What the heck is going on in Portland right now?

[sonnyluv]

Hey everybody!

I'm a mixed discipline ICU nurse at a level two trauma center in Los Angeles California, I completed a critical care residency and as of now have ten months to my belt. As of August, I will have a complete year. I have an associates in nursing, B.A. in communications. I took a trip to Portland in February to look at homes and hospitals-

OHSU: hiring freeze. Legacy Emanuel: hiring. In fact, everybody else was hiring and I was told that my credentials would be adequate enough to get me back into critical care once I moved up to Portland during my planned time, which was end of summer.

But now- ohhhh but now- I hear legacy has a clinical hiring freeze on! It seems that all my contacts in Portland are telling me your beautiful city and surrounding hospitals has run into a hiring standstill. Say it aint so!! The odd thing is that OHSU has sooo many critical care positions listed on their employment website-what is going on?!!??

I am about to sign papers with my wife and son and go into escrow on our first house- I know I know, stupid without having a job confirmed but I don't want to apply to any Portland area hospitals until I am, at minimum, a month away from having a solid year of ICU. I was told by Legacy I wouldn't be hired without a year anyway.

Is anybody hiring? Am I going to have to work in clinics after putting so much time and energy into becoming an effective and effecient ICU nurse? I shudder to think about all the skills I'm gonna lose.

Does anybody have any info, PLEASE! I imagine the number of new grads unable to secure positions must be piling up. Even here in so-cal I have been getting called off an alarming number of times...

Thanks friends,

Sonny:o

[PMFB-RN, RN]

So, because LA sucks so bad that people want to leave it, they should have to stay where they are? Isn't this supposed to be the land of opportunity?

*** The frustration you are hearing with Ca transplants is no because so many are now in Oregon. You are hearing it because so many of those people, having now escaped Ca soon set about trying their darndest to turn Oregon into another Ca. I am an Oregon native who moved tot he Midwest to get away from California part II that Oregon has become. When they banned hunting bears and Mt. lions with dogs in Oregon just a couple years after they did the same thing in Ca I knew Oregon had changed for the worse.

[vanburbian]

I just wonder if all these new grads who are looking for jobs are really willing to work "anywhere" or are they bemoaning the fact they can't get on a day shift ICU/ED fdloor at a major hospital? Are you applying for part time, evening shift jobs? On call just to get your foot in the door? Nursing Homes? Vibra- Long term acute care? I have > 20 years in multiple specialties, oncology, ortho, ambulatory surgery, CM, etc and I still have to wait to get called and certainly am not called by everywhere I apply. However, I am called by those who realize I am willing to take any position that I can perform and covers my health insurance. Right now- thats a lot in the current 12 % unemployment rate here in Oregon.

Out of staters- expect some resentment, but don't take it personally.

[UserG]

I just wonder if all these new grads who are looking for jobs are really willing to work "anywhere" or are they bemoaning the fact they can't get on a day shift ICU/ED fdloor at a major hospital? Are you applying for part time, evening shift jobs? On call just to get your foot in the door? Nursing Homes? Vibra- Long term acute care? I have > 20 years in multiple specialties, oncology, ortho, ambulatory surgery, CM, etc and I still have to wait to get called and certainly am not called by everywhere I apply. However, I am called by those who realize I am willing to take any position that I can perform and covers my health insurance. Right now- thats a lot in the current 12 % unemployment rate here in Oregon.

Out of staters- expect some resentment, but don't take it personally.

With all due respect to your 20+ years, I hear that same comment every day and most of us new grads are getting kind of sick of it. It ranks right up there with "How can you NOT find a job? There's a nursing shortage!" I'm not being confrontational because you don't know any better. Us youngins do know stuff others don't.

Personally, I have applied everywhere from Seattle to San Diego, CA and Newport to Orlando, FL. I have applied in the Portland metro area at hospital, LTC, SNF, high schools, elementary schools, recruiters, agencies, the prison system, volunteer clinics, psych hospitals... heck, I even went into the Fred Myers and asked if I could give the flu shots to customers! I was offered one job (ONE! out of 400+ applications, phone calls, visits, etc.) in a town of 2,000 and four states away and I told them I needed 24 hours to discuss it with my fiancee. They gave it away half a day later! Stupid, stupid, stupid me. We now talk in advance about any applications.

So, yes, most of us really will go anywhere.

Just because you can't comprehend it, it doesn't mean it isn't dire for most of us. Remember experienced nurses out there: who is going to have the skills and time spent to take of your patients when you retire or just want to go on vacation? Because there is going to be a serious problem if the treatment of new grads continues like this. Because we will be in other careers, other cities, or homeless when somebody finally decides to give us (and YOU) a break.

