how to find direct hire hospitals in CA

[jeffreypink]

i really need help on this one. i have already passed the nclex and ielts, and my vsc is on final review but i still haven't found any potential employers in the states, preferably in california. i am getting tempted to go through agencies here in the philippines but most suggest that direct hire is still the best way to go. the problem is where do i even start to search for a hospital that is doing direct hire of foreign nurses? is there a website for this? where do i begin?

[suzanne4, RN]

You need to narrow your search down to an area, not just the state; and start with that. Certain areas will not even consider direct hiring such as the Bay Area for hospitals.

And there are very few now in the LA area that will start the process due to those that have walked from contracts and then the issue of the retrogression that we expect for a couple of years. There is no longer any guarantee that you will be able to get a green card with the number of applicants from your country, so you will find that quite a few are holding back on starting anything when there is no guarantee that you will be able to start working for them anytime soon, or even ever.

You may wish to look for hospitals in smaller cities but the ones that I have seen that are still willing to start the process want to see at least two years of experirence in a hospital before anything will be offered. Do you have that?

Please also be aware that the agencies that are recruiting over there are just selling you to the highest bidder, and many are operating out of there illegally. If hospitals are not doing direct hire, then they are not going to use an agency either. Makes no sense in that at all. Just be very careful and be aware that if you sign with an agency, you will be giving them minimum of $10,000 per each year of your contract.