This is from UIC, too: Some Nursing Graduates Struggling To Find Jobs - cbs2chicago.com

We've always been told nursing and health care are nearly recession-proof careers. So the nursing school students who graduated today should be in great shape, right? Not so fast. As CBS 2's Roseanne Tellez reports, even some nursing graduates are struggling to find jobs.

Students from the College of Nursing were beaming with excitement at commencement exercises at UIC on Thursday. After all, they've chosen the ever-growing field of health care. Even in this poor economy, there are always jobs in health care, right?

"In the Quad cities where we're from, one hospital is in a hiring freeze," said nursing graduate Megan Varcho, who estimates half of the nurses graduating have jobs lined up.

"Half of them already have jobs and the other half, we're still looking," she said.

"I'm graduating with my nurse practitioner degree, and with the health care transition it's not as good as I'd like it to be, but I have confidence I'll find something," said Leah Burt.

Associate Dean Patricia Lewis from the College of Nursing says based on this year's recruiting, the long-term outlook for these grads is fabulous, but the short-term is cautious.

"Openings were slim in many of the big medical centers. We've talked to students all year about selecting smaller places to apply and about good application strategies," said Lewis.

If there's a shortage of nurses, why are there not that many jobs?

"That's a really good question," she said. "When the economy went bad, a lot of part-timers came back full time. A lot of people postponed retirements, and so positions didn't turn over in the same way that they usually would."

When asked if he had a job lined up, new grad Chaim Leiberman said, "I have a few interviews, but that's all for now."

But Leiberman says he's feeling great about his choice of careers, and like all the grads, looking forward to helping people.

One graduate who is already working as a nurse had this to say about her job: "I love it. There's nothing like it," said Rowena Abasolo.

Job placement expert John Challenger says in addition to being patient, he thinks nursing grads should consider special programs - like those for traveling nurses.

But he says the aging population and a shortage of doctors ensures that when hospitals can hire, they will hire more nurses.