STILL NO JOB

Nurses Job Hunt

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Its been three months and i still cant find a Job. I am so broke its not even funny this was not part of the of the plan. when i decided to go to school for nursing i was sure this was what i was meant to do, i mean it came natural to me, after countless nights of styding remind you my course was 16 months i thought i would be on my way by Now was i so wrong. I went through so many hurdles jist to be a nurse and Now not to able to find a Job is jeart breaking.

Specializes in Primary Care.

I'm sorry your having a hard time but believe me it's not just you. Out of my class some got jobs right away while others had to basically beg for jobs. Try the seasonal flu clinics. Good luck!!!

Specializes in LTC.

You can have mine. I quit! :D Best thing I've done for myself in years.

You are not alone. A few of my classmates and I have been searching for our first Nursing Jobs, to no avail. I personally have put in 200 applications in the last month. I never thought it was going to be this hard. Yes, there are multiples listings for LVNs but the challenge is getting someone to give a NEW one a chance. It is beginning to be very depressing. How can anyone get experience, when administrators are so leary about hiring new grads. Maybe it is really a sign of these economic times.

Specializes in Maternity, Obstetrics.

I am an LPN who graduated in March 2010 and I have been hired FOUR times since then for an LPN position and then FIRED from ALL four due to not having enough experience! The first job lasted 6 months in a doctor's office but they made me work in the front office and never allowed me to work in the back so I didn't get ANY Nursing experience there. The next job I worked at for only 4 weeks and they told me they wanted me off orientation but I wasn't feeling very comfortable yet so they fired me.

The third job I got was a Case Manager phone only LPN job and I was only there 8 days and was still doing computer training when they fired me saying they wanted someone with more experience and I had NEVER yet once gotten to talk to any patients on the phone! This last one was the FIRST LTC Facility I had worked at and I told them (as I told ALL the other places too) that I was a NEW nurse with NO LPN experience. They fired me last Thursday after only being on orientation 6 days telling me my orientation was over and they wanted to put me on my own cart.

I had gone to the DON after 4 days of shadowing a nurse (that is what is was...NO ONE had TIME to TRAIN...they are way too busy!!1) and I told the DON that I had TONS of questions and needed someone who was actually going to train me. DON said I could be with her the next day so that's what I did. But the ONLY thing the DON did with me was let me sit in on a meeting she had with an LPN manager going over the residents and who has lost weight etc. and changing their meals etc. She did NOTHING to help me with my orientation. I was put in computer training class FINALLY the very next day after already being on the floor with nurses for 5 days prior. No resident care occurred those two days and then BANG the very next day I get called into the DON office and told that my orientation was over and was I ready? I told her NO I really am NOT ready. I need more training.

I told her I came to you on Monday asking for help and now I'm getting told my orientation is over? She told me the company cannot keep me on orientation any longer and that I needed to be on my own. I was floored. I have ZERO Nursing experience other than the 4 weeks I had at the hospital 9 months ago which was a lot different than a nursing home that I've never worked in before. DON told me to go home and she'd call me the next day (last Fri) to let me know if they will extend my orientation or not. Well, she never called me Fri and the day was almost over so I called her and she told me they have decided to "separate employment" so once again, I'm out of a job. I have two kids to support and I just got married one year ago and built a new house that we are very far behind on with the mortgage. I just don't know what to do. I don't know WHERE to go where I will get good TRAINING. Not just "follow me everywhere I go and see what I do and you better learn it quick" training.

Does any LTC nurses have ANY good advice for me? They had me with 5 different nurses during the 6 days I was on the floor. The only thing I was starting to feel kind of comfortable doing was med pass. There were TONS of treatments to do like trach care and stuff that I've NEVER performed on a human before (just a mannequin in school), wound care that only a few times nurses let me do, there's all kinds of charting to do that I wasn't used to, assessments of the residents that I forget alot about since I last had clinicals in summer of 2009 and not since. I feel like a big, fat failure and that I need to get out of nursing completely. I just don't have the confidence to do it alone yet and I don't feel like I have enough knowledge.

Please give any advice you can. I really appreciate it!!!

Laura in Indiana

Ill take it! Sorry u quit, why?

Spunkyk i feel u 100% i mean to have so much knowledge and not be able to use is crazy, mind you i have 7 years as a cna but it doesnt count on a med surge floor. I been trained by Good rn's its so sad.

Laura ur not a failure, u just was.t comfortable i mean it happens they couldve given u at least 3 more days but thats how it goes. My advice is go with the flow on ur next Job u cant afford mot be working most places give u a week then ur on your own. Good luck and god bless

Specializes in 4.

The best advice I can give you is to apply everywhere & anywhere. Go as far as you are willing to drive & go out of your comfort zone. My 1st LVN job was thru a temp agency doing the flu shot clinics. They are always hiring new grads. If this is what you want then you will need to fight for it & never give up. Some nurses even relocated. It's a thought. I wish you luck.

@ Skyfel, thats pretty much how my first orientation as a brand new nurse in LTC went. I shadowed for 5 shifts and then it was all me. LTC is kind of sink or swim but within the first couple of weeks you will get your flow down, you will just be slow at first which is ok. The nurse orientating me didnt have much time to answer questions so I took notes on everything and asked Q's as I went along once I was on my own. I have worked in two different LTC and this has been my orientation experience with both and it seems to be in par with my class mates orientations as well.

@ Bigmaine33, I went through the same thing. I passed NCLEX Nov 2008, I was 4 months pregnant so getting hired as a new grad and pregnant was impossible. I did not end up getting a job till Jan 2010 after I had taken some time off with my baby. I had to work in a really awful LTC for 6 months but it was all i needed to move on and get hired somewhere better. it WILL happen, i promis! apply apply apply. apply even if it says requires experience. do a volunteer clinic, because it is experience that will help you get hired. think outside the box like jails, clinics, school nursing. Just keep in mind this is happening to a lot of new grads all over the US, you are not alone. I know how devastating it is, I cried after every interview I put my heart into just to be told they couldnt hire new grads anyways ( so why call me and waste my time?!). I would drive an hour out for a job interview to hear this and I would be so upset the whole way home wondering why is this happening to me. Just dont give up, there is someone out there who will hire you. good luck to you!

Specializes in Peds, Med-Surg, Disaster Nsg, Parish Nsg.

Moved to Nursing First Job Hunt Assistance for more response.

Would love to hear an update on your Job Search.

Unfortunately it is a sign of the economic times. I am having a hard time myself finding suitable nursing job. I applied at a facility that told me they received an overwhelming response of applications from nurses. The interviewer appologized because he was unable to interview everyone.

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