22+ years of experience and I can't find a job

meanmaryjean, DNP, RN · Jan 9, 2014

What kind of experience do you have?

reindeer03 · Jan 9, 2014

Mostly office nursing, but I have worked in Urgent Care, Insurance (Pre Authorization) and Chart Review.

seaghost · Jan 15, 2014

My cardiac unit is currently lacking experienced nurses bc we've had a mass exodus but it doesn't look like you did much floor nursing?

reindeer03 · Jan 17, 2014

Not much floor nursing - did work in pediatrics for one year in hospital at the beginning of my career.

Cathyd241 · Feb 15, 2014

I'm right there with you. I've been a nurse for 20 years, and left the hospital 2 years ago after working there for over 10 in med/surg.I am in a job that I hate now and have been applying for every hospital job I see posted for the past year and a half. So far have only been called for two interviews after applying for over 50 positions. I honestly thought it would be a piece of cake since I had so much experience...apparently not. This has been very frustrating and I feel so discouraged. Does anyone know what the problem could be? Is it because they are looking for younger nurses that they could pay less? I know a lot of the hospitals around here are looking for a bachelor's degree and I only have an associate's. It used to be that experience could be substituted for the higher degree. I don't know. Anybody have any thoughts on this? Any tips or advice would be appreciated.

Biffbradford · Feb 15, 2014

I have BSN, almost 15 years ICU experience and can't get anywhere either. Have had a number of interviews but bupkis. My informants state that a couple positions have still not been actually filled months after they held interviews. Unofficial hiring freezes? Got me.

mdsrnac · Feb 22, 2014

Have you tried contacting the company that completes the Level II PASRR screenings for your state? The assessment helps determine proper placement for persons with mental illness/DD/MR. It's usually a contract job but pays well. In my state, it's $100 per assessment. You should be able to get the information from your state health department.