Are new grads...

OhioCCRN, MSN, NP · Aug 7, 2011

In my state, there are a lot of jobs in LTC but most new grads feel that 'i will never step my toe in a nursing home'... My personal take is this:

I need a job to pay my ridiculous bills. If it says RN on my nametag, i'm cool. Besides i'd rather be working and looking for a better place of employment, than not working and waiting for that elusive dream job.

dudette10, MSN, RN · Aug 7, 2011

If a new grad wants to be picky, she/he has to deal with the consequences of it.

I was picky about facility type--being one of the NGs who didn't want an LTC or rehab job because I lived it for a number of years in my own home, and I was DONE with that scene. My choice, and I was willing to accept the consequences. If I had remained jobless for a few months, I might have thrown a wider net.

One thing I noticed last night, though, made me wonder about a few things. I hurried up the NCLEX and job search process after I graduated. When I was applying, there were a LOT of jobs available on the facility/system sites I visited. When I looked again last night out of curiosity, there were only a handful of postings.

Do facilities open up extra positions at certain times of year to coincide with nursing school graduations?

stephie_love · Aug 7, 2011

I live in the extremely-saturated IL job market. Graduated in May with a BSN...had been applying for jobs since at least March, and was of the mind to take whatever I could get. In the end had my pic of 3 different jobs. All new-grad programs and prestigious institutions, and I ended up choosing my dream L&D position :heartbeat

A lot of my luck had to do with connections...it really is WHO you know these days. And you cannot be picky. Most new grads don't start on days. Most new grads will work weekends and holidays. Once you get over this, I'm sure many will find something pretty quickly :)

sa[RN]ah · Aug 8, 2011

Appologies in advance.. I happen to be very long winded :)

I think a lot of the difficulty in finding a job really depends on where you live.. some places have been hit harder than others and some places would probably hire anything that walked through the door and had 2 opposable thumbs! I graduated in December and truly did have a hard time finding a job.. took me 4.5 months to get a job that was an hour from home, 5 days a week, in an area I didn't have much interest for. But overall, I really believe a lot of it has to do with the local economy and how difficult it is to find a job will fluctuate from city to city.

As for whether or not its wise to even pursue nursing.. I think that all depends on the person and whats in their heart. For me, nursing is the only thing I want to be doing.. maybe I'm a jaded new grad, but nursing really is what I'm passionate about and at the end of the day I still love what I do. If your only motivation is the money, then my guess is its probably not wise for you to pursue nursing for more than one reason. If nursing is what you want to do, don't settle for something you're not passionate about.. but if its what you really want to do you will make it happen no matter what.

And I really just have to comment on what many others have already defended because I took it very personally and am kind of offended by the remark.. nursing is more than a respectable job. Is it thankless 99% of the time, absolutely. Do you take the brunt of the blame and anger from the patient, their families, and the docs.. of course. but at the end of the day you're making a huge difference for a lot of people whether its appreciated or not, and thats beyond respectable.

porridge · Aug 8, 2011

Physician's Assistant. If I was 20 years younger that's the way I'd be going.