Registered Nurse (RN) Employment in Texas
Job opportunities for Texas registered nurses regardless of specialty are expected to be very good. Employers in some areas and in certain employment settings are reporting difficulty in attracting and retaining an adequate number of registered nurses, primarily because of an aging RN workforce and a lack of younger workers to fill positions. Most employers have preceptor and internship programs for registered nurses and provide sign-on bonuses, medical insurance plans, paid time off, disability and social security benefits.
The average salary for registered nurses in Texas is close to $60,000 but a 2006 study by the Nursing Economics Journal placed Texas first among all states after salaries were adjusted for the cost of living. Due to the critical nursing shortage the employment markets are competitive and the average national salary for registered nurses is over $50,000 but can be higher than $65,000 in some areas.
Registered nurses make up the largest health care occupation in the United States and more new jobs are expected to be created for registered nurses than for any other occupation. There are about 2.5 million registered nurses in the U.S. and close to 150,000 RN work and reside in Texas. Most registered nurses work in hospitals while about two out five registered nurses work in home health care services, offices of physicians, nursing care facilities, employment services, government agencies, and outpatient care centers, social assistance agencies and schools. About a quarter of all registered nurses work part-time.
In Texas, most hospitals are paying new RN graduates $40,000 to $50,000 per year but salaries vary depending on shifts, agency, location and clinical area of choice. Nursing school enrollments have increased in the past couple of years as the nursing profession is perceived as offering stable employment but many qualified applicants are being turned away because of a shortage in nursing faculty. In the near future, nursing faculty needs will increase due to lower salaries and a large number of instructors retiring.
Even though employment opportunities for registered nurses are expected to be very good, they can vary by employment setting. For example, hospital employment of registered nurses in Texas is expected to grow slower than in other health care settings. Despite this, job opportunities should still be very good due to the high turnover of hospital nurses.
The high turnover of registered nurses working in hospitals is due to frequent night or weekend shifts, overtime work, and also the stress of treating seriously ill patients. These problems occur frequently in critical care units, operating rooms and emergency departments and as a result they have more job openings than other departments.
Employment of registered nurses in nursing care facilities is also expected to increase fast because of an increased number of older people who require long-term care and due to hospitals discharging patients as fast as possible. Employment in home health care should increase due to the larger number of older people with disabilities, technological advances and the consumer preference for care at home.
Rapid employment growth is also expected in Texas hospital outpatient facilities, such as those providing same-day surgery, rehabilitation, and chemotherapy. Sophisticated procedures, once performed exclusively in hospitals, are being performed in physicians' offices and in outpatient care centers, such as ambulatory surgical and emergency centers therefore employment should grow fast in these work settings.
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