Another New Grad

Nov 22, 2008 06:19 PM

by Virginia Murse

Updated Nov 22, 2008 at 06:56 PM by Virginia Murse

Sorry for another thread like this but I didnt want to hijack someone else's. I'm graduating in May from nursing school here in Virginia and plan on moving to Portland in June or July. I was hoping to work at OHSU as it's pretty similar to the hospital I work at now but I was also thinking about the VA hospital, who has alot of openings listed now. I would ideally like to work in the Operating Room because that's where I'm at now as a care partner (nurse's aide more or less) but Im willing to put my time in elsewhere if I have to. Any suggestions on where to work or things you can tell me about the hospitals. I'm a 25 year old male with a bachelors in business also and would like to work with a slightly younger crowd if possible.

Another thing, I'm pretty sure that I want to live in the Hawthorne area and was wondering what the commute would be like to OHSU or the VA. Is biking possible? Could I bike to a public transport spot and lock my bike there or something like that? Thanks for any help and I will be coming out over this winter break to speak to both hospitals, both were very friendly over the phone.

edit: I'll be out for a week I think, so if there are other hospitals I should talk to please let me know.

lilikoi · Nov 22, 2008, 11:03 PM

Re: Another New Grad

You would have no problem commuting form the Hawthorne area up to OHSU or the VA. You could ride right over the bridge to the South Waterfront area to take the tram up the hill, or you could take public transit. Either way, you would have an easy time of it and be living in a great neighborhood!

Virginia Murse · Nov 23, 2008, 12:21 AM

Re: Another New Grad

Originally Posted by lilikoi

You would have no problem commuting form the Hawthorne area up to OHSU or the VA. You could ride right over the bridge to the South Waterfront area to take the tram up the hill, or you could take public transit. Either way, you would have an easy time of it and be living in a great neighborhood!

Glad to hear it. The area looks alot like the Fan here in Richmond and I really enjoy it. What are opportunities like at those hospitals? From reading posts on here it seems rather competitive. How is Legacy? Sorry for the question overload but I'm interested in hearing what each place is like. The hospital I'm at now is a teaching hospital thats in the inner city and is the only Level 1 Trauma in the area. Is that basically what OHSU is there?

lilikoi · Nov 23, 2008, 11:48 AM

Re: Another New Grad

Legacy Emmanuel in NE Portland also has a Level 1 trauma center. I don't have much experience with the hospitals yet because I don't start my BSN program until February but I am sure someone else will post some useful info. I do know that all of the hospitals in Portland are pretty competitive because of the amount of nursing programs we have here. But I wouldn't let that discourage you if you are set to move. It just might take a bit more tenacity

*marachne* · Nov 24, 2008, 06:03 PM

Re: Another New Grad

One thing to be aware about w/the VA -- they are the federal gov't so their hiring process can be veeeeery slow. If you decide to go that route, be prepared to be persistent. Also, while their pay is competitive, it will not be the highest in the area -- but the benefits are pretty good and once you are in the VA system, if you like it you have amazing mobility.

I have heard lots of positive and negative things about the Legacy system.

Emmanuel in in an area that was traditionally black, it is now in transition. Besides Hawthorne, check out the Alberta Arts district and Mississippi Avenue -- these are the new "funky hip" areas that really have, if you ask me, eclipsed Hawthorne in a lot of ways. Further from "pill hill" (where the VA, OHSU, Shriners, Doernbecher Children's Hospital all are), but very accessible by bike and/or bus. All the busses, light rail, street cars and the tram take bikes (the busses have racks, the other you just take it on the transportation w/you). If you are an OHSU employee or student you can ride the tram for free, but if you wound up working at the VA, it would be spendy to use the tram (but there are busses that go directly to the VA). And you can ride your bike up the hill too -- if you're in really good shape

Good luck!

Spatialized · Nov 27, 2008, 04:28 PM

Re: Another New Grad

Legacy may be a tough nut to crack if you're looking for OR positions. They have a Peri-Op internship, but preference is given to folks who have completed a previous peri-op program or came from the program at Mt. Hood Community College's Peri-Op Program

The above posters were correct, Emmanuel is the other Level 1 trauma center in Portland. The community, is well, diverse, but lots of good experience is available there. Having come from out-of-state as well, I can tell you that persistence is a big thing. And it goes without saying that coming to town for interviews is a must. I work for Legacy and think it is a good place to work. Good benefits, very competitive wages and a large system to draw from. But I'm biased.

Good luck though. There is a ton of new grads hitting the town in December and again in May and there aren't a whole lot of jobs for them right now. I know we're (the unit I work on) not hiring at all from the December graduates.

Cheers,
Tom

Virginia Murse · Nov 27, 2008, 04:59 PM

Re: Another New Grad

Originally Posted by Spatialized

Legacy may be a tough nut to crack if you're looking for OR positions. They have a Peri-Op internship, but preference is given to folks who have completed a previous peri-op program or came from the program at Mt. Hood Community College's Peri-Op Program

The above posters were correct, Emmanuel is the other Level 1 trauma center in Portland. The community, is well, diverse, but lots of good experience is available there. Having come from out-of-state as well, I can tell you that persistence is a big thing. And it goes without saying that coming to town for interviews is a must. I work for Legacy and think it is a good place to work. Good benefits, very competitive wages and a large system to draw from. But I'm biased.

Good luck though. There is a ton of new grads hitting the town in December and again in May and there aren't a whole lot of jobs for them right now. I know we're (the unit I work on) not hiring at all from the December graduates.

Cheers,
Tom

Thanks for the insight. Like I said earlier, I'm very flexible when it comes to what unit I start on. I would just prefer something with a high activity level like the OR, the ER, an ICU, etc. Emmanuel is definitely another place I want to check out now. The community here in Richmond is really diverse and I enjoy that aspect of it. I'm booking my tickets this coming Monday and my girlfriend and I are coming out in January. I just hope we get at least one day of decent weather, haha. She will be graduating with a Pharm-D in May 2010 so she needs to start looking for a place to work as well.

So I'm going to talk to the VA, OHSU, and Legacy. Any other places I should check out while I'm there? Also, I know there are alot of programs in the area and was wondering how many are bachelors, how many are associates, and how many diploma? Just wondering what my competition for jobs will be like

Thanks again

*marachne* · Nov 27, 2008, 05:33 PM

Re: Another New Grad

Portland Area programs:

BSN

OHSU
University of Portland
Lynfield
Concordia
Walla Walla
Washington State University (Vancouver, WA)

ADN

Portland Community College
Mt. Hood CC
Clackamas County CC
Clarke County CC (Vancouver, WA)

No diploma schools anymore that I know of.

I may be missing some (if so, others can chime in)

But you can see that there's a lot of schools, and several now have accelerated programs so yeah, they put out new grads 2x/year.

I know the VA is really needing more pharmacists, so your GF should really talk to them.

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Another New Grad

Another New Grad

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