need a new job

[Medsport, LPN]

I'm in a predicament guys. I've been at my current assisted living job for almost 2 years. All was going ok for the most part until recently. The company got bought out by new owners a few months ago and they made a bunch of changes. I thought things were getting better until they said they are going to take away one of our days by hiring a part-time person so we could'nt get OT anymore. I can kind of see their reasoning to save money, but for me, I just can't afford it. You see I work 3-12's one week and 4-12's the next. Cutting out one of the 12's will cost me about $150 every two weeks and reduce my hours to around 72 for the pay period. I live alone and have car, house and student loan payments and was just about breaking even with the normal 84 hours per pay period. And that is even with my recent filing for bankruptcy that got rid of about $400 per month credit card payments. I have'nt had insurance for years and they are going to offer it in a couple weeks, but no way I can afford any more money coming out of my check so looks like still no real benefits from this job. I do have a prn job, but they have'nt had any openings in the past couple months that work around my schedule. Plus its a good 30 mile drive and the price of gas keeps going up. Any ideas what to do? I've applied online to about half a dozen ads for jobs that have advertised that are within an hour drive. None have called me back. Do you think I should try calling any of them to check on the resume if it does'nt say no phone calls?

I've even started applying to other jobs I think I might be able to do like assistant manager at grocery stores and auto parts stores and even applied for a pizza delivery job for part time work since I've done that before. But they have'nt called me back either. I think part of the problem is I can't put down a specific schedule since I work rotating days every two weeks or maybe my references are'nt very good. I've been using references from a job from over 2 years ago because I don't really have any recent nurses to use since there is such a turnover at my job and I don't really have any friends outside of work to use as I'm a quiet person.

Anyway, any advice? Should I start sending out resumes to all local nursing homes and assisted living centers or stop in or call first? Who could I ask to be references? What about searching for jobs farther away as I guess I could include the house in the bk if I had to and move although I hate to start over at my age. I could include my car in the bk also and get something a little cheaper. Problem is finding something reliable and getting decent interest rates just after filing. I don't know, I'm about ready to give up on nursing altogether and thought about going back to school for the fourth time and getting into IT as a local company just started up and they hire people who make it through a 4 month programming course and the pay and benefits are supposed to be very good. Problem is I would have to borrow more money and pass the aptitude test, interview, ect. first and I think the classes start Monday so I may be too late for this course, but they should have another one in about 5 months or so I think.

[Medsport, LPN]

anybody?

[juzme]

I would be calling all nursing homes you may be interested in, have your resume ready to send to them and any docs, i.e. license, CPR, Act 33/34,etc. Try private duty, homehealth care. Not having a regular schedule can hurt you, but some places will take whatever you can give. Ask anyone who has worked with you, and knows of your work ethic if you can use them as a reference, get their names and addresses. I think IT would be an excellent backup career, the more options you have, the better;-)

Good luck!

[Medsport, LPN]

thanks for the advice. I guess I'll try calling the ones I'm really interested in even if it says "no phone calls" as it could'nt hurt at this point. I got let go from my prn job today as their census is down and I have'nt worked there in a couple months. I also found out the IT program is very intense and about 40 hours a week for 15 weeks! I don't know how I could possibly do it and work enough to pay the bills in the meantime. I would probably have to quit my current job to do it and try to find something part-time and on the weekends and take out extra loan money again if that's even possible. But in the long run, it looks like that may be my only option for making a decent living. Problem is I still have to pass the ICDL test and I hear its hard and there are no guarantees I would make it through the program.

[agldragonRN]

please do your research on this it class as it will put you in even more debt if they don't hire you. i have a friend who went to it "school" for a couple of months to get an it certificate and a promised job and he's still paying the tuition and no job offered at all. granted this happened a couple of years ago but i just want you to be cautious. i'm sorry you're in this predicament; it must be difficult.

you should update your references or at least inform them beforehand that you are still using them as references.

good luck.

[guest2210]

do you have any experience working with electronic medical records?

there are alot of agencies looking for nurses to do training or support in hospitals and doctors offices. most contracts are mon-thurs, allowing travel to home on the weekends. the pay is better than anything i've ever done before. might be worth checking out. good luck...

[Medsport, LPN]

Unfortunately no. I am good with computers and can type fairly well. That's one reason I was thinking of getting into the IT field as they are moving into medical now too, but the program I was talking about is geared pretty much to the company that is hiring in my area. Too bad you can't take a couple "regular" courses at a time that would apply towards their program that way I could put my loans in forbearance and work around my schedule. But they are not offering anything like that for that program right now.