The Unemployed RN

lumbarpain, ADN, RN · Nov 20, 2011

I too, have been unemployed since 2009....the last job I had was a caretaker/Assessment nurse which the latter never materialized. I couldnt do heavy lifting of an MS patient when she fell but this agency did it anyway.

I have been searching for work since......get interviews, but no real bites....I loathe this profession and what it did to my general physical health, (many injuries to neck, shoulders and back) which no one gives a crap about.....I cannot do Nursing home work anymore...I want an medical office job, I was told that I am overqualified in the state of Vermont for an med office job....HUH???if you are willing to accept the pay and work, they are getting a downright bargain....but you know....they are afraid you are going to leave for an RN job.....thats not my case...I JUST NEED ONE. I just was interviewed for a crappy part time office school job and didnt get it...because I am not Word Processor savvy....overqualified in one way.....and not in another....I dont get it really.....guess I am too old too. 55.. I will just roll myself up in a big ball and die...like Frank Sinatra says..

fltnrse2, ASN, RN · Nov 20, 2011

I am sorry that you are so frustrated by this current situation, and I wish I had an answer for you. I hope that you continue to try to locate a job that you will be happy doing, then this time in your life will just seem like a bad dream or a nightmare....You never know what is waiting for you right around the corner. FLTNRSE2;)

caramelcomet · Nov 26, 2011

Thank you for giving me an uplift!

I do believe that it is the political situation we are in right now! Hopefully, things will change ... but it might not be soon enough for me!

**NickiLaughs, ADN, BSN, RN** · Nov 29, 2011

It's pretty bad everywhere. I've been fairly lucky in this economy to land two jobs in the last year. I think the advantages are:

I'm youngish. Young enough to be a work horse for a while and naive enough to put up with crap I shouldn't.

I have the BSN. Seriously, I couldn't get a call even though I had ICU experience. Finished my BSN in june, getting calls ever since. If you don't have it, I really suggest trying to figure out a way to obtain it.

I will say though, out here in California is a nightmare. For old and new experienced nurses alike. They often post positions and don't hire because of budget cuts. Hospital census has been down. Our 40 bed ICU will have 30 some patients one week and 16 the next. It's definitely all factored in from the economy.

People are too broke to be sick.

Biffbradford · Nov 29, 2011

Okay, I've been going through a drought like I've never seen, then suddenly ... 4 interviews in 3 days. A friend suggested that perhaps since we're nearing the end of the fiscal 4th quarter, hospitals now know how much money they can spend on hiring. Let's hope so. :idea:

Biffbradford · Dec 11, 2011

Travel nursing in your own area might be an option if your TB skin test, Hepatitis titer, ACLS, etc are still current. I hear that hospitals in my area are using more travel nurses and working them up to 70 hours a week. Work 'em to death and don't have to pay benefits. Such a deal.

sjoe · Feb 20, 2012

I too, have been unemployed since 2009....the last job I had was a caretaker/Assessment nurse which the latter never materialized. I couldnt do heavy lifting of an MS patient when she fell but this agency did it anyway.
I have been searching for work since......get interviews, but no real bites....I loathe this profession and what it did to my general physical health, (many injuries to neck, shoulders and back) which no one gives a crap about.....I cannot do Nursing home work anymore...I want an medical office job, I was told that I am overqualified in the state of Vermont for an med office job....HUH???if you are willing to accept the pay and work, they are getting a downright bargain....but you know....they are afraid you are going to leave for an RN job.....thats not my case...I JUST NEED ONE. I just was interviewed for a crappy part time office school job and didnt get it...because I am not Word Processor savvy....overqualified in one way.....and not in another....I dont get it really.....guess I am too old too. 55.. I will just roll myself up in a big ball and die...like Frank Sinatra says..

Great attitude. Why not take a FREE online short wordprocessing course? Or just by fumbling around and clicking on "help" now and then, teach yourself? Not being able to use one is similar to not being able to use a typewriter back in the 1970s.

sjoe · Feb 20, 2012

Travel nursing in your own area might be an option if your TB skin test, Hepatitis titer, ACLS, etc are still current. I hear that hospitals in my area are using more travel nurses and working them up to 70 hours a week. Work 'em to death and don't have to pay benefits. Such a deal.

Exactly right. Plus they won't complain nor try to change things, since they won't be around that long AND you can complain to their agency if they do so they never get another job. Nice. Not to mention the fact that usually travel nurses (and I did that myself once) are often given sites and assignments that are very dysfunctional, conflict-ridden, and hostile to begin with, that no current employees would accept (which is why they hired a travel nurse).

sjoe · Feb 20, 2012

Hello,
I've been unemployed since June-July, up till now. I thought there would always be a need for nurses. In the 80's hospitals were recruiting like crazy, talking about the nursing shortage and what not, and then we started seeing hospitals recruite nurses from the phillipines.. But that was more than 20 yrs ago, and i'm unemployed now so what happned to the nursing shortage?
I was wondering if anyone else is also having difficulty finding a job. I don't know if it's because my preference is to work in hospitals limiting the number of places i can apply to. But yet when I apply to home health agencies and nursing homes, LVNs get hired over me.There are about 8 hospitals around me and ive applied to all that fall within a 30 mile distance from my city. They keep on telling me the census is low and recently, since I have such a large gap in my work history, i think that affects my employment.
I'm qualified to work, so I'm just wondering if this is nationwide, local or just a bad time? Also, any advice would be greately appreciated.

