Should I look for Jobs or Residency programs as a GN?

serenitylove14 · Jan 9, 2013

Not all places have residencies, so depending on the place you apply for it varies. Apply for EVERYTHING! Try government jobs as well. I am not sure about houston but at one point I wanted to move there and most of the places had residencies and I believe St. Luke *I believe thats the name* pays the most like around 27. I could be wrong tho.

jules2577 · Jan 11, 2013

I'm on my last semester of nursing school and I'm starting to look for jobs but most of them ask for experience. So do all new BSN nursing graduates have to apply to residency programs in order to get a job or can we also apply for actual jobs? For all of you who are nurses and already working, especially in houston, how did y'all do it to start off at your first job? I live in houston and I want to find a nursing job in the med center. Please help[/quote']
I live in Houston and from what I've experienced, it seems as though you can only get hired into new grad/graduate nurse residencies. I know that's the case for TCH, Methodist, & Memorial Hermann. Also...most, if not all, require you to have your license prior to the position start date. I'm almost positive Methodist hires new grads year round but TCH, MD Anderson, & Memorial Hermann hire twice a year. I'm pretty sure it's the same at St. Luke's as well.

HouTx, BSN, MSN, EdD · Jan 16, 2013

I believe that the ONLY way into a TMC job for new grads (BSN only) is via a formal residency program. Unfortunately, those slots are usually filled with people who had an inside track because they did rotations in the facility. Investigate each site to determine when they are accepting applications - ask the nursing education department since they usually run those programs. Get your application in as soon as possible!

Just curious- why do you only want to work in TMC facilities? Based on my experience, it was not so good - especially the hassle of just getting to work (pay for remote lot parking, shuttle bus mess, flooding, etc.). All of the major players have great facilities in other areas of the city & suburbs with the same salaries/benefits.

Don't limit your Job Search to those biggies - Just because a hospital does not have a formal program for new grads does not mean that they cannot provide an excellent transition experience for new grads that they hire. It would just be an individualized process rather than one in which you were in a group.