New Grad RN-->No Jobs, Then what?

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I have been reading through these threads and haven't seen an answer to this question. I know that it is tough to get a new grad RN position and some say they are still looking after a year post graduation. So what happens to those who get no experience and in effect are now "old grads with no experience" when the job market begins to open up again? What do those in the know recommend for those who may not be able to get a job within a year or two of graduation? Do you get more certifications, i.e. ACLS, PALS, etc while waiting for the market to open? Do you volunteer in a hospital? If volunteering, do hospitals allow clinical practice as a licensed RN volunteer? (Of course, there may be union issues with that). Essentially, will a licensed RN with no experience become obsolete since many will graduate and be "newer" when the job market opens again?

Yes at least get that flu clinic thing, it will be the first step in shedding that "fresh new grad" label that you wear. Once you start to "feel" like a real RN, you will start to interview like a real RN. I started with TB clinics in assisted livings. Now I'm a real RN.

Specializes in ICU, ER, RESEARCH, REHAB, HOME HEALTH, QUALITY.

the VA hospitals are always hiring.. have you applied there.. good luck!!

I am in the same boat. I graduated in May 2009 got licensed in July 2009. I had a baby Sep 2009 and moved out of state to be with my husband who is in the ARMY. Needless to say because of the ARMY life i have not been able to land a job. We moved 3 times within me graduating from school. I haven't been able to land a job so I decided to go back to get my BSN. I am more than half way done. I pray that when I finish up my BSN and take a refresher course and get ACLS certified I will be able to finally land a job. I am doing the flu clinics but I want to do more. I would not mind volunteering or doing LTC or even hospice. I get want some experience.

And for the answer about the striped. I don't think it is a bad idea if the pay difference isnt that much. And I would have no problem signing a 3 year contract to stay at a hospital

Specializes in LTC, Medical, Rehab, Psych.

'the VA hospitals are always hiring.. have you applied there.. good luck!!'

No, they're not.

Although this is not a first choice for many people out there. I would recommend applying for jobs in SNF. It does not pay quite as well as a hospital job, but it will be better than going back to whatever job you were doing before nursing. You still get to practice nursing skills in a SNF and will be getting good experience. I graduated last year and when I couldn't find hospital work I started looking for jobs at SNF. I found one in the first week. I have gained some good experience while working there. In the SNF that I work at they have a rehab unit with physical/occupational therapists working with pts in the gym. The facility accepts all kinds of pts. We do a lot of wound care and I have learned how to do wound VAC's and ostomy care. We still do IV abx, PICC line dressings, foley caths, PEG tubes, occassionally blood draws or IV insertion, lots and lots of pills, you collaborate with the MD more on pt care. I believe you do have more autonomy with the care of the pts, because the MD is not there all the time or even every day. You do have a higher pt load than in a hospital, but they are all sub acute or long term residents. You still see a lot of different issues with pts. They come from the hospital with a COPD exacerbation, pneumonia, cellulitis, hip or knee surgeries, stroke victims, post CABG, wound VAC's, etc. You treat all of these conditions while working at the SNF, so if you are not able to find a job at a hospital, don't turn your nose up at skilled nursing facilities. It is not ideal, but it is still good experience and you get paid fairly well. Once you have more experience you can start applying for hospital jobs. It is tough to find acute care jobs or to get you first choice, but there are other options that I think can help prepare you for acute care. If you check out the nursing facilities and see what kind of pts they accept before applying you might be able to find one that gives you the opportunity to experience a lot of different illnesses and get you prepped for acute care. Hopefully this can help someone who is looking for work and not finding what they want. The jobs are out there, they just may not be the one you want first, but you can still get good nursing experience.

I am replying to the last posting and common thread re: jobless New Grads.

I graduated in May 2010 with my ADN, took and passed my NCLEX in August 2011. I enrolled in an RN-BSN program right away (Fall 2010), and kept applying and getting turned down by hospitals. In November I started struggling financially, trying to support my daughter and I on loans and grants, and decided working at a SNF would be better than anything. I started working at a SNF/Rehab in November of 2010. I printed out my resume, dressed nicely, and went door-to-door asking to speak to the nursing director of the local SNF's in my area. I landed a job in a few days. I am grateful to have a job right now in these tough economic times. The SNF has been flexible with my school schedule, I have gained confidence in my nursing skills and assessment, and experienced comradery with my peers. On the contrary, SNF's (to the best of my knowledge, ALL SNF's) are grossly understaffed and lack leadership, experience, and education in management. A lot of this is due to LTC being a low-reimbursement field of healthcare. Medicare and Medicaid submit a low fixed fee for each patient. There's no money to be made. Many SNF's are for-profit, corporations. I only had 3 days of training, as a new grad, before being given my own hall with 20-25 people to look out for, administer scheduled and prn medications to, deliver treatments, and talk to doctors and family. You are RUNNING your entire shift and I have a sense of impending doom that something is going to happen during my shift, I'll be too busy to address it or maybe I've overlooked it, and it'll come down on my nursing license.

