LPN: How can I gain a year of experience if no one will give me a chance?

[bree*]

I have been applying in Washington D.C. and NYC for MONTHS now. Absolutely NO luck. I'm working as a coffee barista. Just wanted to vent, I guess. Luckily I just finished LPN school and didn't waste 4 years to learn that this field is a drag. Of course I am trying not to be negative, but seriously, how long do you keep telling yourself things are going to get better before you just realize they aren't and move on? I know the economy is bad, but my friends with various degrees don't even seem to have as much trouble gaining employment as I do. They have degrees, certificates, and skills from vocation school. I feel worse knowing I have a good handful of BSN grad friends who haven't found work in over a year. Sorry, now that's just pathetic. It cannot possibly be all their fault either.

[msvegaslpn]

hi bree....im a new lpn here in the las vegas area.....all of us who attended lpn school in vegas had to be a cna with experience before we applied....

we had some hospital experience under out belts....so that helped us all get jobs pretty fast.

did you try the long term care facilities or the sub acute rehabs...they hire alot of lpns.....

[bree*]

Hi. Yep. I have tried everything. Still pluggin' away. I'm applying EVERYWHERE in between D.C. and NYC...even parts of Connecticut.

[chuckster, ADN, BSN, RN, EMT-B]

it's not clear to me how nurses, both lpns and rns, who've gotten their licenses over the past couple of years are going to get any job experience. if it's any consolation to bree*, you are certainly not alone. something on the order of 60% of the 2009 graduating nursing class from my local community college (a very well-regarded and quite selective program) have been unable to find jobs. for the 2010 class, the figure is closer to 90%. my understanding is that the numbers for bsn program rns are somewhat better but still pretty dismal. in my case, despite being an emt with some 15 years of experience and being a multi-degreed rn, i have yet to get as much as an interview, even at the many nursing homes i've applied to.

the reality is that in many, maybe even most of the country, there are large numbers of experienced nurses, both lp/vns and rns, available in the labor pool at the same time financial pressures are driving hospitals, nursing homes and clinics to reduce or at least not increase, their staffs. institutions do not need to take on the burden of training new nurses right now and so few do.

while the immediate outlook is pretty bleak, as the economy improves, older nurses will elect to retire and demand for nurses will grow. this will be a gradual, incremental process but once underway, there will be a lot more entry-level jobs and health care institutions will then be more willing to hire inexperienced nurses. we are probably several years away from this however but it will come. in the meantime, hold on to that barista job and keep sending out resumes.

[whodatnurse]

Where have you been applying for LPN jobs around D.C? Except for a scattering in relatively small facilities I thought the only major employer that still hired LPNs regularly was Virginia Hospital Center. I could be wrong but that may be why you haven't heard back from some of the places you applied to in that area.

[Sarah010101]

have you tried up in Canada?... we are desperate! Even on that side of the country

[carolmaccas66, BSN, RN]

Sorry for your bad luck. But you may have to consider moving to another state entirely like I did, and apply further afield. It's not all bad, you meet new people and gain good experience.

Try nursing agencies and LTC, nursing homes etc they may give you a chance.