"The census is low" PLUS we can get our current nurses to work double shifts and overtime WITHOUT NOTICE when things pick up a bit PLUS we can get any 2 nurses to do the work of 3 anyway, so why would we hire someone else? We'll just work our current employees harder.

lumbarpain, ADN, RN · Feb 21, 2012

I can honestly say that youth not experience matters more to companies in the hiring process. Or maybe it was like that before and I just never noticed it till I got to THAT AGE.!! Its discrimination and WHY its gone as far as it has is beyond me. When you go into a Nursing home for a job, THEY KNOW they cannot hide anything from you. The general energy of the place will tell you as you walk around and see what the patients are doing and how the staff handles things is the sure fire way of getting turned off or on about working there. I can actually FEEL it as I walk onto a unit. If nurses aides smile or talk to you pleasantly, if patients are dressed and appear content..if the nurse that is orientating you has patience and good knowledge about the facility, ..YOU JUST KNOW after working in these environments for so long. I make no apology for how I feel about my primary career of LTC/sub acute...but it wont change. But, when you just want to work in a decent place...why is it so hard to find.

Hello,
I've been unemployed since June-July, up till now. I thought there would always be a need for nurses. In the 80's hospitals were recruiting like crazy, talking about the nursing shortage and what not, and then we started seeing hospitals recruite nurses from the phillipines.. But that was more than 20 yrs ago, and i'm unemployed now so what happned to the nursing shortage?
I was wondering if anyone else is also having difficulty finding a job. I don't know if it's because my preference is to work in hospitals limiting the number of places i can apply to. But yet when I apply to home health agencies and nursing homes, LVNs get hired over me.There are about 8 hospitals around me and ive applied to all that fall within a 30 mile distance from my city. They keep on telling me the census is low and recently, since I have such a large gap in my work history, i think that affects my employment.
I'm qualified to work, so I'm just wondering if this is nationwide, local or just a bad time? Also, any advice would be greately appreciated.

sjoe · Feb 23, 2012

It seems to be nationwide, from the information found surfing this web site.

Florida, for example, has a LOT of posts here and elsewhere from unemployed nurses, RNs and otherwise, doing everything that has been suggested here to find a job, even though the payscale here is always one of the lowest in the country. No dice.

The PR, however, remains the same, such as this story in today's online news: Florida needs 15,000 nurses, new survey says - South Florida Sun-Sentinel.com The news does not coincide with experience, since most of it serves to 1) justify importing nurses from foreign countries who will do whatever they are told, whenever they are told, for little money AND 2) entice even more nurses to move here, which further dilutes the labor pool. Just as what happened in the Great Depression (watch "Grapes of Wrath" sometime).

You can't easily fool HR departments by leaving off dates and so on. They've seen it all by now and have MANY MANY applications from which to choose. If yours requires them to do a little work, it goes straight into the wastecan.

My best suggestion would be to try to get into corrections nursing, as I did for numerous years. Private jail-management companies are the very worst, in my experience, but come county/city jails can be good. You have to try them out.

The VA is often the very best gig, wherever they are, but HARD to get a job there initially.

kids · Feb 23, 2012

I too, have been unemployed since 2009....the last job I had was a caretaker/Assessment nurse which the latter never materialized. I couldnt do heavy lifting of an MS patient when she fell but this agency did it anyway.
I have been searching for work since......get interviews, but no real bites....I loathe this profession and what it did to my general physical health, (many injuries to neck, shoulders and back) which no one gives a crap about.....I cannot do Nursing home work anymore...I want an medical office job, I was told that I am overqualified in the state of Vermont for an med office job....HUH???if you are willing to accept the pay and work, they are getting a downright bargain....but you know....they are afraid you are going to leave for an RN job.....thats not my case...I JUST NEED ONE. I just was interviewed for a crappy part time office school job and didnt get it...because I am not Word Processor savvy....overqualified in one way.....and not in another....I dont get it really.....guess I am too old too. 55.. I will just roll myself up in a big ball and die...like Frank Sinatra says..

If you have good IV skills (or a way to update your IV skills) look at IV therapy and home infusion, or even "regular" home health. If you have any vent/trach experience (or a willingness to learn) look at peds private duty (the pay sucks but demand is usually high).

I have a spinal cord injury and have done all of the above (including peds ER) from a wheel chair or using Canadian crutches.