New Grad RN CAN'T FIND WORK!! What should I do?

Tankweti · Nov 2, 2010

This is a summed up answer to several posts. I am hearing that there have been other recessions and that the country will "turn around". I am sorry to bust the bubble, but this time it's not going to happen. For those who watch CNBC (Business Channel), you already know that JP Morgan Chase has been visiting South American countries and strongly pushing them to switch to the yuan (Chinese currency) as the world reserve currency. Once that happens, i.e. US loses its reserve currency status, then we are finished. In addition, in July of this year at its annual report, the IMF (International Monetary Fund) quietly declared the U.S. bankrupt. This statement was buried in the midst of about 300 pages. Even though everyone knows it to be true, no one has seriously spoken it out loud. It will have to come from a government official, either in this country or perhaps from Europe or China. Once that announcement is made publicly and decisively, the stock market will fall like a stone and all the dollars you have will be worthless. This is what happened to Germany in WWI, their currency the Weimar fell so drastically that people were using it for wallpaper. All of these things have happened before to many different nations and across many centuries. You may love your country, but your love does not negate the truth. This country will become like England, having foundered from its greatness and now being a "has been" power. It happened in ancient Rome too, when they overspent themselves on wars and military over-reaching. Having lived in the Middle East for 4 years and understanding Arabic and also having followed other countries' forays into places like Afghanistan, I know for a certainty that that type of war is one that can never be won. The Russians tried it in the 1980's and had to run out of Afghanistan with their tails between their legs. The same thing will happen to us. The reason for this is that we are using high technology on people who simply move between their relative's villages and who dont use high technology and therefore cannot be located. How are you going to GPS a man on a donkey? And their relatives will never give them up - especially to those who are non-believers in Islam. That is a double whammy. What we do know is that Congress will be spending money they don't have regardless: whether it is on foreign wars or corporate tax breaks for the rich, the money will be spent. From my perspective, if you are going to spend money you don't have, then spend it on the poor and those in need. As far as businesses being "afraid to hire", also listen to CNBC and listen to all the small business people who have gone to banks to get loans to expand (and many have) only to be told that they cannot get any money until the economy turns and there is more demand. It was the Republicans who blocked the small business bill from passing recently.

As far as the plight of all those that cannot get jobs, myself included, we all know that no corporation trains anymore or wants to. Training is an expense. Back in the late 1980's and early 1990's, corporations regularly hired trainers to acclimate new hires. Now that is a thing of the past. When people hire you, they want you to be able to hit the ground running so they dont have to invest in you. From the get-go, they want you to be a profit maker. This is why everything we see now is "experienced only". This is part of the "new normal" everyone is talking about. Trainers are not coming back.

Unfortunately, nursing schools are unprepared for this and are still behaving as if there are an endless number of preceptors out there. It is too bad that the profession gave up the diploma school of nursing model 30 years ago. At least when you graduated from there you were ready to perform and did not need alot of additional training. The current classroom model hit the wall during this recession but actually earlier. If you read through these pages, you will see new nurses having trouble finding the first job all the way back to 2006.

One other thing: go to Google and type in the search phrase "robot nurses in Japan" and you will see the tech geeks there are building robot nurses. Some of them look like R2D2 out of Star Wars but one of them is an android = human appearing without being human. That creature is already in Japanese hospitals and what the caption read was that the android's job was to monitor "patient's response to treatment". Pardon me, but isn't that what we trained in nursing school that was the human nurse's job. There is a video on You Tube that shows the programmer programming appropriate facial expressions into the android. The android actually sits there and imitates the human. The android is being programmed with empathetic "I am listening to you" expressions. Sounds like what we were trained to do. From what I understand, these androids run about $20,000. Much cheaper than a live nurse: no sick days, benefits, health insurance, getting tired after a 12 hour shift or wanting raises. In fact, no payment required at all. The reason the Japanese are doing this is because they too have a large elderly population and these androids are being put to work caring for the elderly. It is only a matter of time until they get here.

As far as my getting a job until....I am tutoring nursing students now at a decent salary but I have less than 20 hours per week. The school cannot afford more hours. And I will have no work at all between mid Dec til beginning of Feb. I have gone to local employment agencies for secretarial work..and these agencies know me but there is nothing available. I have been applying left and right for every kind of job (clerical mostly as I have no experience in sales or waitressing) and getting no responses. I have a very decent resume but it doesn't make a difference. I was a radiology transcriber for years and before that chart transcription. But the bulk of those jobs have been outsourced to India. I am looking for part time jobs now - figuring that if I can cement a few of those together I can last until...what??

Tankweti · Nov 2, 2010

To Atomic Woman: Thank you for your suggestion. Craig's list is one rock I have not turned over. I am a little non-plussed by it. I am always afraid of running into the wrong kind of person, with all the negative things you hear about it. But I will give it a try, judiciously of course.

My very first job at 17 was working for a veterinarian. That man used to chase me around the exam table (I was 17 and he was in his 60's somewhere.) If that kind of situation arose again, being older now, I am not sure I could run as fast this time!!! Thus, my careful approach.

itsmejuli · Nov 2, 2010

I'm an LPN working part-time and going to school full-time for RN. I'm seriously debating whether to bother with continuing on to RN.

Here in FL the economic outlook is bleak and according to one report I read things aren't expected to get any better until 2015. FL ranks amongst the highest in foreclosure affected states plus every time I look at the newspaper another company is closing and laying workers off.

