California's 2009 New Grad RN Program- Who's hiring right now?

I think this is a great idea. Im a May 2009 graduate and im afraid im going to be looking for jobs for a long time. The only people in my class that got jobs were people who have been working in a hospital for a long time and thier managers created a postion for them. I only know about 4 out 50 people who have jobs. It is so depressing out there right now. I always see Bakersfield and Santa Barbara are hiring but not sure if they have a lot of applicants or not. I tried just about every hospital in the Bay Area and no calls backs. Good luck with your search.

John Muir in Walnut Creek/Concord will post there new grad sometime in May
Children's Hospital Oakland is expecting to have positions open for June or July in their NICU so you will just have to keep checking
The Kaisers in Nor-Cal expect to have some in Summer depending on the economy, you'll have to email the recruiters to get more of an update...I think I'll do that soon

UCSF was supposed to post something this month
San Ramon Valley Hospital has postings RIGHT NOW for their new grad program

More to come...I'll find out more

Children's in Oakland has an opening on 5 South, they always pick internal applicants first and they don't have an actual "New Grad" program, but they have an awesome orientation from what I've heard. My friends who have got jobs there as new grads were very persistent. They made sure they called the manager directly to follow up. I have manager phone numbers, but you have to PM me for that.

Also, be aware when you do see actual listings up for new grads, this position may not actually exist, because the position is already meant for someone. Human resources is just required to post them for a certain amount of time. So don't be discouraged and of course don't let that stop you from applying.

Some of the Tenet hospitals such as San Ramon (I already mentioned that) and John F. Kennedy in Indio are currently seeking new grads. I have a phone interview for JFK tomorrow actually.

Ummmm Garfield Medical Center (AHMC hospital) in Monterey Park, CA will have their new grad program in September but you can give them your application right now. I supposedly have a spot with this hospital, but since I didn't sign anything yet, I'm not accepting that. The other AHMC hospitals may be having theirs around the same time too and you can give your applications now. I have the number to the regional recruiter for all the AHMC hospitals, but you'll have to PM me.

Hi RNLola035,
Thanks a lot for the info. I am a new grad as well, graduated Dec 2008, and feeling hopeless and frustrated after a few months of no call backs.
I was wondering if I could get the manager phone numbers that you have. I'm new here, I quite can't figure out how to PM or send you a message. Maybe you could email me ? Thanks!

Thank you so much for the info, RNLola. And thanks, piscesmama for starting this thread. As we all know, here in Northern CA, the job search is SO DIFFICULT. We can use all the help we can get!

where on the hospital websites do you find info for the new grad programs? i'm looking and can't find anything.

First off, thank you to whomever started this thread. Yes, we are in competition as new grads, but ultimately it will be your turn. Plus the most qualified candidate will get it no matter what, so passing info on to the person that might be best for the position is only the right thing to do. This unnecessary competition was the part of nursing school that I least appreciated, because we went through some of our toughest years together, but when it came to getting hired nobody wanted to share any information. Anyways, here is what I currently know about the Bay Area and Sacto new grad situations:
- John Muir-Walnut Creek has posted its new grad program starting in August 2009, but it is only internal now and from what I am hearing it will probably stay that way for this round of hiring. The August 2009 class is rumored to be less than 10 people (compared to the usual 15-20). I don't have as good information for the Concord campus, but I have heard that there might be a hiring freeze, thus no new grad program at that campus. However, I also heard that if there is one at the Concord campus that it will most likely be only internal too. The next round of hiring, if there is one, would be around December for the February 2010 new grad program.
- UC Davis just posted an OR Training program. Their positions only stay posted for a week so apply now if you want a chance. They post position frequently so check back or setup the job agent to email you when new grad positions open (i.e.- they just had 4 positions last week on the transplant and trauma nursing units and it emailed me). I met their recruiter at a job fair and she emphasized the importance of a well thought out, specific cover letter and resume (just as a head up). My former classmate that works there said they are planning to start their new grad orientation in July so I anticipate more postings, as they do unit-specific posting.
- San Ramon Valley is still posted, but I do not know much else about that. Other Tenet Hospitals: Doctor's in Modesto just posted its new grad program, but I do not know if it is still posted.
- Standford was rumored to be posting their new grad position on May 1st, but it is still not posted so I don't know whats going on with that.
- CHW- they just hired at Methodist in Sacramento and Mecry San Juan in Sacramento. I heard that they may post some positions at Mercy Folsom, but I don't know any of the specifics. If you are willing to relocate Mercy Southwest and Mercy Hospital in Bakersfield, they just posted like 10 positions mostly Med-Surg, some tele and one ICU. There is also one med-surg still posted for French hospital in SLO probably still leftover from the other postions they just had posted last week.
- Kaiser- I am not really connected into that circle, so anyone with information please share.
- Dameron in Stockton started its first Versant program in Februray so we could possibly see another hiring soon or they might make it an annual or PRN thing (I haven't heard anything as of yet). However, they are one of those organizations that looks at your geography so if you do not live close you probably won't be considered.
-Sutter, as whole, does not do new grad programs unless the hospital makes an effort to form their own (i.e.- Eden in Castro Valley did a hiring earlier in February) so its just a matter of applying to to entry-level positions for most of their facilities. Their HR website is all-encompassing so you can search all the facilities at the same time and if one were to have a new grad program it would probably show up along with the entry-level positions.
- Alameda County is on "hiring freeze" and so is Contra Costa. However, Contra Costa maitains a ranking list for when they eventually start hiring again. For Contra Casta, you can still submit your info and take the pharmacology test.
- San Francisco General just hired for a couple training programs so they probably won't have anything posted for a while, but the Critical Care Training program is stilled posted in the SF Dept. of Public Health so that might still be hiring. You could always go to the city of SF and do the whole ranking thing, but from what I have heard the DPH way is more effective.

Hope this helps and Good Luck Everyone!!!!