What openings do nurses have?

Is there a demand for medical sonographers? Why is there only a demand for nurses?

• I am thinking about going into the medical field (not nursing) but i feel like thats the only job with job security because there is such a shortage. whenever i go to a hospitals website and look for job openings there is SO many for nurses but none for like radiology or medical sonographers (which is what i wanted to go for) should i not go to school for that? i am afraid i might not get a job after i graduate..

• Answer:

  It's simple supply and demand. Let's take an average-to-small-ish community hospital of 250-300 beds. They probably need 2 or 3 sonographers, working an aggregate of 80-150 hours per week max. Almost all of those hours occur during saytime business hours when people most want to go to a job. The same hospital needs 150 to 400 nurses working an aggregate of closer to 10,000 hours a week (maybe double that number) and at least 50% of those hours occur when the sun is not shining, when most people would rather NOT work. Don't get me wrong - - medical sonographers ARE in demand - - and you might be able to get a job as a nursing assistant while for a job opening in sonography to become available. In a community of the pertinent population size as the aforementioned small-ish hospital (50,000 to 100,000 people, for example), there are likely to be only a handful of properly trained sonographers who can fill the available positions at any one time. There ARE a lot of nursing positions, but there are many-times more people in that same community who could work as a nurse (at some level). Rex, a physician, in the midwest