Nurse Practitioner Market Saturation: Should You Worry?

It seems like everyone has their own opinion about saturation in the nurse practitioner job market. If you’re a NP student, your professors are probably talking about the demand for providers and how employers are eager to hire you post-graduation. If you talk with recent nurse practitioner school grads, they’re saying you’re totally screwed once you kick off your job search. Who’s right?

To get to the bottom of the conundrum, let’s look at a few real-life scenarios.

New Grad # 1 and New Grad #2 

A new grad NP and San Antonio resident I recently spoke with graduated a full year before locking down a job. Her inexperience and inability to relocate worked against her in her job search. But, with persistence, she was successful in locking down a primary care position that pays the bills.

Another new grad I spoke with here in Nashville, TN was successful in landing employment within a few months of graduation…but with an 80-minute commute each way. While some nurse practitioners would understandably find this unreasonable, she decided that getting some experience under her belt would serve her well in finding a closer job in a year or so.

Experienced NP

A cardiology NP I know with 10 years of highly specialized experience moved to Houston for her husband’s job. Rather than scour job boards, she simply emailed cardiology groups in the area and let them know of her recent move and that she was looking for a job. Given her level of expertise, one of the cardiology groups created a position for her when one was not even posted. Boom.

Employer 

Last year here at ThriveAP headquarters, we posted a job opportunity for an experienced primary care NP. Within a week or so we had 45 applications sitting on our desk. That’s a lot. However, all but a handful of applicants did more than submit a job application on Indeed taking the effort to email us personally. Not to mention, most did not meet the qualifications listed on the job posting.

Alright, so what’s going on here? There’s more at play in the market saturation equation than the simple question “Is the nurse practitioner job market saturated?”. Talking with hundreds of job-seeking nurse practitioners every year, here’s what we find matters:

Level of Experience

Sorry, but it’s true. Most employers prefer to hire NPs with a little experience (or a lot) under their belts. Fewer open positions are open to new grads than to experienced NPs which can lend itself to a sensation of (or actual) job market saturation, especially for inexperienced NPs. Some of these employers will end up accepting new grads and some won’t, but you may have some challenges ahead if you’re a recent grad. Hang in there and see some advice below.

Timeline 

Do you live in a city with a number of nurse practitioner schools? Are you looking for a job immediately after graduation? Welcome to the club. It seems that graduation season yields a flood of new grads into the job market each spring and summer, especially in cities that are home to a number of universities. Here in Nashville, for example, we have at least 4 or 5 NP programs. Students fall in love with the city, hope to stay, but there simply aren’t enough new grad friendly jobs to accommodate them all. This market is saturated, particularly for new grads in graduation season.

Geography 

If you’re a reasonable person, I can probably find you a job in rural New Mexico tomorrow. If you want to work in Nashville, TN like I mentioned above, I can’t make any promises. Or, rather, I can promise you’re probably in for a lengthy job hunt. The geographic location where you want to work makes a major difference as far as job market saturation. Desirable cities are far more likely to be chock-full or NPs while there are other areas of the country in significant need. Aside from your level of experience, location is the biggest determinate in your job search.

Specialty / Practice Setting  

Some specialties are in higher demand than others which factors into market saturation. The job market for psych NPs is decidedly not saturated. If you’re a specialized NP looking for a job in a small town, it may not take more than a few other similar local providers to make the job market feel full. Practice setting also plays a role. Clinics working with certain patient populations perceived as ‘difficult’ like the homeless, for example, may struggle to retain nurse practitioners while private practices may seem like more attractive employment options and fill more quickly.

Application Quality

Finally! A factor you control. A caveat to all of the above information you didn’t want to hear. Most of the applications we receive or review here at ThriveAP are crap. Out of the 45 applicants for our open position, for example, we called about three back. Why? Incomplete applications, misspellings, poorly formatted resumes, lack of reformatting a cover letter to match the job posting – you name it, we see it. Applying to jobs online can feel quick and easy (and in some ways it is), but you absolutely must complete the application and required components specifically for each job to which you apply – neatly and professionally. If the market you live in is saturated, you may not be able to control the quantity of applicants employers receive but you can control the quality of your own application. More on this to come!

Many job markets across the U.S. are saturated for nurse practitioners. Many are not. Regardless of the situation in your area, if you’re a new grad you may need to be determined and flexible as you look for that coveted first position. And, don’t forget – you always control your ability to submit a job application that’s up to par.

Do you feel like the job market in your area is saturated? How have you overcome this in your job search?

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