*UNEMPLOYED NURSES*

Nurses Job Hunt

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Ello~

I'm just curious to know, for those of you who are unemployed nurses, exactly how long have you been looking for work? What are you (LPN,RN,BSN-RN,MSN-NP,etc.) How many previous years of experience do you have? Where are you located? How many applications do you think you have placed? What about interviews? Add anything else that you want! Vent, tell us how you REALLY feel, give your opinions/outlooks on everything.

As frustrating as it is not to be able to find work, I don't think the blame lies solely with those pushing the "nursing shortage" myth. Yes, I'm angry and frustrated too, but my choice to pursue nursing was only partially influenced by the belief that it would be easy to find work. I chose nursing because I find it a rewarding profession, because I love studying about the body, because I hope to help people get well. Yes, it hurts that I have to look so long and so hard for work, to see classmates get hired before me, to be rejected everywhere, to wonder if I'm contaminated or something. But this country is in economic trouble; trying to finger someone or something to blame is displaced anger, IMO.

I think you might have a tough time selling that point of view to people who love nursing but cannot find work because they have been out of school over a year. Most hospitals are asking that you have not been out of school more than a year. I am starting to see some that ask for 6 months.

My frustration lies with people who continue to ask for nurses to meet the shortage and are well aware that there are too many new graduates. Logic dictates that even if thousands of new grads pursue better opportunities in a different career, the need for nursing is so ingrained in public perception that it will not stop people from entering nursing school waiting lists or opening new programs. Even if the economy was great, I don't think there would be nearly enough job opportunities; the supply far outweighs the demand. I am not saying people should stop going to nursing school, rather our healthcare leaders recognize they have exceeded their goal and back off the rhetoric.

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I found this thread via Google and I just had to sign up on allnurses.com to comment on it. I just wanted to say that you guys are not alone. Most nurses that I know (experienced or not) are going through this.

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FYI, I have applied at around 200 places....received 3 interviews. None have called me back. I often wonder if something is wrong with me.

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Not a thing is wrong with you. Easily 1000s of newly graduated nurses that have been educated right here in the United States are unable to find work as RNs.

Simply said, there will never be enough jobs to employ these nurses.

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You are so right. Nursing is done.

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Has anyone on this thread been hired since you originally posted?

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It's not about being foreign born. From what I've seen, there is a lot of racism in the hiring market, where people of color are not being hired in favor of others. Discriminated against because of race, their accent, and stereotypes. However, the most decisive factor of getting hired is who do you know personally in a position of power,how well you know them(family member, close friend....) and how far they are willing to go to help you get into the facility. That trumps everything.

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I guess I should feel lucky- I live in Rochester NY and there are jobs here, I just left my homecare job to go back to the hospital and had no problem finding something, there were about 20 nurses in my hospital orientation. New nurses and experienced, I think location has a lot to do with. There were several nurses from the Buffalo area, which is about an hour away. Buffalo has several large hospitals and those nurses stated that there were no jobs available in Buffalo. And I do not see any foriegn nurses, except those who moved here prior to being a nurse and live here and went to school here.

I am in Rochester as well and see a lot of posts for new grad and experienced nurse jobs. I just can't take one myself as I am limited and not able to work the hours the hospitals require. Between that and being turned down when they decide to hire an internal candidate has left me unemployed since the beginning of Aug. I have been an RN since 2003.

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Specializes in Cardiac Nursing.

I have 13 years of LPN experience. I graduated in May 2008, got a job as an RNA in Sept 2008. In October 2008 was told I wasn't working out on that unit and I was let go...4 weeks into orientation (actually the same week I completed my 120 hours). Took and passed NCLEX that same week. Have applied to literally 1000's of positions in several states. Interviewed for several in Spring 2009. Offered and accepted job in NC and moved there in June 2009. August 2009 tried to transfer off that unit because it wasn't working out for me as I was having trouble with the LPN-RN transition on a step-down ICU type unit. I was big enough to talk to my manger about it and request said transfer. Unfortunately there were no more new grad positions anymore and even though I interviewed for 3 positions, I didn't get any. Ended up moving back home to KY in November 2009 and I've been looking for a job ever since. Can't get unemployment, can't get medicaid since my husband SSD apparently is too much.

All the hospitals near me are working on getting Magnet status so I'm going back for my BSN (I hope) to improve my marketablity in the area. The largest hospital system near me supposedly isn't hiring any external new grads right now and for the forseeable future.

Some of my problem is self induced, a lot is the economy and the sheer number of RN programs in my area. I am big enough to own up to my mistakes in my LPN job history, but all I want right now is a simple interview. I've had about 8 applications get referred in the past 2 weeks, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

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WildCat, I feel your pain. What other states have you applied?

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I graduated in 1980. I worked for ten years and ended up being a stay-at-home mom for 18 years and home educating my children. I want to say that this was after the hospital I worked for asked me to leave because my baby was sick for two weeks with chicken pox. I was an excellent nurse and told that the doors were always opened for me when I wanted to come back. I wish I had got that in writing.

Fast forward, before the economy crashed, I decided to get my license back. I had let it go due to finances. I had two options. I could take a course at the community college or retake the NCLEX. I figured that the latter would be more impressive to a perspective employer. Long story short, I passed with flying colors in May 2009.

I started applying and received the same type of response. After a year of rejections and not one interview even knowing several people in the administration of the hospital, I was finally hired by a home health agency. At first I did something that I'm very familiar with - preemies. But Medicaid supposedly said that an LPN can handle what I do. So my salary was reduced from $18/hour to $16.50. For some people on this board, I would imagine they would be delighted making anything at this point. I did eventually take a school nurse position with the same agency. I have to say I love this job. But now my pay is peanuts at $15/hour.

The agency I work for treats their employees ungratefully, unmercifully, and with as cold an affect as a person can muster. I have bent over backwards for them and when I hit exhaustion or made a mistake due to their incompetence and my stupidity to trust them, I was treated horribly. It's a long story, but suffice it to say that it boggles the mind that these folks can sleep at night treating people with such coldness.

I do realize that these people are under incredible pressure because winning a lawsuit is like hitting the lottery minus paying taxes. These administrations, therefore, don't want to be our friend because they want to pass the buck in the event of a problem.

So, I am glad I went this route. I have learned so much about dealing with and coping with this issue.

I have this thought in the back of my mind now about how the dominoes are going to fall and I am covering my behind more than ever before. I have a potential job retraining as a new grad. I am grateful for the opportunity if they select me.

Hope that helps some of you see your way into this profession,

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Specializes in Cardiac Nursing.
WildCat, I feel your pain. What other states have you applied?

Ohio, VA, WV, NC, SC, TN, that was in 2009. I moved to NC and the job didn't work out and we ended up having to move back to KY. Now I'm not even getting interviews. So the advice everyone gives to relocate won't work for me. We used all my husbands savings on that one attempt. All I can do now is go back to school and get my BSN and hope it improves my marketability in an area that's going Magnet.

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