New Grads, A Few Words of Encouragement

After reading so many threads here on allnurses.com about the hard times many new grads are having at getting jobs, I just wanted to share a few words of encouragement. Nurses Announcements Archive Article

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Inori, BSN, RN

396 Posts

Specializes in Ambulatory care.

*cheers* Its scary as a new grad ..Week 1 was super happy to pass NCLEX, Week 2 - depressed after seeing job ads that all say,must have 1-2 yrs exp, need exp, no new grad need apply. I came to realize that i've become a statistic of "welcome to nursing!" number 1/10,000 or more per year! and there's lots more nurses with exp, higher degrees than the newbie who just graduated holding ADN. While NCLEX passing is a huge personal / professional achievemet but in nursing its not THAT unique i mean all nurses have it, its expected, the norm and uhm required.

Well my prof's have suggested look into Long term care, nursing homes, and volutneer at hospitals you'd like to work to build contacts,networks. Consider nearby areas too.. I'm about to get myself endorsed n 2 other nearby states ( NY,NJ, CT)and pick up some courses to upmy skills. (Phelbotomy,ekg, bcls,acls,pals). This is going to be expensive ... man there goes my piggy bank savings.

Don't give up!! must keep a positive outlook. We didn't give up in nursing schools/nclex so this is just another rock to scamper over or around.

Specializes in Trauma, ER, ICU, CCU, PACU, GI, Cardiology, OR.

first of all i would like to thank brian, for giving us this opportunity to share our experiences with others in order to offer a perspective on our path through nursing. many moons ago after graduating from a lpn program, i continued on my quest to rn, shortly thereafter, i obtained my bsn and finally my msn. undoubtedly, after having over 6yrs. of experience in my native country of madrid, spain, i felt unfulfilled. at this level, deep down inside i felt this eager desire to travel to different countries and experienced my nursing career and their cultures. finally, i ended in usa at first the excitement of being in the states was too much for me to contained. i took a break from nursing for one month while i was in nyc, i indulged myself to every play on 42nd. street. moreover, not to mentioned every st. vendor and all ethnic culinary towns like china town, little italy etc. afterwards, reality came into view i needed to get back on track on the main purposed which brought me to the states, to get a nursing job. nobody can deny, that i was presented with several obstacles when i applied for the usa nursing license, i was told that i needed to check with the bon of the state. consequently, it became a nightmare i was instructed to take some additional classes in order to sit for the nclexrn, yes i had to take once again the boards. in the mean time, my savings were running low, i took the nclex and past on my first try. having said that, this is when the heartaches began, every day i would leave a multitude of applications at different facilities to later receive the dreaded response "thank you for your interest in our facility but without any experience in the states...bla bla bla". honestly, i collected so many rejection letters that i had to buy a folder just to place them in. following this further, at this time i had my children with me which made it a bit more difficult as a single parent, adding to the stress that i had to provide for my family. finally, on one friday afternoon, i entered my last facility for the day as i had in my arms my newly born baby boy, since i couldn't find a sitter for him. therefore, after filling out the application and exchanging my hellos and offering my excuses for having my son with me, to the individual that i assumed was the secretary at hr, as she looked over my application and place it to the side of her desk. i mumbled under my breath yes i know, "thank you for your interest in our facility we will keep your application on file". however, she responded with a smile and for my surprised she said "give 15min. our secretary is due back shortly from lunch, but i will like to speak to you if you have the time".. yes it was the nursing recruiter herself. needless to say, i was offered a position at ed, and i been working none stop since them in the states. in conclusion, i would like to offer my advise to those of you who are job-hunting, keep your faith and perseverance it does pay at the end as they say "good things do come to those who wait" wishing all of you the very best always in all of your future endeavors...aloha~