When I look at employment listings for RNs, all of them require experience. There are plenty of jobs for experienced RNs. It seems new grads can only get hired in LTCs or in some cases home healthcare. So why bother going on to RN when doing so isn't going to land me a better position.

I'm a Canadian citizen and US permanent resident. I'm fortunate to have a choice in which country to live. My sons have both abandoned the warm weather of Florida for the great, white, chilly north. Both of them are working in good paying jobs which couldn't be found here.

As for me, I'll put my house on the market in January and apply for my Canadian LPN license.

AtomicWoman · Nov 2, 2010

To Atomic Woman: Thank you for your suggestion. Craig's list is one rock I have not turned over. I am a little non-plussed by it. I am always afraid of running into the wrong kind of person, with all the negative things you hear about it. But I will give it a try, judiciously of course.
My very first job at 17 was working for a veterinarian. That man used to chase me around the exam table (I was 17 and he was in his 60's somewhere.) If that kind of situation arose again, being older now, I am not sure I could run as fast this time!!! Thus, my careful approach.

I hear ya, and I salute you for being very smart and cautious in your approach to CL. A few of my friends *have* found jobs on CL, though, so it is possible. If your "radar" says, "uh, uh" while you read an ad or speak to the ad poster, then listen to it. :) Also, check home health agencies on CL and elsewhere. There may be a home health position where you are with the same patient for an entire shift. Even if it's just a couple of shifts a week, it would get you *some* experience and the agency could see what kind of worker you are. It's also a good way to ease into home health.

PNnurse2 · Nov 2, 2010

That is so true, all the applications and calls, it is not an job hunt but a kiss ass competition. Recruitors/hr staff don't care about you as a person. I can not count how many apps i have done, mostly online, and never(seriously) got a reply/interview of sort for about 14months now. I have a PN licensed and can not get a job yet some many postings..This is their way of getting cheap disperate people to do alot or eveything under the sun for less. I have heard of Ph office offering 14/hr for lpn.

amazed107 · Nov 5, 2010

I am a new grad also. I graduated in June 2010. I feel like I am the only one in my class that does not have a job yet. I've applied to 15+ facilities and no response. This is really discouraging... It's gonna be 6 months that I have been out of school. I dont want facilities to think that I have been lazy bcuz it took so long to get a job. Most new grad programs say "graduated within 12 months"....its been 6 months. Oh no!

LadyAscheRN · Nov 8, 2010

I'm running into the same issue - and here in AZ, some of the programs are telling me that New Grad is 6 months or less - and I graduated in May '10! When I ask them what happens if I apply and I've been out of school more than 6 months, they say they cannot consider me. So I ask what I should apply for, and there's this long pause......followed by "I'm not sure you would qualify for an RN position with our hospital, then".

amazed107 · Nov 9, 2010

I'm running into the same issue - and here in AZ, some of the programs are telling me that New Grad is 6 months or less - and I graduated in May '10! When I ask them what happens if I apply and I've been out of school more than 6 months, they say they cannot consider me. So I ask what I should apply for, and there's this long pause......followed by "I'm not sure you would qualify for an RN position with our hospital, then".

Wow. What have you been doing in the mean time? A lot of places that I am applying to require or prefer experience which is something I dont have. I mean, how do they expect us to get experience if we cannot even get a job?! I recently applied to UCLA for their new grad program and they said that they had 1000+ applicants and would take the first 300 into consideration and the rest would be on a waiting list. There are only so many hospitals to apply to and think about how many nursing schools there are that have graduated the same time. With every semester, a new batch of RNs are coming out from each school. There will just be more and more applicants each time a new grad program opens up at a facility.

opossum · Nov 11, 2010

This is scaring the bejesus out of me...I graduated in June 2010 and if I don't get into an RN Residency within the next 6 months (which is likely, given the saturation of new grads) I will have "aged" out of the new grad category - like many folks who have posted on here.

What also disturbs me is that many of you are from the states that I'm being told are the places to move to find work...I live in Oregon, which is notorious for having a higher unemployment rate, but those of you from CA, AZ - yikes!

There are a bunch of us here in OR trying to work within the system to get more funding for new grad residencies at local and state facilities...but it's a daunting process, since we have to put so much energy into survival and scrambling for ANY work available. I'm thankful to have my part-time catering job!

Yolandalee · Nov 11, 2010

I am going through the same thing..Graduated in June 2010..RN in AuGust..I too have applied many places however, they want experience. I am going to keep trying, praying and hoping that eventually someone will give me a break. In the meantime, I am volunteering in the community. Perhaps that will eventually pay off. Wish you luck and keep your chin up, I know things will get better.

amazed107 · Nov 12, 2010

Well atleast I know I am not alone. It seems like its the same all over the place. I'm thinking about volunteering at a hospital since I cannot get a job. This seems like the best bet for now..

GreenRNbsn · Dec 9, 2010

"I bet this whole thing will come to a head when we all start defaulting en masse and the taxpayers have to pick up the tab for the defaulted student loans of newly graduated nurses during the supposed GRAND NURSING SHORTAGE. Boy, will there be alot of angry taxpayers then! That is when it will get the public attention this whole situation needs". Wow! You know- you really may have something there! Honestly, maybe that's when the media will be FORCED to tell the TRUTH about this "shortage" scam!