Please remember that you were new once, too! Don't be one of those nurses who make me think when we aren't around are saying, "Those lazy kids these days! I had to walk 5 miles in the snow with no shoes and no stethoscope to get to work when I was a new grad! Now excuse me while I get back to my abandoned amusement park to stop those meddling kids.

[vanburbian]

With all due respect to your 20+ years, I hear that same comment every day and most of us new grads are getting kind of sick of it. It ranks right up there with "How can you NOT find a job? There's a nursing shortage!" I'm not being confrontational because you don't know any better. Us youngins do know stuff others don't.

Personally, I have applied everywhere from Seattle to San Diego, CA and Newport to Orlando, FL. I have applied in the Portland metro area at hospital, LTC, SNF, high schools, elementary schools, recruiters, agencies, the prison system, volunteer clinics, psych hospitals... heck, I even went into the Fred Myers and asked if I could give the flu shots to customers! I was offered one job (ONE! out of 400+ applications, phone calls, visits, etc.) in a town of 2,000 and four states away and I told them I needed 24 hours to discuss it with my fiancee. They gave it away half a day later! Stupid, stupid, stupid me. We now talk in advance about any applications.

So, yes, most of us really will go anywhere.

Just because you can't comprehend it, it doesn't mean it isn't dire for most of us. Remember experienced nurses out there: who is going to have the skills and time spent to take of your patients when you retire or just want to go on vacation? Because there is going to be a serious problem if the treatment of new grads continues like this. Because we will be in other careers, other cities, or homeless when somebody finally decides to give us (and YOU) a break.

Please remember that you were new once, too! Don't be one of those nurses who make me think when we aren't around are saying, "Those lazy kids these days! I had to walk 5 miles in the snow with no shoes and no stethoscope to get to work when I was a new grad! Now excuse me while I get back to my abandoned amusement park to stop those meddling kids.

I was not by any means attempting to be disrespectful, however, after reading multiple posts from new grads (not just nurses who wanted to move to Oregon) I am honestly curious to know whether or not "any" position to get their foot in the door was acceptable to them, or they were only willing to consider certain areas that are traditionally difficult to get into, even when the unemployment rate isn't the second or third highest in the nation.

As for your incorrect assumption that I can't comprehend it, you obviously didn't read my post where I mentioned I also am finding it very difficult to find the job I want at the hospital I want on the unit I want. I quit my last job 3 weeks ago- and am currently job hunting too. Just saying, I have a lot of experience, including oncology certification and trauma, but no one has snatched me up yet either.

In this economy, when we have lost tens of thousands of jobs (which equals health insurance) hospitals are not doing much hiring.

Luckily Ted signed his law the other day and 80K more kids will be getting insurance in the next few months.

Maybe pediatrics is where the new grads should be looking.

[nwrn]

For those looking for a job the "hiring freezes" seem to be relenting, check out OHSU--tons of CC positions currently open.

[UserG]

For those looking for a job the "hiring freezes" seem to be relenting, check out OHSU--tons of CC positions currently open.

Thanks a bunch! I applied for only one of the jobs, though. (It actually said "new grads welcome to apply"!) I might have my search strings wrong because I only found the one job I could apply to. Everything else had minimum one to three years. Help?

[vanburbian]

New Grads welcome

here is the link

http://www.ohsu.edu/hr/jobs/job_details.cfm?job_posting_id=NEW%20IRC28121

FYI- it's not a bad unit at all to work on, nice team.

[drugstorecowgirl214]

I applied for that position at OHSU as soon as it was posted and the very next day seen that they'd decided to go with more qualified applicants versus new grads.....

[KristiePDX]

I see that Providence health system is opening up quite a few positions latley. I can't tell if they are open to external applicants though (I work there and have a different login portal). They don't say experience required, but the generic one year of acute care "preferred" That's what my job said when I was hired as a new grad. If the positions are open to external applicants, I'd say go for it......

[hjwebb]

I work at Kaiser. We are hiring. We just opened a new CVICU, the program is off to a good start. Also, for any nurses with CVICU experience, they are offering a 10K bonus for night shift...

[OregonBSN]

I work at Kaiser. We are hiring. We just opened a new CVICU, the program is off to a good start. Also, for any nurses with CVICU experience, they are offering a 10K bonus for night shift...

Are they hiring new graduates (Dec. 2009)? My leadership course is in a CVCU and I will have my senor practicum in an ICU.

[hjwebb]

The CVICU isn't hiring new grads yet. (Our program is still really new). The MSICU might be hiring new grads. Not sure how open you are to a commute, but several of my classmates started at Salem Hospital, and are all still there.. (Linfield 2007). They have a MSICU and a CVICU...