Looking for job in Southern California

U.S.A. California

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I live in OKC right now and I graduate with my RN (ADN) in May 2013 and I am needing some advice. I will be moving to the SoCal area (Costa Mesa or Long Beach) so I was curious if

1. anyone has made this move and knows if I should take my NCLEX here and transfer it to California or just take my NCLEX in California.

2. Where should I apply for a job? I want to work at one of the hospitals either adult or childrens but need a little input on where to apply.

Any info would help. THANK YOU!

Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.

I was born and raised in southern California and moved to Texas in 2005 to land my very first nursing job. I now have 7 years of experience and licensure in CA and TX and would like to return to California, but I won't relocate without a firm job offer.

Although I have been trying to find work in CA, I have not been able to secure nursing employment there even with my 7 years of experience. I have even been applying to facilities in the undesirable Central Valley (Fresno, Visalia, Bakersfield, Delano, Hanford, etc.).

The unemployment rate for new grad RNs in CA is approximately 43 percent. You've been warned. I still wish you the very best of luck.

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I was born and raised in southern California and moved to Texas in 2005 to land my very first nursing job. I now have 7 years of experience and licensure in CA and TX and would like to return to California, but I won't relocate without a firm job offer.

Although I have been trying to find work in CA, I have not been able to secure nursing employment there even with my 7 years of experience. I have even been applying to facilities in the undesirable Central Valley (Fresno, Visalia, Bakersfield, Delano, Hanford, etc.).

The unemployment rate for new grad RNs in CA is approximately 43 percent. You've been warned. I still wish you the very best of luck.

Have you looked at travel agencies? I know the hospital on base only hires travelers. TCMP and InGensis. You might try that for Naval Hospital Lemoore. Most people don't think to try military hospitals.

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Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.
Have you looked at travel agencies? I know the hospital on base only hires travelers. TCMP and InGensis. You might try that for Naval Hospital Lemoore. Most people don't think to try military hospitals.
Most travel agencies require one to three years of acute care hospital experience, which I do not have because I have never worked at an acute care hospital. My experience is in long term care, psych and acute rehab.
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Most travel agencies require one to three years of acute care hospital experience, which I do not have because I have never worked at an acute care hospital. My experience is in long term care, psych and acute rehab.

Gottcha. Most of the listings I saw for NH Lemoore did list 1+ year acute exp.

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Oh I also thought I would mention that Kaweah Delta in Visalia has a listing for a psych nurse right now. I'm sure you already saw it... but I thought I would let you know anyway ;)

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Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.
Oh I also thought I would mention that Kaweah Delta in Visalia has a listing for a psych nurse right now. I'm sure you already saw it... but I thought I would let you know anyway ;)
I apply to Kaweah Delta's psych nursing position every three months or so because it is always listed. A nurse manager from their Porterville outpatient dialysis center called me back and was disappointed I did not have one year of med/surg experience.
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:( they are a magnet hospital too so it's BSN driven.
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Specializes in Step Down ICU.

I have thought of military hospitals cause my dad is Army and he told me to try but I would think that wouldn't be harder to get into.

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You definitely have to have 1+ year acute experience to get into a military hospital. Usually unit specific experience. I was suggesting it for Commuter because she has 7+ years experience.

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Specializes in Psych ICU, addictions.
:( they are a magnet hospital too so it's BSN driven.

Magnets and Magnet wanna-bes will consider non-BSNs, but you have to really bring something extra to the plate such as accreditation, strong skills, and/or a good chunk of experience.

Being currently enrolled in a RN-BSN/RN-MSN program can also help, but it won't guarantee you anything.

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I was born and raised in southern California and moved to Texas in 2005 to land my very first nursing job. I now have 7 years of experience and licensure in CA and TX and would like to return to California, but I won't relocate without a firm job offer.

Although I have been trying to find work in CA, I have not been able to secure nursing employment there even with my 7 years of experience. I have even been applying to facilities in the undesirable Central Valley (Fresno, Visalia, Bakersfield, Delano, Hanford, etc.).

The unemployment rate for new grad RNs in CA is approximately 43 percent. You've been warned. I still wish you the very best of luck.

Hi

I just want to tell you that Desert Valley Hospital located in Victorville, CA is hiring experienced RN . One of my friend too is working in that Hospital.if u are interested u can apply. Good luck

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db2xs: I hope you have some connections at hospitals in Cali. I was born and raised in northern Cali, and a long-time resident of socal before I uprooted for 15 months for a BSN program. I thought the faster I got everything done the faster I could return to my life in Cali, but things have definitely not panned out that way! Every clinical experience should be used as a means to get a job. Almost all of my classmates were from other states, and nearly all of them have returned to the hospitals where we did clinicals to find jobs. I missed the band-wagon to a certain extent, because I always planned to return to Cali, so I had little to no interest in working in any of the hospitals where we did rotations, and thus I didn't utilize any of the opportunities to make connections in order to get a job...And I applied for my license in Cali rather than endorsing into Cali. I have since procured a job, but it is not in California!! I knew finding a job as a new grad would be "hard" but I honestly had no idea how difficult it would be. I thought having a BSN and getting certifications in ACLS, PALS, NRP, etc... would be helpful, but it didn't make a bit of difference for any of my applications in Cali. Then when you start applying out of state it becomes a difficult financial question of which state will you apply to first for an additional license so you will be taken seriously rather than flushed out of the application pool. I definitely wish you the best in your job search in Cali!!

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