The national nursing shortage isn’t good news generally, but for new nursing students it can mean the difference between getting a good job or having to look outside the state. Most states are working overtime to hang onto their new nurse grads and RI is no different. Don’t be jaded by its diminutive size—the Ocean State demands a well-trained nurse workforce to handle its proportionate patient load. And because it’s a vacation hotspot, population in the state is significantly amplified during the summer, driving up accidents and healthcare problems that suck resources from the state healthcare system, including nursing.
Providence is the largest metro area in the state. A majority of the licensed nurses likely work in or around this area. Rhode Island Hospital is a Level 1 Trauma Center, which makes it a landing spot for patients coming from throughout New England. Healthcare centers like this not only need thousands of nurses, but they offer challenging practice settings, every nursing specialty under the sun, and the opportunity to work alongside world-class physicians and other healthcare professionals in the administration of high-quality healthcare. Large hospitals can snag many nursing grads, too, because of their ability to offer attractive signing bonuses and other financial benefits.
But in the case of RI, the surrounding communities also have excellent opportunities for new grads. No place is really remote and some are downright upscale. For example, Newport, RI, lined with some of the most incredible mansions in the U.S. has Newport Hospital, a Magnet-designated facility with ongoing nursing demand.
Challenges facing RI nursing grads and good career opportunities:
RI faces a couple of challenges when it comes to its prospective nursing force: how to get students off school waitlists sooner and into school; how to make sure the state is ready to provide jobs to those new grads when they hit the job scene.
In the foreseeable future RI lawmakers will likely put additional effort into offering incentives for any RNs interested in getting advanced degrees in Nursing Education. This will help funnel qualified nurses into this very critical specialty AND free up staff nurse jobs for new grads.
The Board of Nurse Registration and Nursing Education is THE regulating agency for nurses in RI. Get all the official information you need on the following: