How can I get experience now?!?!...it's a question not rant...

Nurses General Nursing

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Specializes in Med/Surg.

Ok my question is...how can I get experience now that I have graduated from nursing school. Most hospitals want 1 year experience as a nurse...or experience as an extern, aid, tech...whatever. I was a medical assistant at a doctors office for 6 months before I started nursing school but it was full time and didn't work with my school schedule so I worked part time as a waitress instead during school. During nursing school I tried to get a job as an extern but since I was admitted in the winter I was not eligible for an extern position until the fall...however most are available in the summer. During the winter one hospital did have externs. Out of almost 50 applicants they were only able to take 7. Unfortunately I wasn't one of them.

Now what I want to know is there anything I can do to get experience now that I graduated (2 and 1/2 months ago) and passed the NCLEX-RN (2 weeks ago) until someone hires me? I know that I will need to stay current on my CPR but I have until November for that. I really want a job. And want to find a way to get one. Besides calling and emailing people most days and applying every day I am not sure what else to do!

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Do you live any where near a Veterans Hospital? I work for VA in Lex KY and they hire a ton of new grads! Working for those who have served is a privlege! Good Luck!:nurse:

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Specializes in Med/Surg.

There is one somewhere...I actually have no idea I will look it up.

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Specializes in ICU, PACU, MedSurg.

the website for Veteran's Hospital is http://www.va.gov and you can also try http://www.usajobs.gov. Both websites offer the RN series that is 0610. Inputting the RN series of 0610 will net you only jobs for RNs.

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Specializes in Med/Surg.

Do you have to be in the service to work there though? While I think it is very honorable to be in the service...I am not the type of person to be in the service.

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Specializes in chemical dependency detox/psych.

Have you considered volunteering at your local free clinic? That's been a great way that I've gotten direct nursing experience.

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I'm in the same shoes,how dissapointing,since the beginning of the nursing school we carried a big hope of being able to find a job right after graduating!!! I'm a struggling to find a job as well since my loan payments are going into effect in December of this year not to mention paying off just the regular bills,car and the healthy food (read not the processed,dolar canes) but what worries me the most is that my self esteem is getting hurt by getting rejections,I question my ability to put together a nice resume (I began to think that I composed a not-so great resume) I dont know but this never-ending job search is really irritating and is taking a toll on me...physically,mentally and spiritually (my spirit is definitely broken and discouraged) I'm not looking for the "perfect" job (you know like some grads want to jump into a certain specialty right away) I'm willing to work on general, very disliked,mentally and physically draining med-surg in order to gain valuable nursing experience,but all I get from the replies to my job offers is "continue applying every 3-4 weeks,keep trying,maybe we will consider you.Hopefully once I pass the boards my chances of getting hired will significantly improve but then again that is a slim hope...how disheartening...

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Specializes in Med/Surg.

I wouldn't be so hurt if I got some denies but at least let me get a few calls for the hundreds of jobs I am applying too! Ha. I applied to a few hundred the last few weeks (since I passed my boards) I applied to...almost 25 today...mind you I apply every day or every other day to various jobs! Yeah I gave up on wanting exactly what I wanted very quickly ha. Ob is a bit hard to get into :-p

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Specializes in Med-surg primarily..

Wait till you hear my story.....I was an LPN for the same hospital for 9 years in Indiana doing the same thing the RNs did (trained alot of them on my floor), with the exception of hanging blood. I graduated and got my RN in July and was told by my employer that I can't stay full-time that full-time postions will go to whoever has been an RN the longest!!!! So if you were inexperienced and graduated in May and passed in June, you are more qualified than me although I required no training to go to my new position (Part-time RN). This was a grand decision of Human resources because of the overflux of new grads they gave tuition assistance too and overstaffing in other floors to "be fair" on who gets full-time work. So apparently experience isn't everything.

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Specializes in Med/Surg.

Wow that really stinks bsj1970!

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Specializes in Psych.

I had to move out of state for a job and I was lucky to get one at all!

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Specializes in Cardiac.
Do you have to be in the service to work there though? While I think it is very honorable to be in the service...I am not the type of person to be in the service.

You don't have to be a service member to work in a VA hospital. Several people who have graduated from my nursing program now work at the VA.

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