New grad positions without NCLEX

Nurses Job Hunt

Published

Does it still exist? THose positions that the pay is a lot less but you can start without taking the NCLEX. You have 6 months or a year to take the NCLEX.

I want to get into a really good training program if possible and I am not concerned about the pay. I am just wonderring if these programs exist. And if there are ones that are not so competitive. Like the one at Vanderbilt is so supper competitive and the deadline has passed but I am looking for less competitive options.

Specializes in Critical Care; Cardiac; Professional Development.

I do not think such programs exist. There are internships and residencies that are willing to hire you prior to graduation for a start date after graduation. For some you have to have your RN license before you start. At a few others you can have your GN (general nurse) license and usually those are good for 90 days. The hospital then requires you to have your RN license within that timeframe. Six months to a year is unrealistic. Finding something that isn't competitive is also unrealistic. There are more new nurses than there are new nurse jobs. That is a fact of life right now.

Best of luck.

Many state BONs no longer even permit "graduate nurse" status. In the states that still do, most employers no longer hire people as GNs because it's too hard to keep track of them (who's taken the NCLEX, when, did they pass, etc.) "Back in the day," when the NCLEX was only offered twice a year and it took 6-8 weeks to get results, everyone did this, because a) it was v. easy for hospitals to keep track of who had taken the NCLEX and when they would get their results, and b) depending on when you finished school, it could be as much as six months or more before you had a license and that is a long time to make people wait, forget stuff, get rusty on their skills, etc. Now that people can take the exam any time and get results almost immediately, employers no longer see any reason or advantage to employing individuals before they actually have a license in hand.

Specializes in Operating Room.

YES they do exist! In fact, I would say at least 10 of my classmates had secured a job prior to graduation and many (perhaps 20) secured a job prior to getting licensed.

+ Add a Comment