My plan is this: Finish my BSN this semester (Fall 2011) and find a hospital job. In December when I graduate I will be RN, BSN, ACLS, BLS, ECG, Chemo Certified, with 1 year SNF-Rehab experience and 2 preceptorships in ICU (one from my ADN program, one from my BSN program). Upon finishing my BSN I plan on honing my Spanish, doing a Latin abroad experience and perhaps taking a conversation class. Many hospitals are requiring you to be a fresh new grad (

Comrades: Does anyone have any feedback or suggestions for me? Does anyone have any experiences of working at a SNF as a new grad, then getting hired at a hospital? Any key Bay Area hospitals that might be interested in someone like me?

My sincere thanks!

I am replying to the last posting and common thread re: jobless New Grads.

I only had 3 days of training, as a new grad, before being given my own hall with 20-25 people to look out for, administer scheduled and prn medications to, deliver treatments, and talk to doctors and family. You are RUNNING your entire shift and I have a sense of impending doom that something is going to happen during my shift, I'll be too busy to address it or maybe I've overlooked it, and it'll come down on my nursing license.

I was in the same situation. I graduated in June, 2010 and got my license in Sep. 2010. Went through the phone book find every hospital in the state called and sent out my resume in paper and applied online. No job! :( Finally after applying nonstop for 9 month got a job at SNF sub-acute TCU for night shift. Me with 3 CNAs 29-32 pts (34 beds on my floor) with 1 week of orientation (not really, since previous night RN was too busy running around to really orient me). Never took my breaks, always stayed late to finish. I learned one thing: New Grad+SNF+Nearly No Training = Stress Through The Roof!!! :no: I lost 10 lbs in the first 2 month working there. The impending doom, yes I knew exactly what you feels.

After working in SNF for 2 month I was called for an interview at major hospital for OR residency program (my dream job), which I applied 3 month prior. Went to 1st interview on Tuesday, asked back to 2nd interview 2 days latter, that was when I turned-in my resignation letter at SNF. I was offered a job right after 2nd interview. Since I applied to the residency 1 month before SNF job, I didn't have any experience listed on my resume except clinicals, in reality SNF experience didn't help me land an interview. What I was told was that my passion and enthusiasm for OR landed me the job. :D

I didn't quit because of the interview, I quit because I can not keep the pt safe with the workload, and I was risking my license. The facility can never keep night nurse for longer than 6 month. The previous night nurse stayed for 5 month, but she has years of experiences in LTC; the one before her quit after 1 month. I was there for 2.5 month and the RN I was orienting to replace me backed out after 3 days of orientation. So in less than 9 month the facility went through 4 night RNs. That should give them some idea that things need to be changed.

My point is don't give up. Continue apply to any open positions you can find. You never know if some RN manager just happen to look at your resume and find something they like. SNF is a start for a lot of us new nurses, and hospital knows this. At least it will show that you put into the effort trying to gain experiences. And if your passion is ER than show that passion in 1 sentence and put that in the first paragram of your cover letter. That is how I got my interview.

Thank you for your reply and CONGRATULATIONS!!!!

Ooops I meant I took and passed my NCLEX in Aug 2010 not 2011... duh

I wanna know about this too... :(

Specializes in ED.
'the VA hospitals are always hiring.. have you applied there.. good luck!!'

No, they're not.

Really, I don't know were that nurse got her info but in SoCal VA is one of the hardest jobs to land.

For all the nursing student out there, the best thing you can do while your in school is to land a unit secretary job. I couldn't swing it, too much work but if you are single, no kids you should be able to. I find that once an employer knows you it is much easier to get a job.

The job market is so tight right now i don't know what to heck to do. People say go back for your BSN but i can't afford to go back to school without a job to help pay my loans. It's so depressing out there. Why become a nurse if you can't even get a job because everybody wants experienced nurses. All these stupid hospitals and nursing homes need to realize they need to invest in new nurses because eventually people will retire and they'll have to do it anyways!

I'm so frustrated right now...sucks to be a nurse at this time.

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