I went to an open house for Illinois Masonic this afternoon. They have a residency program for new graduates that aims to retain nurses by providing an extended orientation program and multiple forms of support for nurses in the transition from school to hospital floor. It sounds like a pretty incredible program, and I think the hundreds of other soon-to-be nurses jammed into the room would agree with me.

It's kind of a scary time to be graduating. Nationally, there is still a nursing shortage, but that shortage is not very prevalent in Chicago. In this economy, nurses who were going to retire may be putting that off, nurses working part time are bumping themselves up to full time, and a couple notable hospitals in Chicago have implemented hiring freezes. I think we are all getting used to the idea that our first and second choices for employment may be impossible, and anything after that marginally difficult to acquire. I know everything will work out, but am still a bit nervous.