DC Area Job Opportunities

U.S.A. Washington DC

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What is the current job market like for nurses in the DC area--in particular, new grads. I heard it is pretty good. Is that still true? Does anyone anticipate there will be an eventual glut like the rest of country? I know this topic has been discussed, but I figure a more recent, resurrected post would help. Thanks, I am thinking of attending Marymount and will graduate in May 2011 if that helps.

At this point, I'll be honest, I'm mad that I went to a four year BSN program and having difficulty finding a job while people who went and got their associates can find a job in a month. I have 4 years worth of student loans, and living on one income with all our other expenses is hard. And there will be no help from family, my parent's don't even have enough money to cover their own expenses. I've even applied to about ten CNA jobs and haven't got a single reply.

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I have no inside connections anywhere. I had some clinical rotations at the hospital I was hired at, but I knew nobody when I applied. I used LinkedIn to find the correct spelling of the RN recruiter's name and researched them, used good resume paper, had my references on a separate sheet, sent a handwritten thank you note to the people who interviewed me, had letters of recommendation from my clinical instructors, and those professors I worked with in clubs. I rocked my interviews. I am sure my previous experience in another (completely unrelated to healthcare) field helped me, but allthrough NS I was just as sure that it would mean nothing when it came to getting hired. I was also just as sure that I would get passed over for someone with a BSN.

I am 31, with a husband and a child. I chose to take classes at community college and paid in cash, which I had saved while working in my former (and much loathed) career. I had zero college credits when I started taking classes; it has taken me almost as long for my ASN as it does for a BSN, and I still have the BSN classes to take. I took a gamble, just as anyone choosing a different path did. I gambled that I would get a job with a hospital willing to reimburse my tuition to achieve my BSN, and I got lucky and found one. Others gambled that they would take on debt and get a job ASAP with their BSN.

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I didn't gamble by taking the debt....that was my only choice. There is no way to pay for school when you can't work and your husband doesn't make enough. So you're lucky you don't have debt. And I chose BSN specifically because I plan on going back for my NP or CRNA. And I already plan to use good paper, and send thank you's and yada yada...but doesn't mean anything when you can't even get an interview....or phone call. I haven't heard back from a single person and it's been since November.

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I had no connections anywhere, either. I didn't even go to school here (I went to school in San Diego- about as far away as you can get), but we moved here on my husband's orders, so I didn't really have much say in relocating. I applied at 2 civilian hospitals, got 2 interviews and 2 job offers. I do actually think that my previous work experience (completely, 100% unrelated to healthcare) is one thing that helped me. I know for a fact that it was one of the reasons I was selected for interview at one of the hospitals. Though I don't necessarily feel as such, I was told that I interview very well, also. In some ways, being a little older (33) helped me, I think. I'm not saying that there aren't 21/22 year olds who are mature, but life experience and a solid work history go a long way, too.

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From my nursing program alone, we graduated in December, there were five hired to Georgetown as a new graduate nurse. They did a lot of their hiring in late October and November. The nurses that got the jobs there attended luncheons that Georgetown planned at some of the local nursing schools and did their best to network while there. I've been told by a lot of my friends in the NOVA area that INOVA hospitals have not been taking new graduate nurses. Some of the other DC hospitals took some new graduates but they were already in the system having been an extern or CNA/patient care tech with them.

If you do decide to go into nursing school, I really recommend getting an externship somewhere or working as a CNA/Patient Care tech within the hospitals. It gives you a great experience and networking opportunities that will help once you've graduated.

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Please do not apply to Marymount. I did the ABSN too and it was awful-one of the WORST experiences in my life. The professors are sooooo old and have not been in current practice, jealous of the younger women, treat the men like they are gods, the dean, asst dean and BSN chair are the devils themselves, they cannot keep quality faculty and the ones they keep are AWFUL, the program is so disorganized, waaaay too expensive for the "education" (ie: hearing the "professors" read from powerpoint slides).

Please save yourself the money. Apply to George Washington University ASBN in Ashburn. They have better clinicals, better faculty who actually have their PHD's, and way better chance of employment at GW Hospital.

PM me if you want more information.

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ANyone know the current stats? Starting the ABSN program this fall at GWU...

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