New Grads, A Few Words of Encouragement

Hello, Friends! I'm a student with one semester of pre-reqs left before I can apply to my local BSN program. I hope I can help out some of the new grads.

First off, I can't say for sure, but my mom tells me that Verdugo Hills Hospital in Glendale, CA is looking for nurses and supposedly they have a loan payback program and give you a car. You might want to look into it. And last I checked on Craigslist, the Humboldt County area (in Northern CA) had lots of postings for nurses, most with sign-on bonuses. Good luck.

Also, keep your options open. If you've just graduated, you probably have dreamed of being a nurse for a long time. But if you have an Associates or Bachelors degree, that opens up your options in MANY areas, not just nursing. I have a friend who is the assistant manager for the cash-handling office of a large corporation. He was hired because he has a bachelor's - in art. I aspire to be a midwife, but I had a minor crisis when deciding whether to pursue nurse-midwifery (which will probably take me 8 more years of school) or to become a social worker. I looked around and discovered that several places looking for social workers accepted nursing credentials for their social workers. If it works for you, it's another good way to help people, right? In the short term, at least.

I've been told by a few people that in some places "home-nursing care" is becoming popular, or needed anyway. Not hospice care - but for people who have had surgeries or have another reason they need follow-up care. Instead of staying in a hospital or care center they can enlist these nurses to provide follow-up care in their home a few times a day or week or whatever it may be. I think insurance covers this, and even if it doesn't it still may be a financially reasonable choice for many patients. If theres a group like this in your area, talk to them, if not - maybe you can start one up!

The last thing I was going to throw out there is the option of doing a loan repayment or service program. You may be able to get in with the Indian Health Service, which pays back substantial amounts of student loans in exchange for a 2-year contract serving in an underserved reservation. You may not want to move to a res - but the experience and loan repayment is definitely a plus at this time. For those who don't have kids and are more flexible - the Peace Corps and Americorps have some cool options for nurses. Their loan forgiveness isn't as substantial, but still, there's experience to be gained and good work to be done. And I believe that they at the least will arrange deferment of payments while you're serving.

Good luck, sisters and brothers! I hope things turn around by the time I get there.

But...whatever happened to "nurses can get a job anytime, work whenever and wherever they want?"

http://armynursecorps.amedd.army.mil/index.cfm

and

http://www.goarmy.com/amedd/nurse/corps_benefits.jsp

I don't know if anyone is willing to relocate to Canada, but in Ontario we are desperate for RNs in ALL settings (entry-to-practice requirement of BSN). Please visit the website of the College of Nurses of Ontario - our regulatory body.

The nursing shortage is huge here and there's something like 11,000 unfilled positions right now and it's only getting worse since nurses are able to retire here sooner.

The pay is fantastic, it's one of the highest in Canada (right now, I think it's the highest). http://www.ona.org/faq#f16. As you can see, nurses starting this year in hospitals are starting at just under $30/hr and VERY quickly advance to top pay. There is a 3% raise for each bracket each April by ONA standards (our nursing union for hospitals).

In Ontario, the cost-of-living is relatively low (unless you live near a very large city like Toronto or even Ottawa).

In my 3rd year of nsg school, I already had a job for when I got my temp. RN license the next year and it was a 4 year contract job in ER with less than no experience other than clinicals (nice big sign-on bonus too).

If you'd like more information on anything please don't hesitate to send me a message

I have mentioned this many times here on allnurses. My experience was similar. I graduated in 1993 which was the first year of the job squeeze as the class before us easily got jobs. So, I went to LTC and made the shift to acute care in 2000, when things turned around, and I got a nice sign on bonus at the first hospital I worked at.

Some thoughts on the hiring freeze from someone who is just starting out. I have been looking at all the posts on the current freeze for the last few weeks trying to decide what to do. I will be starting on my pre reqs this summer. My husband has been laid off from automotive and we are both making major career changes ( I am a stay at home Mom) After all the media and Mich government reports about nursing shortages I decided that nursing was what I wanted to do. As I began looking into schools I also began hearing about hiring freezes and the lack of jobs for new grads. Needless to say I was worried that I was making a bad choice! After reading many posts here and elsewhere I have decided to continue. It seems that about once a decade there is a down cycle in nursing. Many new grads seem to be questioning the "shortage" everyone talks about but I have to say the numbers support it. The freeze isn't because hospitals have plenty of staff it's because of the economy. Hospitals are just making current staff deal with things for the moment until the economy picks up. The fact is that the baby boomers are going to need more care and many nurses will be retiring because they themselves are baby boomers!! Hospitals will HAVE to hire more nurses to handle the load. I know it's easy for me to say this because I have yet to incur any debt for school and if I where a current new grad I would probably not be so calm but I think new grads just have to be open to all the options out there to get that 1 yr of experience. Don't hold yourself back by thinking you HAVE to stay in your current area! You can move to another area, you can move to another country! I have kids and a husband and we have already decided that we will go wherever we have to when I graduate. You have to be open in this economy. You've already gotten through school you don't have anything to be afraid of! Things will turn around and I think, for those of us just going into to the programs, it will be much easier to get a job when we graduate than it is now. So if, like me, you are just getting started don't be afraid to continue. Nursing is something that can't really be outsourced or ever go away and it's one of the few careers that truelly, physically makes a difference in people's lives. So new grads and new students be encouraged! You have not made a mistake, it will be ok!

I am so glad someone posted this. I currently work at a hospital in RI as a CNA and I know once I do obtain my RN license I probably won't be able to get a job here. I am preparing my mind for taking anything I can once I do start my career as an RN. I'm willing to go to LTC facilities, home care or even move to another state. But I also know that I have a few years before I get my license. I still need to complete my pre-req's and then the RN program so I'm thinking at least anouther 5 years... I work full time nights as it is.

so I have to say to everyone who is saying "I can't get a job" .. open your horizons.. keep in mind you became a nurse to help patients in all settings not just hospitals. Start out where you can and grow from there. No one starts at the top!

Hi everyone!
I graduate next week (RN) and I haven't had any luck either (with about 24 resumes/apps out so far). I have even tried to expand my search to LTC facilities and Visiting Nurse, but have been told that they still want 6 mos to a year of experience!

I'll be graduating next week and low and behold I also do not have a job. I currently work in clinical research so I desperately trying for jobs in that capacity. This economic crisis has just hit every industry at its core. I am so disenchanted with this whole sitaution. Good luck to all you other new grads out there. I hope a turn around happens sooner than later!

"so I have to say to everyone who is saying "I can't get a job" .. open your horizons.. keep in mind you became a nurse to help patients in all settings not just hospitals. Start out where you can and grow from there. No one starts at the top!"

That is a very profound statement; something I think more new grads should keep in mind. This is how I look at it. I'm a new grad and it sort of doesn't matter where I work for my first job because no matter what it is it will be experience gained that I didn't have before. I got a job in LTC and on my first day I finally understood what they mean when they say you learn on the job not in school. I felt pretty useless on my first day but I'm going back to try it again. Maybe day 2 will be better. It has to, right?