NEW ORLEANS — This week is National Nurses Week, which makes it even more alarming to learn that Louisiana is one of the worst states in the country for nurses.
According to a study from WalletHub, Louisiana ranked 48 out of 51 (Washington, D.C. is included in the study) places where nurses should plant their seeds for a long and lucrative career.
The study looked at factors such as wages, nursing jobs per capita, the percentage of elderly people in the state, hours worked, ratio of nurses to hospital beds, and friendliness toward working moms:
More specific to nursing professionals are the various day-to-day demands placed on them, such as mandatory overtime, overstaffing, unionization and allegations of systemic disrespect. Despite those challenges, however, aspiring nurses have much to look forward to upon certification. Nursing occupations are some of the most lucrative careers with the lowest unemployment rates in the U.S. In fact, the industry is expected to grow at more than double the rate of the average occupation through 2024.
The only places that rank lower than Louisiana are New York, Hawaii and Washington, D.C. Alabama came in at No. 47.
