Any ADN grads get hospital jobs?

[freezebaby]

I was an LPN for four years before I finished my ADN program last August. I thought with all my experience and volunteering I would have no problem getting a job as an acute care RN. I have applied to every hospital in the Seattle/Bellevue area, and have been told by most, even after interviews, that they are only accepting BSN nurses, even though the job posting only says BSN strongly preferred. I was rejected from residency programs with the organization I already work for as an RN in ambulatory care.

Based on advice in this forum, I even applied to some positions that were not residency positions. I had an interview for one, they checked my five references, then told me I was not eligible because I am a new graduate (which they already knew). I have already been accepted to a BSN program and indicate this on my resume, but it does not seem to matter.

Are all you other ADN grads having the same problem? I will have a BSN in a year, but by then I won't be a new graduate so I won't be eligible for most residency programs, yet I won't have enough experience to apply for regular RN positions. You can't even volunteer as a nurse, so how do you get experience? I did shadow at a hospital, but I'm sure this won't count as experience. Does anyone have any tips on what to do, aside from working a skilled nursing facility?

[BonnieSc]

I wouldn't worry too much about not being eligible for a residency program after a year. It's not that I don't think they're valuable, I just don't think they're necessary or add SO much value, and inexperienced nurses do get hired to non-residency positions at times. You say "other than working at a SNF"--I don't know if it's just that you already know about that or you're dead set against it. The ADN grads that have been hired on my floor lately have either worked for us as techs during school (no longer an option for you, of course) or come with experience from a SNF or places where getting a job isn't quite so competitive. I think the best thing to do at this point is to keep doing what you're doing (you work as an RN in ambulatory care? a lot of people would kill for that job) while you get your degree and then reapply to acute care.