Like is the unfortunate case in many other states the nursing shortage in New Mexico has yet to be solved, due in large part to the fact that nursing programs in New Mexico continue to lack an adequate number of qualified nurse educators to staff them properly, resulting in fewer students than is ideal being accepted into nursing programs in New Mexico. Although New Mexico politicians have tried to address this shortage in Congress those bills have so far stalled but to avoid the nursing shortage becoming a true crisis there have been a number of initiatives put in place on a local level and the number of places available in nursing programs in New Mexico has begun to steadily increase.
Outlook for New Mexico Nurses – Adequate financial compensation is not an issue for those who do graduate from nursing programs in New Mexico. Although salaries do run at about 8-10% lower than the national average this is offset to some degree by a lower cost of living in the state than in larger and more populous areas. An LPN graduate of nursing programs in New Mexico can expect to be able to command an annual salary of around $40,000 while a registered nurse should be able to earn at least $65,000. compared to other professions in New Mexico nursing is still one of the most lucrative and the job opportunities are there, even if other professions are cutting, not adding staff.
An aging yet still active population has increased the demand for preventative health care in New Mexico and elsewhere. So in addition to filling vacancies in traditional hospital settings nurses are being recruited in increasing numbers to staff new private practice clinics as well as in the home health care arena, as more people are preferring to stay in their homes for as long as possible and often regular routine care from a nurse is all that it takes in order for them to do so.
About Nursing Programs in New Mexico – There are 23 different educational institutions in New Mexico that currently offer nursing programs of various types. One year LPN and two year RN/ADN programs are offered at New Mexico’s community colleges and offer a relatively affordable way to enter the field of nursing in a relatively short time. Getting into nursing programs in New Mexico that offer a BSN degree in nursing is still a little harder due t the staffing shortage of nurse educators but Rns who hold an ADN can pursue an RN to BSN course online, reliving some of that shortfall.
In order to become a nurse educator an RN needs to pursue a Masters degree in nursing and it is in this field that the push to recruit students is most active. A number of loan forgiveness and tuition assistance programs are now being offered to encourage nurses to pursue their education to this level and teach and an increasing number of colleges and universities are being encouraged to expand New Mexico nursing programs at this level.