New Grads and Temp Agencies

Blackheartednurse · Sep 10, 2009, 08:22 AM

Re: New Grads and Temp Agencies

Originally Posted by Pineapple devil

welcome to today's economy and today's job force. what you are experiencing is not exclusive to nursing. there are more people going back to the workforce for needed money and that allows employers to be picky in new employees. that is why more and more jobs are wanting experienced nurses. there are jobs out there for new grads, you just have to make sure your resume, cover letter, and interview are better than anyone else

the problem with hiring new grads for agency work is that the orientation for the job isn't there. they give you a quick wrap up and send you out there. that is hard to do when you don't really have your fundamentals of the real world yet. add that to the other nurses that are working with you that despise you b/c you doing the same job for a lot more money than they do it for all the time. that leads to nurses that do not want to help you when you are in a pinch. it just isnt a good idea for new grads.

I dont know really...so how come a lot of my friends couldnt find an RN jobs one year ago when the economy was just starting to go bad.To be honest with you I'm not sure if I even believe that the economy is the major factor the hospital is using whether deciding toi hire new grads or not of not.No I dont thinks so.It got to the point that I dont even know if I want to work in this profession anymore.

tuttle13 · Sep 10, 2009, 08:25 AM

Re: New Grads and Temp Agencies

First of all, let me say that I am NOT interested in agency work what-so-ever for the same reasons you stated. That is not the issue. However, the person who started this thread was looking into temp agencies (I assume) as a means of getting some work for a few months until new grad positions open up. I would not go this route myself, but it has gotten to the point where we have no options. Of course the ideal position is one as a new grad in a hospital, which I stated early. That is where I want to be. But at least for me in my area, there are no new grad jobs and no matter how hard I look they will not magically appear out of thin air. There will not be any more new grad openings in acute care until 2010 for me, and with no one else wanting to take a chance on a new grad in other settings, it has become frustrating beyond words. I am an older first time nurse with my own kids to put through college in a few years and I need to work. Relocation is not an option.

Anyway, the question I stated earlier was "...does anyone have a REAL solution to this unemployment problem that exists for us new grads?" And saying there are jobs out there if you only look is not an answer. It depends on the area of the country you live in, and my area has none for new grads right now, but I will keep looking every day until there are.

tuttle13 · Sep 10, 2009, 08:33 AM

Re: New Grads and Temp Agencies

Originally Posted by Blackheartednurse

Yep I agree and I disagree with Morte.I know an "older",very experienced nurse who adviced me to look into home health care since not even one hospital wants to hire so that way I will prevent forgeting all the skills/theory I learned.Now the nurse who made the suggestion about the home health care is an excellent and safe nurse and I know for a fact that she woud not recommend anything that would jeoperdize the pt safety and my license.She just believes in new grads unlike many other seasoned nurse or nurse recruiters...and I agree with you that ones the baby boomers start quiting their jobs the hospitals will be desperate to hire us...but then they can shove it up down their....

I wouldn't go into home care for the same reasons that I wouldn't work for an agency. I would never think about being on my own in someone's home without at least 1 or 2 years acute care med/surg experience first. I am not experienced enough to make those life an death decisions in the seclusion of one's home. VNA won't hire new grads for that same reason, so there is another option out for us new grads. Lack of experience pretty much excludes us from employment for any area that is not hospital based preceptor training.

I understand your frustration, as I have had my moments of wishing I never bothered to work my behind off for the past 3 and a half years to get my nursing degree.

*GilaRN* · Sep 10, 2009, 08:34 AM

Re: New Grads and Temp Agencies

You will have to consider relocation. I had to move 1,100 miles from my home as a new RN in 2002 to work an ER position I wanted. Unfortunately, the answer is jobs are out there. If you are not willing to move, you may never find work as a nurse.

tuttle13 · Sep 10, 2009, 08:45 AM

Re: New Grads and Temp Agencies

Originally Posted by GilaRN

You will have to consider relocation. I had to move 1,100 miles from my home as a new RN in 2002 to work an ER position I wanted. Unfortunately, the answer is jobs are out there. If you are not willing to move, you may never find work as a nurse.

Then why is it that there are numerous posts from new grads ALL ACROSS THIS COUNTRY who cannot find a job? Saying to move is ridiculous when moving would involve several other people's lives being turned up side down. Not to mention the house that would have to be sold in this terrible housing market. Relocation is great if you are single or a single parent with young children not in school yet. I am not going to ask my husband who is a VP in a company he has worked for, for 20 years to give up his job so that he can be unemployed in another state so that I can make 1/3 of his salary as a nurse. Many of us cannot just relocate. I appreciate the suggestion, and I am sure that is a viable option for some, just not me.

Blackheartednurse · Sep 10, 2009, 09:25 AM

Re: New Grads and Temp Agencies

Ok sorry to burst your bubble but I know several new grads that do homehealth (with no prior experience whatsoever and they are making it...I guess what I'm trying to say is that you either got it as nurse or you dont,how long is it going to take you to listen for crakles..years?? With that said some new grads jump into the scene right away and catch up for some it takes longer than than and I'm not disrespecting them but it all depends om how quick of a learner you are.

Blackheartednurse · Sep 10, 2009, 09:30 AM

Re: New Grads and Temp Agencies

Who ever mentioned relocating...this is not a solution to the existing problem...there are many new grads (just consider the average age of the starting nurse) who cannot drop everything and leave to other state.And why should we be forced to???? We went through all this hard work just to change our entire lifestyles?

whitedoginwi · Sep 10, 2009, 09:39 AM

Re: New Grads and Temp Agencies

I am new grad and have been looking into agency temp work. I don't feel qualified to do this type of work. There are many skills that I can do well solo, but many skills are just skills learned in a lab on a dummy. I eel unsure about doing them without someone watching the first time. Most temp agencies in my area require at least one year of experience and I understand why.

*Katnip* · Sep 10, 2009, 09:57 AM

Re: New Grads and Temp Agencies

I agree that agency work is not for new grads. You may think you know how to be a nurse when you graduate, but it just isn't so.

Can you honestly say you've gotten enough experience in nursing school to be able to walk into a hospital with no orientation (other than the rah-rah we're wonderful type stuff) and pick up a job and function as an experienced nurse? Agency nurses don't get orientation. They're lucky if someone takes the time to show them where the supplies are kept. That's one of the reasons the pay is better than a staff nurse. Agency nurses are also often assigned to the most difficult and highest acuity patients.

Hospitals pay a lot of money for agency nurses and they expect to get their money's woth out of you. They aren't going to pay more money on teaching a new grad.

Nobody will be there to explain how to do a procedure you've never done. You will have to be able to work well, and work fast.

This is nothing against new grads. Every agency I've seen required a minimum of one year in a specialty before taking on nurses. I know you want jobs, and the money looks really good, but you could be setting yourself up for some serious failure.

NurseLoveJoy88 · Sep 10, 2009, 10:43 AM

Re: New Grads and Temp Agencies

I'm a new grad and have I have an interview with a temp agency today to give flu shots.

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New Grads and Temp Agencies

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