 openings due to growth during this 10 year period. In a 2001 American Hospital Association survey, 715 hospitals reported that 126,000 nursing positions were unfilled..
However, other research findings report a projection of opposite trend. Although the demand for nurses continues to increase, the rate of employment has slowed down since 1994 because hospitals were incorporating more less-skilled nursing personnel to substitute for nurses. ^[13] With the decrease in employment, the earnings for nurses also decreased. Wage among nurses leveled as it relates to inflation between 1990 and 1994.

Here are five of the hottest law enforcement jobs.

Police Manager/Supervisor
Police Officers who work their way up the food chain enjoy strong base pay ($69,310 per year on average according to the BLS; $85,170 per year in the federal government) as well as the freedom to work in a wide array of state and federal agencies. Many police supervisor positions also come with a primo perks package that includes flexible scheduling, a cushy pension plan, and tuition reimbursement benefits, in addition to government-sponsored health, dental, and vision care. With the job market for police supervisors expected to grow approximately 9 percent over the next eight years, those trained to command the country’s finest should have no problem securing employment.

Interpreter/Translator
There is a reason it was called one of the top 100 recession-proof careers. Finding work in law enforcement as well as private companies, nonprofit offices, and other federal and state offices, translators – particularly those fluent in Arabic, and Dari — are in high requirement. The job database SimplyHired.com reported a 10 percent growth in translator job postings over the past year, a figure that will no doubt swell with the FBI’s recent announcement that they’ll be hiring 3,000 new personnel in 2009, with language experts topping the critical needs list. While new translators can break into the field with a two-year certificate, those seeking top-level positions will need at least a bachelor’s degree to land their dream job.

Forensic Technician
It’s a great area if you don’t mind dealing with the dead. For the next several years, workers who are willing to stomach daily dissections, tissue tests, and weapons examinations should be able to find a high-paying job without difficulty. Requiring a bachelor’s degree in forensic science, natural science, or criminology to break in, the job offers a median starting salary just shy of $41,000 per year (according to Payscale.com), with annual salaries for veterans in the field topping the $125,000 mark.

Hearing Officer
Also landing a spot on the recession-proof jobs list, hearing officer is an enviable job — if you can get it. Those who land the coveted positions can expect a fat salary — a median of over $72,600 per year, according to the BLS — as well as a comprehensive benefits package. The drawback is that it will take a hefty amount of education to get there. While technically only a bachelor’s degree is required to land a magistrate position, the vast majority of those in the field hold law degrees, frequently from name-brand institutions. With only 636 positions expected to be added between now and 2016, those who want the paycheck and the perks will have to fight hard to win them.

Detective and Criminal Investigator
Solve the crime, arrest the perp, make a difference. Those who crave adventure can find pulse-pounding work and a generous paycheck no further than their local precinct. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) calculates that between now and 2016, the U.S. will add more than 14,400 new criminal investigation jobs, each earning a median salary of over $58,000 per year ($69,500 for those in federal positions). Fresh-faced investigators won’t have to concern about losing their first year’s salary to student loans. Requiring only one to two years of college coursework to break in, the job brings on high fiscal returns on educational investment.