The Health News Digest has devoted most of its articles today (new stories are posted every Monday) to healthcare. Specifically, the great opportunities in healthcare.

Some of the articles are good, some are spamish, such as one from a recruiter that reads slightly better than an advertisement for her agency. Still, it is interesting because even with hospital closures and layoffs, healthcare will continue to evolve and be a vital industry. Here is a quote from one article:

In January, 2009 a Careerbuilder.com survey reported that 17% of health care companies would be hiring this year. Perhaps the hottest niche within that giant, troubled industry is something often called “consumer driven health care” (CDH), or “consumer directed health care” (CDHC). Workers with skills ranging from technology, to business management, to financial analysis, are jumping on board with these small to even tiny companies, riding a wave of change that will hopefully begin to solve the problems facing health care in the U.S. today.

It is obvious that this article series is focused on the positive, and is pulling out the optimistic news surrounding jobs in healthcare. Nothing is mentioned about nurses being unable to find work in many areas of the country, or that working conditions continue to suck big time in many places, but oh well. I’m sure that more than one nurse is going to be rolling his or her eyes when she sees that same stats on instant replay once again, as is mentioned by one of the columnists:

There are openings across the entire spectrum of the healthcare industry right now. The nursing shortage is well known with a severe shortage of RNs and LVNs. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the number of nursing positions is expected to increase by 587,000 between 2006 and 2016, adding to the more than 2.5 million nursing jobs already in the industry right now.

Perhaps he might like to direct some jobless nurses to those positions? It’s nice to see optimistic news, and certainly, there are a lot of jobs in healthcare, but those stats about the nursing shortage really get old. I’m sure that the biostatisticians are busy sharpening their pencils and crunching numbers, but the fact remains that right now, today, a new grad trying to get a job in NYC, New Jersey, Northern California, and other locations is not having a good time.  There is obviously a disconnect somewhere along the line.