I understand that you're a single parent, that you already have a job at Starbucks that you love, that you don't intend to work as a nurse in the hospital setting, that you don't want to because you live with your parents and don't want to over stress yourself.
What we are seeing is the "nursing shortage" being served by a glut of new grads, leaving many without jobs once they graduate. The best thing you can do is front load this by getting in before you've graduated. I can't tell you how many out of work graduates I know. The landscape is littered with them.
Here is how you do it: clinicals are an excellent way to get in. Do a really good job in clinicals. Be ready and present for everything. Be willing to do anything. Be nice to the patients and respectful to the staff. You don't have to know how to do everything, but you do need to put your ability to work as part of a team on display. Then, ask the nurse manager if you can get her or him a resume to start as a NA/PCA/PCT, even if the position is only contingent. Once your foot is in the door you'll have access to the internal job listings and that is where the gold is.
Once you've given them a resume, bother them. Call and email them once a week; they're busy, sure, but most of them appreciate tenacity.
Other ways of doing it are to get dressed up and just go to the hospital with a resume. Ask to meet with the NM for a few minutes, practice your 30 second elevator speech about why that unit is your hearts desire and why you'd be an asset. Then give him or her the resume and, afterwards, again, bother them.
Seriously people, I am in Detroit, we have three or four very large health systems serving the area and a few smaller ones and no one is lining up to offer jobs to nursing school graduates.
A final note: if the hospital you get hired at has an externship program for graduate nurses, this is a bonus since it means that as soon as you've finished classes you can start work as a nurse with a preceptor.
