So how's the job market NOW? - Page 4

From what I've experienced, the market is still pretty bad. I graduated in August of 2010 and it took me about 5 months to find a job. I finally found one in a SNF (not ideal, but it was a job). After 10 months of sticking it out in a SNF, I started applying elsewhere. I found it very difficult to get in with a major hospital system, even though I had close to 10 years of healthcare experience, plus a B.S. in a different field and currently working on an RN to BSN program. After some diligent searching though, I was able to find my dream job in outpatient orthopedics. I've been in my current position for almost 3 months now, and I LOVE it!

Hey guys-
if you've been accepted to another program next to Linfield I would HIGHLY recommend going to any other place but linfield. Community college get more clinical hours than linfield, OHSU get's more clinical hours than Linfield. Here's an example, OHSU senior immersion (aka senior practicum) is 6 MONTHS long people vs linfields 144 hours....they are working full shift/full time for 6 mONTHS! I couldn't believe it when I heard this. I mean that's an entire orientation and then they get 6 more months of an actual orientation once hired or maybe even less. Granted you will spend up to 1 year more in OHSU's program as it is a 3year program vs linfields 2 or accelerated 18months. But even then is it not better to graduate knowing what you're doing than to not know how to insert a catheter or better yet work a suction? Plus Most hospitals want you to have a minimum of 6 months of experience, well there you have it at the time of graduation...the hours listed above for linfields' clinicals has NOT changed. I graduated from there within the last 2 years and it's still the same. Plus the comment that someone posted about linfield being a hot mess is not a lie. There is legal actions (not their first) against them for treating a student poorly, the dean of nursing was terminated for the mess this made of the school AND she plagiarize in a piece she wrote for the schools' new paper only to be caught by one of the student. You really don't get much support from the faculty and you should probably go into the program having no opinions or prior knowledge because if you go into the program with knowledge of nursing or a brain to think for yourself faculty start to give you the evil eye because you question them when they are teaching wrong information. Here's a good example we had a PHD prepared well this instructor was in the process of a pHD progam and was teaching med-surg nephrology, had NO idea what they were saying. A student pretty much had to step in to clarify and basically teach the class the nephrology section of med surg. That's my 2 cents...If I knew then what I know today I could have saved myself a lot of money! All I can say is choose wisely. If you end up in their program you should find a way to get more clinical time in....maybe work on the side as a CNA2 or a tech on the floor or better yet a HUC (these guys see it all).

Linfield has changed their curriculum and increased their clinical hours. I graduated in December 2011 and all of the students starting Fall 2011 and afterwards are using the new curriculum and increased clinical hours, though I don't know what they are.
We all learned how to insert catheters in the lab, though whether we got experience on the job really depended on your clinical placements and what opportunities you had. But, I expect that's the same for all schools. I actually talked with a MedSurg manager recently and she didn't seem to think it was an issue, anyway, because foleys are a lot more rare these days since medicare won't pay for hospital acquired UTI's anymore and it's an easy skill to practice on the job.
Unfortunately, in the current market, most hospitals are requiring a minimum of a year's work as an RN... student clinicals do not count because you are not a RN while you are a student. A few jobs at Kaiser only require 9 months experience. Jobs for all new grads are rare and are equally hard to find, because all new grads lack any experience as an RN.
Linfield is far from perfect, but this was not my experience at all. My core instructors who taught the most important classes were excellent. Others were hit and miss. Clinical instructors are hit and miss, too, but for the most part I had really good instructors. I actually felt like we had a lot more student support through Linfield than I would have received at OHSU. Ken offers student academic support and helps all of the students get through the first couple of semesters with tips/tricks for the monster papers, APA, med calcs, etc. I thought that kind of support is pretty unique to Linfield and he was fabulous.

Interesting. You obviously have had a different instructor than I had... I'm sorry that you had such a bad experience... my med surg instructor was absolutely fabulous.

There's no doubt it is an expensive program, although all students do receive transfer scholarships (or did as of a year and a half ago)... so it's really not as expensive as it looks. I do think that they have not put the nursing students' tuition money towards the equipment and found that very frustrating. The labs definitely did not have the equipment that they should have had when you consider the amount of $$$ we paid in tuition. I think that our tuition funds primarily went to the MAC campus and don't think that we got what we paid for... but I don't know any student who pays that kind of money for their education and really feels like it was utilized the best way possible.

I agree that it is best if you can work as a CNA2 or something while you are in school - specifically at the VA. In this market, jobs are very very difficult to find. The students who worked at the VA all got jobs. Several others got hired for the Salem residency... but the majority of us have either had to leave the state or are still looking for work.

I have frustrations with the program, too, and was incredibly frustrated that I didn't get more clinical experience, but apparently it is still perceived as a good program within the medical community. I have been told by multiple physicians that Linfield has a good reputation. It is my hope that the new curriculum is solving some of these issues.

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